Overview

Before sending inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers, sellers must ensure every product is properly prepared for safe shipping and handling. Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program has specific prep requirements that vary by product type, and failing to meet them can result in refused shipments, returned inventory, or additional fees. Understanding these requirements is essential for keeping your FBA operations running smoothly and avoiding costly mistakes.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Prep is the seller's responsibility — Even when Amazon doesn't provide specific prep guidance for a product, sellers are fully responsible for ensuring items arrive at fulfillment centers properly packaged and protected.
• Product packaging alone may not be enough — Additional preparation such as poly bagging, bubble wrapping, or labeling is often required when the manufacturer's original packaging cannot protect the product during transit and warehouse handling.
• Prep categories are assigned per product — Each item you send to Amazon may have a designated prep category that dictates what type of preparation is needed before shipping.
• Amazon can charge for non-compliance — If products arrive with inadequate packaging, missing prep, or incorrect barcodes, Amazon reserves the right to refuse, return, or repackage items at the seller's expense.
• Prep guidance is available in the Send to Amazon workflow — Sellers can view and manage prep requirements during Step 1 of the Send to Amazon shipment creation process.

How the Prep Process Works

When creating a new shipment through the Send to Amazon workflow, sellers can review and edit prep details for each product during the first step. After selecting the inventory you plan to send, you can click on a product's prep category to open the prep guidance window. This window shows whether your item has specific preparation requirements or whether you have the option to modify the prep category yourself. For products that have never been sent to Amazon before or haven't been classified yet, the system may not display specific prep requirements — but this doesn't mean prep is unnecessary. Sellers should always evaluate their products and select the most appropriate prep category from the available options.