Interior Design Receiving Warehouses: What They Are + How To Find One
If you’re a new interior design business owner, you might hear the term “receiving warehouse” and wonder what it is and if you need one. And if so, where do you find one and who pays for the fees?
Don’t stress - I’m sharing all you need to know about interior design receiving warehouses.
What Is An Interior Design Receiving Warehouse?
A receiving warehouse for interior designers is just a large warehouse where you store your client’s furniture and items after they have been received from a trade vendor but before installation day.
You would use this receiving warehouse as the shipping address when you order your client’s furniture, items, and other products that will need to be stored. When your items show up, it is the receiving warehouse’s responsibility to check for damages and keep them safe until installation day at your client’s home. On installation day, you will pay movers from a white-glove delivery service to transport and install all of the items into your client’s home.
Do All Interior Designers Need A Receiving Warehouse?
Technically, no, but if you want to earn a 6-figure living in your business by offering full-service interior design, then yes. Not just full-service projects, but any project where you source items from a trade vendor and need to store them until the final install.
→ If you aren’t currently earning money from marking up your trade items, check out this post to learn how to-the-trade works, what a resale certificate is, and how you can make more money through trade markups.
Can I Skip The Receiving Warehouse And Ship Items To My Office?
When you source items from trade vendors, you typically need to ship to a commercial address. Some vendors will allow you to dropship smaller items to your client’s home, however, I DO NOT recommend this.
Not only are you risking the items being damaged by being unpacked and assembled by non-professionals (in contrast to a white-glove delivery service… more on that below), but you will also have to deal with storing the product until installation, transporting it, and discarding all of the packing materials.
What if the product was damaged in transit? What if it gets delivered while nobody is home and it gets left out in the rain or snow? What if the item is heavier than you expected and you have trouble moving it?
It’s just not worth all of the extra steps that would typically be handled by professionals in an interior design receiving warehouse.
What Is White-Glove Delivery Service?
“White-glove” is a premium delivery service that provides extra care and attention to your items. These movers are responsible for transporting, unpacking, assembling, and installing the products. They will also remove all packing materials and debris when finished so the finished space looks perfect.
Some receiving warehouses double as white-glove delivery, so they actually have moving trucks and employees who will do the moving for you. Other warehouses won’t include this, so you’ll have to research a separate delivery service to move your client’s product into the home. Either option will work for you - it depends what is available in your area.
Who Pays For The Interior Design Receiving Warehouse Fees?
You will build any shipping, receiving, transporting, and installation fees right into the cost of your services as an interior designer. Of course, you won’t know how much each fee will cost until you place a furniture order, but it should be outlined in your contract that the client is responsible for paying those fees. You will discuss the costs as they arise and once your client approves, you can place the furniture order.
If you are sourcing from a trade vendor: there will be fees associated with shipping, receiving, and white-glove delivery. You will charge your client for all of these costs, plus a markup on the trade items (learn more about this process here).
If you are sourcing from a retailer (such as Pottery Barn): there will only be fees associated with delivery, since the company will be in possession of the items until they need delivered. You will not charge your client any markup fees on these items.
How To Find An Interior Design Receiving Warehouse
For some new interior designers, a challenging task is finding a reliable receiving warehouse to store your furniture until it is ready to be installed in your client’s home. I personally got very lucky in my business - I was able to find a receiving warehouse in my town through a recommendation from another interior designer.
Not everyone is going to want to share their trade vendors, but I would highly recommend asking around in your business circle and doing a lot of research to find a trustworthy company. You can look into moving & delivery companies and see if they have any insight. Two nationwide companies that you could start with are Clark’s White Glove Delivery and Planes.
Your Next Steps
I hope this information was helpful for you, whether you’re brand new to the world of interior design or a seasoned designer who’s just starting your own business.
If you feel like you need more guidance on interior design receiving warehouses, or anything to do with running and scaling an interior design business to 6-figures, check out my group for interior designers called Design Business Secrets+.
Inside this exclusive group, you’ll get tons of valuable content to help you launch and run your own business: expertly crafted lessons, templates and scripts to use with clients, and priority access to my personal feedback.
I’ll guide you each step of the way on this journey!