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Amazon FBA Packing: All You Need to Know

Published on July 9, 2021
3PL, Amazon, FBA, Fulfillment Services, General Information, International Sellers

Amazon offers sellers several different packaging options, depending on the means they choose for order fulfillment. Amazon FBA makes fulfillment and distribution simple, however, you are still required to meet certain criteria when packaging your products for Amazon FBA.

In this blog, we will talk about everything you need to know to prep and pack your products for Amazon. Grab a pen and let’s begin!

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the detail of the requirements of Amazon FBA packaging. But if you simply break them down into categories by type of product and shipment, they make a lot of sense. Amazon may refuse, return, or repackage any product delivered to a fulfillment center with inadequate or non-compliant packaging at your expense.

Any FNSKU you use on a unit must be unique and must correspond to one unique product. For example, each assortment type, such as size or color, must have a different FNSKU.
Tracking. Each package must have an exterior barcode or label, which may be scanned for easy tracking. The label must be accessible and readable.
Remove, cover, or render unscannable any existing scannable barcodes on the outside of shipping boxes.

There may be different requirements for certain items under any given category. The following is a list of packaging rules by category:

Loose products. Each unit, including multiple-volume book sets, must be contained within a single, secure package. Units that are sold as sets with many pieces within one box must be marked with a label that says “Sold as set” or “Do not separate.”
Sold as set. Units that are sets, must be marked as sets on their packaging. Add a label to the unit that clearly states that the products are to be received and sold as a single unit.
Boxed units. Any shipments in boxes must be six-sided and completely sealed and difficult to reopen. All boxes must be able to withstand a medium amount of pressure on any given side.
Poly-bagged units. Poly bags with openings larger than five inches must contain suffocation warnings that must be printed on the bag or attached as a label in an easy-to-find location. The bag must be transparent and contain a barcode that may be scanned easily. The poly bag must be completely sealed.
Expiration dates. When shipping items that include expiration dates, the date must be written on the container as well as on each individual unit. The dates must be displayed in the MM-DD-YYYY format.
Bubble Wrap. Products with bubble wrap must be tightly wrapped and taped shut and able to pass a 3-foot drop test on a hard surface without the contents breaking.

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Being prepared is the most important thing when shipping products to Amazon fulfillment centers. We recommend that you create a checklist of the packaging requirements that apply to your shipment. That way, you won’t overlook anything and you can step yourself through the processes easily.

It will be critical for sellers to adhere to the Amazon packaging requirements in order to avoid receiving negative seller reviews, having your FBA shipment returned from Amazon, damaging your product, or wasting materials or money.

If this is all sounding like too much time and hassle then you do have the option to outsource shipping prep for your business. Getting the right prep center to take care of your products can save you a lot of time and money. We at MetsCube make it our priority to make the process as stress-free as possible for our clients. We do this by:

✅ Being transparent with our pricing.
✅ Documenting all of our steps.
✅ Having experience with FBA And understanding your needs.

Reach out today and start saving money and time.