If you are outside the United States and want to run a US high-ticket store, the entity is not a formality. It is the whole gate. US suppliers want a US company with a US address and an EIN before they will discuss an authorized dealer agreement, and US payment processors want the same. That is the problem Firstbase is built around.
This is how I would use Firstbase, the two requirements on its own pricing page that change what the headline price means, and the arithmetic nobody puts in front of you. Every price and quoted phrase below comes from Firstbase’s own pricing page, plus published pages from the IRS, Dun & Bradstreet and the SBA, all read on 29 September 2026. Where something is my opinion or my own addition, I say so.
I am not a lawyer or an accountant and none of this is legal or tax advice. Which entity type suits you, and what forming a US company means for your tax position where you live, are questions for a professional in both jurisdictions.
I run Ecommerce Paradise from Bali and I have been on the non-US side of this problem, which is why this article is written for that reader rather than for someone in Ohio. If the model is new to you, start with what high-ticket dropshipping actually is.
Form a US Company From Anywhere
Firstbase’s Start bundle is listed at $99, reduced from $399, and includes company formation in Delaware or Wyoming plus expedited EIN setup. Its page cites 30,000+ companies incorporated across 190+ countries.
Two Requirements That Change the Price
Firstbase’s pricing page carries two statements that matter more than any headline figure, and they sit in different places on the page so it is easy to read one and miss the other.
Under the Start bundle: registered agent services are required for incorporation. Under Mailroom: a US address is required for incorporation.
Read those together. The $99 Start bundle is not a complete incorporation on its own, because the two things Firstbase’s page describes as required for incorporation are sold separately. That is not a trick, it is how the product is structured, and Firstbase says so on the page. But it means the comparison you are actually making is not $99 against anything.
Here is my own addition of Firstbase’s published figures, which is arithmetic rather than a package they sell. Start at $99, plus Registered Agent at $299 annually per state, plus Mailroom Basic at $315 annually, comes to $713 in year one. Swap in Mailroom Premium at $350 annually and it is $748. Both figures are before state fees.
One thing I genuinely cannot resolve for you: the Start bundle lists zero filing fees for all required documents, and it is ambiguous whether that covers the state’s own fee or only Firstbase’s handling of the filings. The wording does not settle it. Ask before you buy rather than assuming either way.
You Can Form in Delaware or Wyoming
The Start bundle describes company formation in Delaware or Wyoming. Two states, not fifty.
My impression is that this is not a limitation for most people building a US store from abroad, but it is a constraint and you should know about it before you decide, particularly if a professional has told you a different state suits your situation.
I am not going to tell you which of the two to pick. That is a tax and legal question that depends on where you live, where you will have any physical presence, and how you plan to take money out. Ask someone qualified in both your country and the US, and ask before you file rather than after.
Registered Agent is priced at $299 annually per state, and the page notes foreign qualification is available in all 50 states. Note the per-state wording: if a professional tells you that you need to register in a second state, that means a second registered agent bill.
The EIN Question, Honestly
Start includes expedited Tax ID, meaning EIN, setup. Here is the context that matters.
The IRS states plainly that you never have to pay a fee for an EIN, and that if the application is approved it issues the EIN immediately online.
For a US founder that would make a paid EIN service hard to justify. For a non-US founder it usually is not, and this is the one place in the formation category where the paid service is solving a real problem rather than selling convenience.
The reason is specific. The IRS requires the responsible party’s Social Security number or individual taxpayer ID number for the online application. If you have neither, the immediate online route is not simply available to you. The IRS also notes that a third-party designee must have signed authorization to apply, which is the mechanism a service uses on your behalf.
So the honest version is this: if you hold an SSN or ITIN, the free self-service route is available to you and the paid service is buying convenience. If you do not, an expedited EIN service is solving a real obstacle, and that is a large part of what Firstbase is selling. Which of those trades you want is your call; I only think you should make it knowing both sides. That is my read rather than Firstbase’s claim.
One planning detail either way: the IRS states you can apply for only one EIN per responsible party per day, and the online application has hours. Eastern time it runs Monday to Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. the next day, Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.
Have the Whole Store Built For You
My done-for-you builds cover the store, the suppliers and the foundations underneath them, which is the harder half of running a US store from outside the US.
Step 1: Work Out Whether You Need the Bundle or the Pieces
Firstbase sells a $99 one-off bundle and a $199 a month subscription, and they are for genuinely different situations.
Firstbase One is listed at $199 monthly or $2388 yearly, described as a 45% discount, and bundles Mailroom Premium with a $350 stated value, Registered Agent at $299, Accounting at $1,890 and Tax Filing at $1,799. Add those four stated values and you are looking at a bundle priced well below the sum of its parts.
Whether that is a good deal depends entirely on whether you would buy the Accounting and Tax Filing at all, because they are the two largest values in it. Standalone, Accounting is listed at $599 monthly or $5990 annually for the tier shown, which covered a $50,000 to $75,000 monthly expense level, since Firstbase prices it by expense level. Tax Filing is $1,799 annually per package for C-Corps and multi-member LLCs, or $899 annually per package for non-US owned single-member LLCs.
My own read, and it is mine: a first store with no revenue does not need $599 a month of bookkeeping. The pieces route, Start plus Registered Agent plus the cheaper Mailroom, is the shape that matches a business that has not sold anything yet. Revisit Firstbase One when there is enough activity that bookkeeping is a real job.
The non-US owned single-member LLC tax package at $899 is worth noting separately, because it tells you Firstbase treats that structure as a served segment rather than an edge case. Whether it is the right structure for you is, again, a question for a professional.
Step 2: Sort the Address Before Anything Else
Since the page states a US address is required for incorporation, this is the step that gates the rest.
Mailroom Basic is $35 monthly or $315 annually, a 25% saving. Mailroom Premium is $50 monthly or $350 annually, described as 40% off, and includes premium addresses in New York City, San Francisco or Florida.
The difference between them on a store is mostly optics. A premium city address reads differently on a dealer application than a generic one, and whether that is worth $35 a year to you is a judgement call. What matters more is that the address is real, that mail actually reaches you, and that it is the same address on every form afterwards.
That last point is the one that costs people time. Your entity name, your US address, your EIN and your business phone number will appear on dealer applications, W-9s, resale certificates, your bank onboarding and your website footer, and in my experience they need to match exactly. Write down the canonical version the day you incorporate.
Step 3: The Bank Account and What It Unlocks
The Start bundle includes business bank account assistance, which is the step most non-US founders find hardest on their own.
Once the account exists, the rest of the stack opens up. Payment processors want to see it. Suppliers want to see a company that looks like it banks somewhere real. And you can finally stop running business money through a personal account, which is what makes the bookkeeping legible when someone qualified eventually looks at it.
Then start the free business-credit foundation, because it has a long lead time. Dun & Bradstreet states there is no cost to request and receive a D-U-N-S Number, and that normal processing can take up to 30 business days, with a paid expedited option delivering within eight business days. D&B does not publish the expedite fee on that page.
Six weeks is a long time to wait when a supplier has asked, which is why I would request it the week the entity exists. The reason it matters for a store rather than for a loan is that per the SBA’s guidance, with business credit, banks, suppliers, vendors, retailers and other businesses will be able to assess your company’s creditworthiness. Once there is a file, the Nav walkthrough covers monitoring it.
Step 4: Compliance You Now Own
Forming a company creates obligations that arrive on a schedule whether you are paying attention or not.
Firstbase’s Registered Agent at $299 annually per state includes automated compliance reminders and annual report filings, which is part of what you are paying for beyond the requirement Firstbase’s page describes.
On tax, Tax Filing is $1,799 annually per package for C-Corps and multi-member LLCs and $899 annually for non-US owned single-member LLCs, with catch-up bookkeeping available as an add-on. Whether you need that, and what your filing obligations actually are as a non-resident owner of a US entity, is exactly the question to take to a cross-border accountant rather than to a website.
Sales tax is a separate product with custom pricing for startups up to $5M ARR and for scale-ups above that, and Firstbase says all plans include automatic updates for tax rate changes and filing requirement updates. For a high-ticket store shipping across state lines this is a genuine future problem rather than a day-one one, but it is worth knowing the product exists before it becomes urgent.
What I Would Not Buy Yet
Firstbase’s catalogue runs well beyond formation and most of it is for a funded startup rather than a first store.
Accounting, listed at $599 monthly or $5990 annually for the expense tier shown, is real human-managed bookkeeping and it is priced accordingly. On a store with no transactions yet, that is the single easiest way to spend money on nothing.
Mailroom Premium over Basic is a $35 annual difference for a better-looking address. Nice, not urgent.
The VC discovery access and the stated $350K+ in deals and rewards inside Start are a bonus rather than a reason to buy. Credits are only worth something if you were going to use the tools anyway.
Sales Tax, until you have sales. That is not a criticism of the product, it is sequencing.
What Year One Actually Costs
| Line item | Firstbase’s published figure |
|---|---|
| Start bundle | $99 one-time, shown reduced from $399 |
| Registered Agent | $299 annually per state, described as required for incorporation |
| Mailroom Basic | $35 monthly or $315 annually |
| Mailroom Premium | $50 monthly or $350 annually |
| Firstbase One bundle | $199 monthly or $2388 yearly |
| Accounting | $599 monthly or $5990 annually, varying by expense level |
| Tax Filing, C-Corp or multi-member LLC | $1,799 annually per package |
| Tax Filing, non-US owned single-member LLC | $899 annually per package |
| Sales Tax | Custom pricing at both tiers |
| State fees | Separate; whether Start’s zero filing fees covers them is unclear, so ask |
My own arithmetic on the minimum viable route, adding Firstbase’s published figures rather than quoting a package: Start at $99 plus Registered Agent at $299 plus Mailroom Basic at $315 annually is $713 for year one, before state fees. That is the number to compare against alternatives, not $99. I have gone through the tiers in more detail in my Firstbase pricing guide.
Where This Sits in the Bigger Picture
For a non-US founder, the entity and the US address are the gate, and getting through it feels like progress because it is genuinely hard. It is still not the thing that makes a store work.
What makes a store work is selling something people want at a margin that survives freight. If that is unsettled, my high-ticket niches list is where to start.
Then suppliers, which is the real bottleneck and doubly so when you are applying from outside the US. I wrote a whole guide to finding high-ticket suppliers about it.
The wider sequencing of the foundational pieces sits in business formation for high-ticket dropshipping. The paperwork those supplier applications generate is covered separately in how I handle supplier documents.
The Whole Thing, in Order
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Talk to an accountant in your own country and one in the US before you incorporate anything |
| 2 | Confirm whether Start’s zero filing fees covers your state’s fee, since the wording is ambiguous |
| 3 | Budget Start plus registered agent plus a mailroom, not the $99 alone |
| 4 | Pick Delaware or Wyoming knowing those are the two options in the Start bundle |
| 5 | Sort the US address, since the page states one is required for incorporation |
| 6 | Incorporate, then get the EIN, using the service if you have no SSN or ITIN |
| 7 | Use the included bank account assistance and get the account open |
| 8 | Request the free D-U-N-S number immediately, allowing up to 30 business days |
| 9 | Write down the canonical entity name, US address and phone, and reuse it everywhere |
| 10 | Diarise the registered agent renewal and find out your annual report deadline |
Step 1 is the one people skip and it is the only one on the list with consequences in two tax systems.
Get the US Entity Sorted
Start is $99 one-time with expedited EIN setup and bank account assistance. Firstbase’s page describes a registered agent and a US address as required for incorporation; its Registered Agent is $299 a year and its Mailroom starts at $315 a year.
Six Mistakes to Avoid
Reading $99 as the cost of incorporating. Firstbase’s own page says registered agent services and a US address are required for incorporation, and both are priced separately.
Assuming state fees are covered. Start lists zero filing fees for all required documents, which does not clearly settle whether the state’s own fee is included. Ask.
Expecting a choice of all fifty states. The Start bundle describes formation in Delaware or Wyoming.
Buying Firstbase One before you have transactions. Its value is mostly Accounting and Tax Filing. Both are real services and neither does anything for a store with no sales.
Buying the EIN service without knowing the IRS charges nothing. The IRS says you never have to pay a fee and issues it immediately online if approved. Pay for the service by choice, and note that having no SSN or ITIN is a genuine reason to, not a sales line.
Letting the US address drift. It goes on dealer applications, your bank onboarding and your footer. Pick the canonical format once.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Firstbase cost?
The Start bundle is listed at $99 one-time, shown reduced from $399. Firstbase One is $199 monthly or $2388 yearly. Registered Agent is $299 annually per state, and Mailroom is $35 monthly or $315 annually for Basic and $50 monthly or $350 annually for Premium.
Is $99 all I pay to incorporate?
No. Firstbase’s page states registered agent services are required for incorporation and that a US address is required for incorporation, and both are priced separately.
Which states can I form in?
The Start bundle describes company formation in Delaware or Wyoming.
Does Firstbase work for non-US founders?
Its page cites 30,000+ companies incorporated across 190+ countries, and it prices a tax filing package specifically for non-US owned single-member LLCs at $899 annually.
Is the EIN included?
Start includes expedited Tax ID, meaning EIN, setup. Separately, the IRS states you never have to pay a fee for an EIN and issues it immediately online if approved, though the online application requires the responsible party’s SSN or ITIN.
What does the registered agent include?
$299 annually per state, covering all 50 states, with foreign qualification available in all 50 states, automated compliance reminders and annual report filings.
What is in Firstbase One?
Mailroom Premium at a stated $350 value, Registered Agent at $299, Accounting at $1,890 and Tax Filing at $1,799, for $199 monthly or $2388 yearly.
What does tax filing cost?
$1,799 annually per package for C-Corps and multi-member LLCs, or $899 annually per package for non-US owned single-member LLCs, with catch-up bookkeeping available as an add-on.
Are state fees included?
Unclear from the page. Start lists zero filing fees for all required documents, which does not plainly state whether the state’s own fee is covered. Confirm with Firstbase before you buy.
Should I form a US company if I live abroad?
That is a cross-border tax and legal question with consequences where you live as well as in the US. Ask a qualified professional in both places. This article is not legal or tax advice.
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Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
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