FBA Prep: What It Is, Amazon's Rules and Who Does It Now

What FBA prep is

FBA prep covers everything that happens to your products between the factory and an Amazon fulfillment center’s receiving dock. Some of the work is per unit, some per carton:

• Per unit: inspect and count, bag or bubble wrap where required, bundle and label sets, apply a barcode label, add expiration dates.
• Per carton: cover old barcodes, pack to Amazon’s size and weight limits, weigh and measure, apply an FBA Box ID label to each box.

The rules come from Amazon’s product packaging requirements, and a unit that falls under more than one category has to meet every one that applies. A set of shampoo and conditioner, for example, needs the liquids prep and a set label.

Amazon stopped prepping for US sellers on January 1, 2026

Amazon used to prep and label units that arrived without it, for a fee. It ended that service for US FBA shipments on January 1, 2026, covering inventory sent straight to FBA and inventory that reaches FBA through Amazon Warehousing and Distribution, Amazon Global Logistics, Amazon SEND and Supply Chain Portal. Shipments created after that date that arrive without proper prep and labeling are not eligible for reimbursement if damaged or untraceable.

The packaging rules add the rest. Amazon may refuse, return or repackage non-compliant units at your expense, and it can add prep requirements to a product after damage-related returns. The safety net is gone, so prep has to be right before the truck leaves.

Amazon’s prep rules by product type

Product type	Required prep	Detail
Fragile or glass	Bubble wrap; over-box if it fails a 3-foot drop test	Boxed units over 10 lb need double-wall corrugated
Apparel, fabric, plush, textiles	Poly bag	Normal hangers removed
Small items, longest side under 2 inches	Poly bag	Keeps them findable
Powders, pellets, granular products	Poly bag	If they spill when shaken
Liquids	Cap seal on spray bottles; bag hazmat liquids	Hazmat liquids in glass over 4.2 oz also need over-boxing
Sets and multi-packs	Sealed together, labeled as a set	“Sold as set” or “This is a set. Do not separate.”
Sharp items	Cut- and puncture-resistant packaging	Bubble wrap does not count
Adult products	Opaque bag or shrink wrap	Barcode on the outside
Expiration-dated products	Date on each unit and on the outer box	MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY, 36-point on the box
Loose multi-piece items	One secure package	Nothing Amazon would have to assemble

Two more rules catch sellers who ship from a retail setup: no pre-priced labels, price tags or marketing flyers, and no theft-prevention devices on the product. Perishables are not accepted at all.

Poly bag rules

Amazon’s bagging requirements are specific. The bag must be at least 1.5 mil thick, fully enclose the item, be sealed with tape or an adhesive strip, and extend no more than 3 inches past the product. It must be clear enough for the barcode to scan through, or carry the barcode on the outside. Any bag with an opening of 5 inches or more, measured flat, needs a printed or labeled suffocation warning in Amazon’s exact wording, at 10 to 24 point depending on the bag’s size.

Unit labels and barcodes

Every unit needs one exterior barcode that Amazon can scan: either the manufacturer barcode (UPC, EAN, JAN or ISBN) or an Amazon FNSKU label, which starts with an X. Amazon’s barcode requirements changed on March 31, 2026: brand owners can keep using manufacturer barcodes without stickers, while resellers must use Amazon barcodes even when a manufacturer barcode exists.

Each FNSKU must map to one product, so every size, color and condition gets its own. Labels go on a flat face, never on a corner or curve. Old barcodes on the outside of shipping boxes must be removed, covered with opaque tape or blacked out, so receiving scans the right one.

Carton rules for shipments into Amazon

Amazon’s shipping and routing requirements cap standard boxes at 36 by 25 by 25 inches and 50 lb, unless a box holds a single oversize item, which then needs Team Lift labels. Every box needs its own FBA Box ID label, and each pallet needs 4 pallet labels, one per side. Pack with 2 inches of cushioning, and never use pallet-sized gaylord boxes.

Case packs from the manufacturer get lighter treatment: one SKU and condition per box, the same quantity in every box, and no more than 150 units per case.

The FBA prep process, step by step

1. Receive and count the inbound against the purchase order or ship notice, and log shortages and damage.
2. Inspect a sample of units for defects and packaging damage before any labor goes into them.
3. Prep each unit to its category: bag, wrap, seal or bundle.
4. Label each unit with its barcode and add expiration dates where needed.
5. Pack cartons within the size and weight limits, one SKU per box where you can.
6. Label cartons with FBA Box ID labels and cover any old barcodes.
7. Ship or hold: send the shipment to its assigned fulfillment center, or hold prepped stock and release it in smaller shipments.

Who should do the prep

Route	Fits when	Watch for
In house	Small catalog, steady volume, simple products, spare space	Labor at peak; one untrained temp can fail a whole shipment
3PL or prep center	Volume swings, bagged or fragile products, stock already at a 3PL	Who pays when a shipment is refused for their error
Factory	Manufacturer can follow a written spec, large repeat runs	An error arrives a container at a time

A 3PL that already runs your DTC or wholesale orders is the natural candidate, because the stock is already in its building. The prep questions belong in the same RFP you use when choosing a 3PL: error rate per unit and how it is measured, which barcode they apply by default, turnaround from receipt to shipment, and who books freight into Amazon.

What FBA prep costs

Prep is billed like any other 3PL fee: per unit for labels, bags and wrap, per carton for packing and box labels, and sometimes per hour for rework. For reference, Amazon’s own fees before it stopped were $0.55 a unit for labeling, $0.70 for bagging and $1.04 for bubble wrap on a standard-size item.

Running FBA prep and DTC from one 3PL

Many brands keep one inventory pool at a 3PL and send Amazon only what it needs. The 3PL ships DTC and wholesale orders from the pool, preps a slice for FBA each week or two, and holds the rest. This drip-feed keeps less stock in FBA, where Amazon bills storage on cubic feet and adds a surcharge past 181 days, and it means one count of your inventory instead of two.

The 3PL’s WMS has to keep the two apart: units labeled with an FNSKU are committed to Amazon and should not be picked for a DTC order, while unlabeled stock stays available for every channel.