Amazon FBA Prep Guide

A prep center (FBA prep service) receives your goods from a factory or supplier and does the work Amazon won't do for you:

• Labeling: applies FNSKU labels to each unit where your listing requires Amazon barcodes.
• Protective prep: poly bagging, bubble wrap, boxing fragile items, taping sets.
• Bundling: combining several units into one sellable ASIN, marked "sold as set".
• Carton build: packs units into compliant shipping boxes and applies box labels.
• Shipping in: creates or executes the inbound shipment to Amazon's fulfillment centers.

Some prep centers do only this. Many DTC 3PLs do it as one service among others, which matters if you sell on Shopify and Amazon from the same stock.

Amazon discontinued US FBA prep and item labeling services effective January 1, 2026, covering inventory sent to US FBA directly or through AWD, AGL, Amazon SEND or Supply Chain Portal. Shipments created before that date kept the service; shipments created afterward without the required prep aren't eligible for reimbursement if the inventory is damaged or deemed untraceable, according to Amazon's announcement as reported by Supply Chain Dive.

You need a prep center or 3PL doing prep if:

• Your factory ships bulk cartons that aren't labeled or packed to Amazon's rules.
• Your products need poly bags, bubble wrap or bundling.
• You split one import between Amazon and other channels.

You may not if your manufacturer ships Amazon-ready cartons directly, or your products qualify for Amazon's Ships in Product Packaging program and use manufacturer barcodes.

Check Seller Central's current packaging and prep pages before every new SKU. These rules change. The core requirements as reported for 2026:

Requirement	Rule
Inbound box size	Standard max 36 x 25 x 25 inches, 50 lb (effective June 20, 2025)
Unit barcode	Manufacturer barcode by default for eligible products; FNSKU when Amazon or your account settings require it
Poly bags	Suffocation warning if the opening is 5 inches or larger measured flat
Expiration-dated items	Date shown as MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY in 36 pt or larger on the carton, and visible on each unit
Removal	Units within 50 days of expiry are removed for disposal

On minimum shelf life at receipt, eComEngine's seller guide cites more than 90 days remaining; confirm the current figure on Amazon's "Expiration dates on FBA products" page. Non-compliant shipments risk refusal, repackaging fees or lost reimbursement eligibility.

Often, yes. Among the providers we track, eFulfillment Service, Fulfillrite, Fulfyld, OC3PL, ShipBob, ShipCalm, ShipMonk, Simpl Fulfillment, Thrive 3PL, Tondo Fulfillment and Flexport all list Amazon FBA prep among their services.

Running DTC and FBA from one 3PL means one inbound from your factory; the 3PL ships DTC orders from its stock and sends prepped cartons to Amazon as you need them. The trade-off is that the 3PL's prep quality now affects your Amazon account health.

What to ask:

1. Do you prep to the current Amazon spec, and who pays if Amazon charges for non-compliance?
2. Do you create the inbound shipment in my Seller Central, or do I?
3. How fast can you turn a replenishment request into a shipped carton?
4. Do you ship small-parcel or LTL into Amazon, and on whose carrier account?
5. Can you enforce Amazon's shelf-life rules for expiring SKUs before they ship in?
6. What does prep cost per unit (label, bag, bundle) and per carton?

A workable replenishment loop:

1. Set reorder points per ASIN from Amazon's restock recommendations and your lead time to the 3PL plus Amazon's check-in time.
2. Send a replenishment request to the 3PL: ASIN, FNSKU, quantity, prep type, carton configuration.
3. 3PL preps and packs to your spec and sends you carton weights and dimensions.
4. Create the inbound plan in Seller Central (or let the 3PL do it with delegated access) and get box labels.
5. 3PL ships and sends tracking; you watch receiving in Seller Central.
6. Reconcile what Amazon received against what the 3PL shipped. File discrepancy cases inside Amazon's window.

Keep a buffer at the 3PL for DTC orders so an FBA transfer never leaves your own site out of stock.

• Wrong barcode on the unit. FNSKU applied over the wrong ASIN, or a manufacturer barcode left exposed when the listing needs FNSKU. Units get commingled or stranded.
• Mixed expiry in one box. For expiring goods, keep one expiration date per box. Otherwise the whole carton can be received under the wrong date.
• Oversized cartons. Boxes over the standard maximum trigger fees or refusal.
• No shelf-life check. Short-dated lots ship in and get removed at the 50-day mark. See lot tracking and FEFO.
• Receiving shortfalls. Amazon receives fewer units than shipped, and nobody files the case.

If you're deciding between FBA and a 3PL for your DTC orders, see 3PL vs FBA for DTC brands.