MovieMars started in 2004 as a home-based eBay operation in Charlotte, North Carolina. Today, it is one of the largest physical media retailers in the country and one of the most active users of international shipping for media retailers operating at scale. With more than 500,000 unique titles across DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, and books, and more than 25 million items shipped, MovieMars serves individual buyers and independent record stores across multiple major online marketplaces worldwide.
The company built its reputation on breadth and price with the widest possible selection at competitive rates, with free domestic shipping rather than speed alone. That model works at scale. It also creates specific demands on a shipping partner.
A niche that outlasted the conventional wisdom
Physical media was supposed to disappear. Streaming arrived, digital downloads grew, and most retailers pivoted or exited. MovieMars did the opposite: it doubled down on the catalog, the format, and the customer who still wants to own what they listen to and watch. Thousands of records ship from MovieMars every day. Record stores treat it as a back-catalog resource. Collectors trust it for titles that simply aren't available anywhere else.
The partnership supports more than direct-to-consumer orders. Record stores regularly turn to MovieMars when customers are searching for titles they can't find on the shelf, relying on the company's broad catalog, global supplier relationships, and ability to source harder-to-find media products. That staying power required a logistics infrastructure that could keep up and a shipping partner that understood the economics of high-volume, low-margin media.
International as a growth lever
Cross-border shipping is not a secondary channel for MovieMars. It is a meaningful part of how the business grows. When MovieMars began working with ePost Global, the UK became one of its strongest international lanes. ePost's pricing and delivery reliability helped drive significant volume growth in that market. Canada, Germany, Australia, and Ireland are also active destinations.
Much of what MovieMars ships internationally is product originally manufactured in the UK and Canada, imported to the US and sold back into those markets. That makes competitive landed cost and reliable delivery not just useful, but structurally important.
Agile when it matters
When EU VAT rules changed and IOSS registration became required for sellers shipping into Europe, MovieMars needed a partner that could implement quickly and keep European orders moving without disruption. ePost was first.
"ePost was the first to be like, hey, look, this is here and this is what you need to do," says Brian Marzano, CEO of MovieMars. "We figured it out pretty quickly with you guys. You guys had a solution in place fast for us."
When IOSS changed the rules for cross-border shipping, ePost helped MovieMars implement a solution quickly, allowing the team to adapt and maintain continuity for international customers while other providers were still catching up.
That responsiveness is the through-line in how Brian describes the relationship. Where larger logistics providers move slowly bound by process, scale, and competing priorities, ePost operates differently.
"There are some larger corporations that are like trying to steer a massive cruise liner versus a speedboat," he says.
A partnership, not just a provider
What Brian values most isn't any single capability. It's the ongoing advisory relationship with Doug, ePost's account contact, who surfaces regulatory changes before they become operational problems.
"The biggest thing I would say is just the partnership. Doug will email me and be like, hey, have you seen this? Do you know this is coming?"
That proactive communication means MovieMars isn't caught off guard when rules shift in key markets. For a retailer selling into multiple countries with different customs, VAT, and compliance requirements, early warning has real operational value. Doug has also visited MovieMars' office in person to understand their process directly. This is the kind of investment that reflects a working partnership, not a transactional one.
"Doug has been extremely helpful with all of this. And even swung into our office to visit and get to know our process a little bit."
When issues do arise on the billing or logistics side, they're resolved internally before they reach the customer.
"I like that it doesn't impact our customers. That I'm able to address it internally and manage it for them."
What the partnership makes possible
MovieMars built its business on the premise that physical media still matters. The right title, at the right price, is delivered reliably. The logistics layer has to be invisible and dependable. ePost Global provides the international shipping infrastructure media retailers require at scale, broad carrier access, cross-border routing, and the regulatory fluency that a high-volume seller like MovieMars depends on.
MovieMars ships thousands of items daily. Most of them arrive without incident. For MovieMars, that means having a partner who is responsive when issues arise, proactive when regulations shift, and equipped to help keep international delivery reliable for both customers and the record stores that depend on them.
