Ever heard of a shed being delivered in stages over a fortnight, from four different suppliers? It’s more common than you’d think. And when that happens, it’s usually because of a delivery method known as ‘drop shipping’.
For anyone investing in a shed, the delivery process is more than a formality — it’s a crucial part of how smoothly your project will run. In this article, we’ll break down what actually happens during kitset shed delivery, look at the risks of drop shipping, and explain why we handle things differently at Alpine.
Quick Links:
- What to Expect When Your Kitset Shed is Delivered
- Drop Shipping vs Full Delivery: What’s the Real Difference?
- Why Quality Control Matters and What Can Go Wrong Without It
- The Alpine Approach: One Truck. One Delivery.
What to Expect When Your Kitset Shed is Delivered.
When you order a kitset shed, you’re expecting it to show up ready to build. But depending on the supplier, that expectation doesn’t always match reality.
Some companies rely on external manufacturers and freight services to send each part of the shed separately. It’s not uncommon for materials to arrive in several deliveries, across several days or weeks. For the customer, this can be confusing — and for the builder, it can delay the start of the project or interrupt the build partway through.
A smooth delivery means everything arrives together, well-organised, and ready to go.
Drop Shipping vs Full Delivery: What’s the Real Difference?
Drop shipping is a method where parts of your shed are sent directly from multiple third-party suppliers, often to save money up front. It can reduce handling costs for the shed company — which sometimes means a lower quote for you. However, while it may appear cheaper on paper, it often comes with compromises that ultimately cost more in the long run.
Here’s what can (and often does) go wrong with drop shipping:
- Items go missing. With different couriers and suppliers involved, parts can get lost or show up late.
- Delays stack up. One missing or damaged component can bring your whole build to a halt.
- Site clutter. Unscheduled drop-offs clutter the site and create confusion for your builder.
- No quality control. Materials arrive without being checked as a full set, increasing the chance of errors or damage.
- More time, more stress. You (or your builder) are left sorting through parts, chasing suppliers, and managing delivery chaos.
With full delivery, your entire kitset arrives together on one truck with every component checked and labelled to ensure there are no missing items. This allows your shed to be built straightaway, as you’re not waiting on other components to arrive or needing to replace missing items.
Why Quality Control Matters And What Can Go Wrong Without It.
A shed is only as good as the materials it’s built with, and if no one checks those materials before they arrive on your site, problems are almost guaranteed.
With drop shipping, shed components are often sent straight from the mill or manufacturer to your site. That might sound efficient, but when no one checks over the kitset components before delivery, you often end up with poor-quality materials or missing items.
- Wet, knotty or warped timber: Fresh off the mill, the timber hasn’t had time to settle or dry. That can lead to twisting or shrinkage on-site, making your builder’s job harder, and will give your shed an untidy finish.
- Damaged cladding: Iron cladding and flashings are easily dented or scratched in transit, especially when handled by general freight providers who aren’t used to shed components.
- Missing items: When items such as bolts, brackets, fasteners and flashings are packed by different suppliers, it’s easy for one small but crucial item to go missing.
These aren’t rare events. We often hear these stories from builders and clients who’ve had bad experiences on past projects—frustrated by delays, unexpected freight costs, and hours of wasted time due to issues that should’ve been picked up before anything was shipped.
That’s why Alpine has a thorough triple-checking process and takes full control of collating and packing your kitset shed. Every component is inspected, counted, and checked off by our team. We don’t ship anything we wouldn’t use ourselves. Because when you're building something to last, the details matter.
The Alpine Approach: One Truck. One Delivery. A Streamlined Process.
At Alpine, we take a full delivery approach because it’s the most reliable option for you and your builders.
The entire kitset is packed and dispatched from our own facility, where we can check each component for accuracy and quality. Your shed arrives on a single truck, with each component clearly labelled and ready to go. This saves time on site, makes life easier for your builder, and streamlines the build process to keep your project on track.
We believe it’s the right way to do things. It’s not about bells and whistles — just a solid, practical process that works.
Delivered Right. Built Better.
Drop shipping can work, but when it doesn’t, this creates unnecessary stress, wasted time, and added costs. That’s why we avoid it.
By delivering your complete kitset in one go, Alpine gives you a better start to your shed build. It’s a straightforward, efficient, and proven approach—refined through more than 5,000 successful Alpine shed projects.
From concept to completion, we make the process easy. Get in touch today.
