International
US fulfillment for international brands
If you are selling into the United States from somewhere else, you need a base here. We like being that base — and we ship the other way too.
Minimus Fulfillment acts as a United States base for brands headquartered elsewhere: we receive imported inventory about an hour from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, hold it, ship domestic orders, handle US returns, and prep goods for Amazon. International work is a real part of what we do rather than an occasional exception — between 20% and 30% of our shipments go international.
Why shipping from home stops working
Most brands selling into the United States start by shipping each order from their own country. It works until it doesn’t, and it usually stops working for the same three reasons at once: transit times that make customers hesitate at checkout, per-order international postage that eats the margin, and returns that are effectively impossible because no American customer is going to ship a parcel overseas to get $40 back.
Holding inventory in the US fixes all three at the same time. One import shipment replaces hundreds of international parcels, delivery drops to a day or two, and returns become a domestic address.
What we do for brands based outside the US
- Import receiving near the ports. About an hour from Los Angeles and Long Beach. Containers are delivered, unloaded, counted against your packing list, inspected and put away without a cross-country leg first.
- Domestic fulfillment. Your US orders ship domestically, same day on orders in by 9:00am Pacific, or on our discounted 3-day program if speed is not the point.
- A US returns address. Received, inspected to your criteria, restocked or disposed of as you direct.
- Amazon prep on arrival. FNSKU labeling, polybagging, bundling and expiration date marking done here, before goods are forwarded to Amazon.
- Retail and wholesale support if you land a US retailer, including routing-guide labeling, pallet building and freight.
- Customer service in your brand’s voice, staffed on site, so your American customers are answered during American hours. More on that
- Packaging sourced domestically, which is often cheaper than shipping empty cartons across an ocean.
What we are not
We are the warehouse, not the importer. Customs clearance, duties and the importer-of-record role sit with you or with a broker or IOR service you appoint, and questions about US entities and tax are for your accountant. We work alongside whoever handles those, and we are happy to describe how other brands have structured it — but we will not pretend to be your customs advisor.
Going the other way: outbound international
The same capability runs in reverse for US-based brands. Between 20% and 30% of our shipments go outside the country, handled through an international consolidator rather than order-by-order on a standard international service. For lower-volume international demand the difference in cost is substantial, and it is usually the thing that makes an international channel viable at all.
| Order-by-order international | Consolidated | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Each order goes out on a standard international carrier service | Orders are aggregated and moved together, then injected into the destination network |
| Cost per order | High, and often unpredictable with duties and handling | Materially lower at volume |
| Best for | Occasional one-off international orders | A real, recurring international channel |
Who we do this for
Brands of every size, in most consumer categories, including launches for some of the largest and most followed celebrities in the world. Almost all of it is under non-disclosure, so we do not publish names — but the work is not theoretical.
A note on why we like this work
Brands entering the US from abroad are usually doing something hard with less support than they deserve, in a time zone that makes everything slower. Being the people on the ground who actually answer is a role we enjoy, and it tends to produce the longest relationships we have.
Common questions
Can a brand outside the United States use a US 3PL?
Yes, and most brands selling into the US end up doing exactly that. Shipping individual orders internationally from your home country is slow and expensive, and customers abandon carts over both. Holding inventory in the United States and shipping domestically solves it. What you need is a US facility willing to receive your imports, hold your stock and ship your orders — and willing to talk to you at awkward hours.
Do you ship internationally as well?
Yes — between 20% and 30% of our shipments leave the United States. Outbound international orders go through a consolidator, which is usually far more economical than putting each order on a standard international carrier service.
Can you receive a container arriving at the Port of Los Angeles or Long Beach?
Yes, and our location is genuinely useful here. We are about an hour from both ports, so a container can be delivered, unloaded, counted against your packing list, inspected, prepped and put away without a cross-country leg first.
Are you the importer of record?
No. We are the warehouse and fulfillment operation, not the importer. Import clearance, duties and the importer-of-record role sit with you or with a customs broker or IOR service you appoint. We work alongside whichever party you use, and we can talk through how other brands have structured it.
Do we need a US entity to work with you?
Not to store and ship goods with us. You will likely need one for other reasons — selling on certain marketplaces, taking payments, importing — but that is a question for your accountant and customs advisor rather than your 3PL. We can tell you what we have seen other brands do.
Can you handle returns from US customers?
Yes. A US returns address is one of the main reasons international brands want a domestic 3PL: asking a customer to ship a return overseas effectively kills the return, and the review that follows is worse than the refund. We receive returns, inspect them against your criteria, and restock, quarantine or dispose according to your rules.
What about the time difference?
We are in the Pacific time zone, which is inconvenient for most of the world, and we know it. In practice it works because you deal with people rather than a ticket queue — you can reach someone who knows your account, and we will sort the timing out between us.
Can you prep imported goods for Amazon?
Yes. FNSKU labeling, polybagging, bundling, expiration date marking and shipment plan creation, done on arrival before the goods are forwarded to Amazon. Doing it at the port end rather than after an inland leg saves both time and freight.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Selling into the US, or trying to?
Tell us where you are, what you make and roughly what volume you expect. We will tell you what it would take to run it from here — including the parts that are not our job.