China dropshipping and US warehouse fulfillment should be compared using the same product, delivery promise and accounting boundary. One dispatches individual customer orders internationally. The other moves stock into the US before selling it locally. Neither model has a universal cost or speed advantage, and an unsupported table of carrier prices cannot decide the choice.
This comparison uses an illustrative financial model. Its numbers are editable assumptions, not observed market rates, supplier quotations or FulfillNexa performance figures. Obtain current transport, tax and warehouse terms before using the model for a purchasing decision.
Put both models on a saleable-unit basis
For China dispatch, count product acquisition, preparation, international parcel transport, applicable import charges, payment processing, customer service and expected exception cost. If the supplier holds inventory, establish whether holding costs are included in the unit price. Pay-per-order billing does not prove that inventory is free.
For US stock, include the bulk inbound movement, import charges, receiving, storage, domestic pick-pack and delivery, together with returns and unsold inventory. Divide inbound costs by the saleable units they support, not automatically by every unit ordered. Damaged or unusable stock changes the denominator.
CBP's current low-value shipment factsheet explains the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment. A China-direct model must not quietly assume the historical $800 exemption remains available. An exact import calculation still depends on the merchandise and current entry requirements.
Work through one transparent example
Suppose a product sells for $40 and costs $8 from the supplier. The following amounts are hypothetical operating assumptions per completed sale, selected solely to demonstrate the calculation.
| Cost assumption | China dispatch | US stock |
|---|---|---|
| Product acquisition | $8.00 | $8.00 |
| International movement allocated to a unit | $9.00 | $2.00 |
| Import charges allocated to a unit | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Warehouse preparation, packing and delivery work | $1.50 | $2.50 |
| US domestic transport | $0.00 | $6.00 |
| Storage allocation | $0.00 | $0.50 |
| Payment cost assumption | $1.50 | $1.50 |
| Expected exceptions and returns allocation | $2.00 | $1.00 |
| Total modeled cost | $24.00 | $23.50 |
| Contribution before advertising and overhead | $16.00 | $16.50 |
The half-dollar difference is not a recommendation. If domestic transport rises by one dollar, the apparent order-level advantage reverses. If the direct parcel route has a costly remote-area surcharge, that can reverse it again. Keep each assumption connected to the service and cost boundary it represents.
Advertising, business overhead, corporate tax and profit distributions are excluded from this example. Labeling the remaining amount contribution avoids presenting it as final net profit.
Add the cash tied up before the sale
If the US model requires buying 500 units, the illustrative product outlay alone is $4,000 before inbound transport and other costs. That cash can remain tied up when demand falls, a variant sells poorly or a replenishment batch overlaps existing stock.
Run a separate inventory-age scenario. Estimate how much stock remains at the end of the selling period, its recoverable value and any disposal or return expense. Do not charge all inventory purchases to the current month's sold units while also ignoring the value of remaining saleable stock.
China-side stock can also be prepaid and become obsolete. FulfillNexa by SBT's China warehouse role should therefore be specified as supplier-held, seller-owned or another agreed arrangement. The shipping origin alone does not determine who funds inventory.
Compare delivery distributions and exception recovery
Measure order acceptance to usable customer delivery, including preparation, international movement where relevant, clearance and final delivery. Compare actual postcode and product cohorts. A quoted transit interval and a measured end-to-end delivery distribution are different evidence.
Use a pilot to record on-time delivery against the promise, missing scans, first-attempt success and exception resolution. Domestic stock can remove the international leg from an individual customer's wait, but it introduces a replenishment dependency. Direct shipping can preserve stock flexibility while exposing each order to international-entry execution.
Choose a model by the failure you can control. A mixed strategy may put predictable repeat sellers in destination stock while retaining uncertain variants near suppliers. Review the decision when demand, service coverage or import conditions change, using the same auditable model.
Sources and verification links
Operational rules can change. Check the linked primary sources and confirm shipment-specific requirements before booking.
- CBP suspension of duty-free de minimis treatmentU.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Shopify fulfillment operationsShopify