Who Preps Your FBA Inventory Now That Amazon Stopped?
Amazon wound down the in-house prep and labeling help it offered US FBA sellers. Here's what changed, your options for getting inventory prepped, and how to choose a third-party prep center.
Amazon has pulled back the prep and labeling help it once offered US FBA sellers, which means the work of getting a unit shipment-ready - inspecting, poly-bagging, FNSKU labeling, bundling, and cartonizing to Amazon's spec - now falls to you or to a third-party prep center. If your last shipments leaned on Amazon to fix labels or prep at the fulfillment center, that safety net is gone, and inventory that arrives non-compliant is more likely to be rejected, relabeled for a fee, or held.
What changed, in plain terms
- Prep is now the seller's responsibility. Amazon expects units to arrive already prepped and labeled to its Packaging and Prep Requirements.
- Non-compliant inventory is the expensive path: unplanned prep fees, relabeling, delays, or a rejected shipment.
- Nothing about the requirements themselves got easier - FNSKU labels, poly-bag suffocation warnings, and fragile and hazmat rules all still apply.
Your three options now
- Prep in-house. Works if your volume is low, your products are simple (a barcode label and a poly bag), and you have the space and time. It stops scaling the moment volume or SKU complexity grows.
- Use a third-party prep center. An independent facility receives your inventory, preps and labels it to spec, and forwards it to FBA. This is what most sellers move to once prep becomes a bottleneck.
- A hybrid: prep simple items yourself and send the tricky categories (fragile, hazmat, expiration-dated) to a partner who specializes in them.
How to choose a third-party prep center
The right partner depends on your products and where your inventory comes from, not just price. A few things to confirm before you send anything:
- They handle the specific prep your products need - poly bagging, fragile prep, expiration labeling, hazmat, or bundling.
- They can ship to your FBA destinations - any US fulfillment center, or the specific FCs you're assigned.
- Turnaround time fits your restock cadence.
- Clear, itemized pricing rather than one blended rate.
- If you import, they can receive freight or manufacturer-direct shipments and, where needed, arrange customs.
For a deeper checklist, see How to Choose the Right Prep Center and the FBA Prep Checklist for Sellers.
If your inventory comes from overseas
Importers have two routes. Prep at the source - a partner in the manufacturing country, for example China, preps and labels before the goods are freighted, so inventory lands FBA-ready. Or import then prep - the goods clear customs and a US or Canadian prep center handles prep before forwarding to FBA. The right route depends on your freight setup and how much you want handled before the ocean leg.
The fastest way to find a match
Rather than calling prep centers one at a time, post a single request on PrepMarketplace describing your products, volume, and destination. It routes to prep partners who actually cover your channel, services, and geography - including partners who prep at the source in China and centers across the US and Canada - so you compare real matches instead of cold-emailing a directory. It's free to post, and you pay your chosen partner directly with no markup.
More in New Seller Guide
Prep Requirements by Product Category
What each product category needs before it can ship to Amazon FBA or Walmart WFS - apparel, fragile, liquids, sharp, hazmat, and more.
What Is an FBA Prep Center?
A simple, beginner-friendly explanation of what prep centers do and when sellers need one.
When to Use a Prep Center Instead of Sending Directly to FBA
Helpful for new sellers deciding whether a prep center is worth it.
Need a prep center now?
Post one request and connect with prep partners that match your shipment needs, services, and destination.