Amazon offers various preparation services for inventory. Prep Services include packaging or preparation of products. We summarized the information on Amazon’s help pages here.
There are specific requirements for the packaging and preparation of products that are shipped to Amazon warehouses and shipping centers for Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). This ensures faster and smoother processing and delivery and avoids damaged products - for happier and more satisfied customers.
If you choose Prep Service in the Seller Central, you can decide for each qualified product if you want Amazon to take care of preparation or if you want to do it yourself.
You’ll receive a cost estimation during the issue of your shipping plan. The Prep Service fee is charged per unit and depends on the necessary preparation measurements. Additional charges apply for oversized products.
Amazon determines which measurements need to be taken for preparation.
However, the FBA Label Service (plus the respective fees) are always included in Prep Services.
If you want to prep your products yourself but let Amazon label them, a Label fee applies.
Planned Prep and Label Services may lead to delays during the registration of your shipping.
Requirements
- any product type and condition
- bar code (ISBN, EAN, UPC, JAN) has to be visible and scannable on every unit (not damaged, changed, marked up, concealed etc.)
- fragile and sharp-edged products need to be packaged in a way that is resistant to breakage
Activation
This is how to activate the Prep Service when planning a shipping:
- Choose the product to be prepared by Amazon
- On the “Preparation of products” page, choose Amazon in the box “Preparation by”
- In the pop-over window, choose “Yes” when asked “Are you sure you want to save the settings for Fulfilment by Amazon?”
If you want to prepare the products yourself, simply choose “Seller” in the “Preparation by” box.
Products that need special preparation information are automatically set to preparation by Amazon.
For products without this information, you can choose a category for regulations for shipping preparation - or pick “no preparation necessary” if that’s the case.