Many 3PL providers use high onboarding fees (ranging from $1,000 to $5,000) as a strategic “switching cost” to lock e-commerce sellers into long-term contracts. These fees create “integration debt,” making it financially painful for brands to leave even when service quality is poor. This article explores why these upfront charges are a major red flag, signaling a lack of confidence in performance. We compare this to FBMFulfillment’s performance-based model, which avoids predatory fees and focuses on daily prorated storage and transparent pricing to help sellers scale without getting trapped.