Getting your products into Amazon’s fulfilment centres sounds simple: ship the boxes and let FBA do the rest. In reality, every unit has to meet Amazon’s packaging and labelling requirements before it is accepted. Get it wrong and your inventory can be delayed, relabelled at extra cost, or even refused.
The stakes went up in 2026. Amazon ended its own FBA prep and item labelling services in the US from 1 January 2026, so sellers can no longer pay Amazon to fix prep after their stock arrives. That has pushed many brands to work with a dedicated FBA prep center. Here is what prep involves, the mistakes to avoid, and how a prep partner keeps your inventory moving.
What is FBA prep?
FBA prep is the work needed to make products ready for Amazon’s warehouses. Depending on the product, that can include:
- Inspection: checking items for damage, defects and the correct quantity.
- Labelling: applying FNSKU barcodes so each unit is linked to your seller account.
- Polybagging: bagging items like clothing, textiles or loose parts, with suffocation warnings where required.
- Bubble wrapping: protecting fragile items such as glass, ceramics or electronics.
- Bundling: packing multi-packs and sets so they are sold and scanned as one unit.
- Carton and pallet preparation: packing boxes to Amazon’s size and weight limits and applying shipment labels.
Why prep mistakes are so costly
Amazon’s receiving process is built for speed. Units that do not meet requirements slow everything down. The typical consequences are:
- Receiving delays, which mean lost sales while your listing shows out of stock.
- Non-compliance fees or charges for problems found at the fulfilment centre.
- Refused or returned shipments, which you pay to ship twice.
- Customer complaints when damaged or mixed-up items reach buyers, hurting your reviews and account health.
Common FBA prep mistakes
- Covering or forgetting the FNSKU label, or leaving the manufacturer barcode visible next to it.
- Using polybags that are too thin or missing the required warning text.
- Sending bundles that are not clearly marked “sold as set, do not separate”.
- Overweight or oversized cartons that break Amazon’s box limits.
- Mixing different products in one carton without proper labelling.
- Skipping quality checks, so defective units from the supplier go straight to customers.
What does an FBA prep center do?
A prep center is a warehouse that receives your inventory from suppliers or manufacturers, prepares it to Amazon’s standards and sends it on to fulfilment centres. A good prep partner will:
- Receive and inspect your stock, and report any damage or shortages.
- Label, bag, wrap and bundle units correctly.
- Create and pack shipments, and apply carton labels.
- Store overflow inventory so you avoid high long-term storage costs at Amazon.
- Send stock to Amazon in batches as your listings need it.
- Handle fulfilment for other channels, such as your Shopify store, eBay or TikTok Shop.
Benefits of using a prep center
Fewer rejections and delays
Experienced prep teams know the requirements inside out, so shipments are accepted faster and you spend less time fixing problems.
More time to grow
Instead of taping boxes, you can focus on product research, listings, advertising and customer experience.
Better control of inventory
Holding stock at a prep center and replenishing Amazon in smaller batches can help you manage storage fees and capacity limits.
Quality control before customers see it
Inspection at the prep stage catches supplier defects before they become one-star reviews.
One hub for every channel
If you sell on several marketplaces and your own website, a single warehouse can prep for Amazon and fulfil your direct orders too.
How to choose an FBA prep partner
- Location: a warehouse close to your target fulfilment centres can reduce shipping time and cost.
- Transparent pricing: know exactly what you pay per unit, per service and for storage.
- Turnaround time: ask how quickly they receive, prep and ship stock, especially in peak season.
- Technology: look for a dashboard where you can track inventory, inbound shipments and orders.
- Communication: you want a team that flags issues quickly, with photos where possible.
- Multi-channel support: check whether they can fulfil orders from your other sales channels as well.
Prep and fulfilment with Ecomalign
Ecomalign offers prep and fulfilment services for Amazon and multi-channel sellers in the USA, the UK and Australia. Our team inspects, labels, bags, bundles and ships your inventory to Amazon’s requirements, and our platform at prep.ecomalign.com lets you track every unit from arrival to dispatch.
Combined with our marketplace management service, we can look after everything from listings to logistics. Get a quote for your next shipment.
