Working through this with us?
Four questions about where you are, and it tells you where to start shipping from: your own table, a warehouse, or a warehouse from day one. Plus the trigger that tells you when to switch.
Self-ship first is the default for almost everyone: it is the cheapest way to ship at low volume and it teaches you what an order costs, what breaks and what customers say.
A 3PL from day one is the answer when you cannot pack from where you live, or the product needs cold or special handling. It costs more per order and it is still the right call.
Dropship and Amazon FBA are channels you can add later. Neither one is a home base: you give up the box, the customer, or both.
The graduate trigger is the plain rule that tells you when to switch, written down before it happens, so the switch is a plan and not a panic.
Weighing retail against commercial postage? The Postage Gap. When does a warehouse pay off? The 3PL Crossover.