Amazon FBA prep requirements: prep and labeling are now on you

What changed

• No more prep or item labeling by Amazon for inventory sent to FBA in the US, including stock that reaches FBA through Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) and Amazon's other inbound services.
• Shipments created before January 1, 2026 were still prepped by Amazon, even if they arrived later.
• Units that arrive unprepped or unlabeled can be refused, or disposed of at your expense, and aren't eligible for reimbursement if they're damaged or can't be traced.

The rules that matter most

• A scannable barcode on every unit, outside, not on a corner or curve, with the human-readable number. Each FNSKU must belong to one product in one condition: every size, color and condition gets its own.
• Cover old barcodes on shipping boxes, with opaque tape or a black marker, so the wrong one isn't scanned.
• Loose items in one secure package; sleeves and pouches bagged or secured with a non-adhesive band. Nothing Amazon would have to assemble.
• Sets sealed together and labeled "Sold as set" or "Do not separate".
• Boxes six-sided and firm; double-wall corrugated over 10 lb or for sharp items. Fragile items that fail a 3-foot drop test after bubble wrap, hazardous liquids in glass over 4.2 oz and vinyl records must be over-boxed.
• Poly bags with a 5-inch opening or larger need a suffocation warning, printed or on a label.
• Bubble wrap for fragile items and heavy ones that could damage others; not for sharp items, which need cut- and puncture-resistant packaging.
• Clothing off normal hangers (baby mini-hangers and some formal and outerwear excepted); shoes boxed or bagged with nothing exposed.
• Case packs: one SKU and condition per box, packed by the manufacturer, the same quantity in every box, at most 150 units.
• Expiration dates as MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY on each unit, and in 36-point or larger type on the outer box.
• Nothing extra: no price tags, pamphlets or other non-Amazon labels, and no theft-prevention devices.

A unit in several categories needs every prep that applies: a shampoo and conditioner set is prepped as liquids and labeled as a set.

Your options

• Do it yourself, or have your manufacturer do it before the goods ship.
• A prep center: your own, or one from Amazon's list of vetted FBA prep providers in Seller Central.
• Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP): products whose own packaging qualifies need less prep and get an FBA fee discount.

What Amazon charged per unit, until the service ended

Item labels were $0.55 a unit; where a range is shown, the label was optional because the product already carried a scannable barcode.

Prep in the rest of your costs

Prep is now part of every unit's landed cost, with freight and duty. The inbound shipping cost guide adds it to the freight and placement fee for a whole shipment, and a shipment that arrives short or late can cost an inbound defect fee on top.

MyProfit carries your supplier invoices and freight, duty and other bills into each product's landed cost, so profit per product includes them.

Sources: Amazon's "FBA Prep Service" and "Product packaging requirements" pages in Seller Central, read October 22, 2026. Amazon can change its requirements at any time.