How Free Freight Changes Your Resale Margins

“Free shipping” sounds like marketing. On freight-class goods it is a structural margin change. Here is the actual math.

What freight really costs

LTL pallet shipments run $180–$450+ depending on lane, class, and liftgate; full truckloads run $1,200–$3,000+. On a $600 pallet, a $300 freight bill is a 50% cost increase before you sell a single piece.

The per-unit view

That $300 freight on a 500-piece pallet adds $0.60 to every piece. If your average piece resells at $3.40, freight alone ate 18% of revenue. Free-freight pricing moves that 18% back into your margin — or lets you win on price against sellers who are still paying it.

Why suppliers can offer it

Volume shippers book lanes at rates individual buyers never see, and pricing freight into the listing keeps comparisons honest: one number, delivered. That is how we run every load — free to all 50 states, liftgate included on pallets.

Buyer takeaway

Always compare landed cost. A “cheaper” pallet plus real-world freight loses to a free-freight listing more often than the sticker suggests. Run the numbers with our cost-per-unit method.