Sending items into Amazon for FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) can be an easy process once you know the general rules.

If your an experienced Amazon FBA seller than you probably know a lot of these rules, but if you’re a new Amazon seller than you might be surprised by our Amazon FBA Prep Guide

Amazon FBA Prep Basics

Let’s breakdown some of the most basics elements and processes to be mindful of when completing shipments to the Amazon FBA warehouse.

Box Weight

Amazon just dropped some important news (December 2018) on box weight and how they will enforce it and other parameters of the Amazon FBA prep process for 3rd party sellers.  There was always a weight limit of 50lbs on single boxes of items going into the Amazon FBA warehouses but Amazon didn’t always enforce it.

Well they are now.

Labeling Products

1. Every item you send in must have a scannable barcode on it
2. All other barcodes on the item must be crossed (Amazon employees shouldn’t have to struggle to determine which barcode is the correct one)
3. The FNSKU must be unique to your product and match the product you are attempting to sell from the Amazon catalog

Loose Item Products

1. You cannot ship in products that require assembly or are not in secure packaging
2. If you the product is not in secure packaging then it needs to bagged or secured with a non-adhesive band or removable tape.

Selling Items as a Set

If you are bundling different items then you have to make that very clear to Amazon on the outside of the box so that the Amazon FBA warehouse employees don’t break the items apart looking for barcodes, etc.

You have three options below to mark the packaging so that Amazon knows it is a set or bundle.  You also need to place the barcode on the outside of the packaging and NOT the shipping box.  We recommend buying some pre-made stickers for this to speed up your workflows.

1. Sold as Set
2. Ready to Ship
3. This is a set.  Do not separate.

Boxed Units (think granola bars)

1. Must be six sided and not easily open or collapse with medium pressure applied
2. Must pass a 3 foot drop test if the box contains perforated edges

Poly-bagged Units

There is a lot of debate whether or not if you should or should not polybag your FBA items.  But the general rule of thumb is that if the profit margin on the item is high then it’s worth protecting it in a poly bag that costs less than $.25 cents.

If you are going to poly bag any items then here are some rules.

1. Poly bags with a 5-inch opening or larger (measured when flat) must have a suffocation warning
2. The polybag must be transparent and the suffocation warning must be in a big font and in a prominent location on the bag
3. The polybag should protrude past 3 inches of the edge of the product and they must be sealed

Case Packed Products (think a box filled with a lot of the same sku)

Case packed items are the bread and butter of Amazon wholesale, Online Arbitrage and Private Label sellers.  If you sell multiple quantities of the same sku and are shipping in the same box then they should be case packed.

1. All products in the box must have the same sku and condition grade
2. 150 units is the max for one case packed box

Expiration Dates (attention all grocery sellers)

Expiration are a must if you are sending in anything that is perishable.  And that means groceries for sure. Here are some helpful tips to make sure you get it right the first time.

1. Expiration dates must be displayed in the format MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY.