Amazon Ended FBA Prep and Labeling Services: What Sellers Do Now

Amazon no longer preps or labels inventory for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in the US. Its FBA Prep Service and FBA Label Service ended for shipments created on or after January 1, 2026, a change Amazon announced on July 28, 2025. Every unit now has to reach a US fulfillment center already prepped and labeled. Sellers do that work themselves, have their manufacturer do it, or pay a prep center or 3PL to do it, and some products can skip most prep through Amazon's Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP) program.

Update (2026-09-29): Amazon's Seller Central pages show the US change in effect, with prep fees listed only "for shipments created prior to January 1, 2026." Amazon has since ended prep and labeling in two more places: the Canada store and its European stores, both from July 1, 2026. And since March 31, 2026, resellers must put Amazon barcodes on every unit they send to FBA, because Amazon ended commingling; brand owners can still use manufacturer barcodes. This article was first published in August 2025, when the change was still ahead, and has been rewritten to cover what sellers do now.

What Amazon announced

On July 28, 2025, Amazon posted the notice "US FBA prep and labeling services to end January 1, 2026" ; the same note appears on its FBA Prep Service help page. The change covered all inventory sent to the US FBA service:

• inventory sent directly to FBA;
• inventory that reaches FBA through Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD);
• inventory from Amazon Global Logistics (AGL);
• inventory from Amazon SEND;
• inventory from Supply Chain Portal.

Shipments created before January 1, 2026 kept the service, even when the inventory arrived after that date. Shipments created after it that arrive without proper prep and item labeling "won't be eligible for reimbursement if damaged or untraceable," in Amazon's words. For software that creates shipments, Amazon stopped accepting AMAZON as the prep owner or label owner in its US Fulfillment Inbound API.

Amazon's stated reason: "The vast majority of Amazon sellers now handle their own packaging, including prep and item labeling, either on their own, through their own manufacturing partners or through third-party service providers which allows FBA to focus on providing faster and more efficient fulfillment center operations."

"This is one of the most significant operational shifts Amazon has made in recent years," Charles Williams, senior manager of marketplace operations at Blue Wheel, said at the time, as Supply Chain Dive reported.

What the FBA prep service was, and which services ended

FBA prep is the work that gets a product ready for an Amazon fulfillment center: a scannable barcode on every unit, and packaging that protects the item and the items around it. The FBA Prep Service was Amazon doing that work for a per-unit fee after your inventory arrived. Amazon's fee table lists four prep services, and all four ended in the US:

• Item labeling: applying the Amazon barcode (the FNSKU label) that ties a unit to your seller account. The separate FBA Label Service, which did only this, ended on the same date.
• Poly bagging: for liquids, apparel and textiles, baby products, small items, powders, perforated packaging and sets.
• Opaque bagging: for adult products.
• Bubble wrap: for fragile and glass items.

Charges stacked. A fragile item that needed bubble wrap and a label cost $1.59 per unit; an adult item that needed opaque bagging and a label cost $1.55. Oversize units cost more. These prices are worth keeping as a benchmark, because they are the price of the service sellers now have to replace.

How the change rolled out, 2025 to 2026

Two later changes matter as much as the US end date:

• Canada and Europe followed. Amazon's Canada help page says prep and item labelling ended for FBA shipments in the Canada store from July 1, 2026. Its UK help page says prep and label services ended "for Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) shipments in our European stores" from the same date. If you sell in another Amazon store, check that store's FBA Prep Service page in Seller Central.
• Barcodes changed for resellers. Amazon's FBA Barcode Choice and Labeling FAQ says that as of March 31, 2026, FBA barcode requirements changed as Amazon ended commingling: customers who buy from you receive only units from your inventory. Brand owners with the Brand Representative role in Amazon Brand Registry can use manufacturer barcodes (such as a UPC) without stickers. Resellers, including authorized resellers, must label every unit with an Amazon barcode. Products with no manufacturer barcode need an Amazon barcode either way.

What happens if inventory arrives without prep

Amazon does not prep it for you in the US any more, and its help pages spell out the consequences:

• "If any product is delivered to us with inadequate or non-compliant packaging, prep or barcode, we may refuse, return, or repackage it at your expense" (Prepare your products for FBA shipping).
• "Inventory that arrives with non-compliant, unsafe packaging may be refused or disposed of at your expense and will not be eligible for reimbursement" (Product packaging requirements).
• Shipments created after January 1, 2026 that arrive without proper prep and item labeling are not eligible for reimbursement if damaged or untraceable.
• Reseller units that arrive without Amazon barcodes are "considered defective." Amazon says it will attempt to correct the labeling and flag the issue in your Inbound Performance Dashboard, but improperly labeled units are not eligible for reimbursement.

Amazon also puts the judgment on you: "Determining the type of preparation required to ship your products safely to Amazon is your responsibility, even if prep guidance for your specific products is not available." Mislabeled or unlabeled units are a close cousin of the problems in the hidden costs of mis-shipments: the cost shows up later, in units Amazon will not reimburse.

What sellers do now: five options

Amazon's own help page names three of them: do it yourself, work with a service provider, or use SIPP to lower prep needs. Most sellers mix them by product.

1. Prep in-house

If you already receive inventory before it goes to Amazon, you can prep it yourself. Send to Amazon shows prep guidance for many products in its first step, where you can pick a prep category or choose "No prep needed" when the packaging already protects the item. The core rules from Amazon's product packaging requirements:

• Every unit needs one exterior, scannable barcode with human-readable numbers. Cover or cross out any old scannable barcode on the outside of shipping boxes.
• Each FNSKU must map to one unique product: every size, color and condition gets its own. (A clean SKU list makes this much easier.)
• Poly bags with an opening of 5 inches or more need a printed or attached suffocation warning.
• Sets must be marked as sets ("Sold as set" or "This is a set. Do not separate") and sealed so the pieces cannot be separated. Bundles and kits follow the same logic.
• Boxed units must be six-sided and hold their shape under pressure; products over 10 lb, and sharp products, go in double-wall corrugated boxes.
• Amazon's 3-foot drop test, which you run yourself (Amazon does not perform it), checks whether packaging or prep protects a product: five drops onto concrete, with no leaks and no damage to the product. Fragile items that fail it after bubble wrap must be over-boxed.
• Expiration-dated products show the date as MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY on each unit and on the outer box in 36-point or larger type.
• Case packs hold one SKU in one condition, in equal quantities per box, up to 150 units per case.

In-house prep gives you the most control. It also means labor, bags, labels, a label printer and the space to do it, and every error is yours to absorb.

2. Have your manufacturer prep and label

Amazon notes that many sellers already prep "through their own manufacturing partners." If you buy finished goods from a factory, it can apply Amazon barcodes and bag or box units to FBA rules before they ship. Send the supplier the label files and the relevant packaging rules, and check the first units before they leave. This removes a handling step, but a mistake at the factory reaches Amazon unless something catches it in between.

3. Use an FBA prep center or 3PL

Amazon's help page says you "may work with your own preferred provider" or pick one from the FBA Prep Providers list in Seller Central. Prep centers specialize in FBA prep; a general third-party logistics warehouse may also prep FBA inventory alongside direct-to-consumer orders and other channels. Questions worth asking before you sign:

• Which prep types do you handle (bagging, bubble wrap, opaque bags, sets, expiration labels), and for which of my products?
• Do you create shipments in Send to Amazon and submit box content information? (Skipping it triggers Amazon's manual processing fee, below.)
• How do you bill: per unit by prep type, plus receiving, storage and outbound freight to Amazon?
• Who pays when Amazon refuses or reports a defect on a unit you prepped?
• Can you also ship my Shopify or wholesale orders from the same inventory?

If you are weighing a 3PL for the first time, how to know when you need to outsource fulfillment covers the signals, and our comparison of Amazon's supply chain services and independent 3PLs covers what each side runs.

4. Cut prep with Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP)

SIPP, formerly Ships in Own Container (SIOC), lets eligible products ship in your own branded packaging "without the need for prep or additional Amazon packaging," and Amazon lists lower FBA fulfillment fees for SIPP-certified products. Enrollment is open to FBA sellers in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Products have to pass Amazon's packaging tests first (see packaging certification), so it suits products whose own packaging already protects them.

5. Brand owners: track with manufacturer barcodes

If you own the brand, are its Brand Representative in Brand Registry, and your products carry a manufacturer barcode, Amazon's barcode rules let you skip the Amazon barcode sticker on eligible products. That removes the labeling step, though not bagging or wrapping. Resellers do not have this option since March 31, 2026.

If you already run a warehouse or work with a 3PL, you can also skip FBA inbound on some SKUs and ship their Prime orders through Seller Fulfilled Prime.

Which option fits which seller

How much does FBA prep cost now?

In the US, Amazon no longer sells prep, so there is no Amazon price. Prep centers and 3PLs set their own rates, so ask each one for a quote that breaks out per-unit prep, receiving, storage and shipping to Amazon, and compare them line by line. Two reference points help:

• Amazon's former prices ($0.55 to label, $0.70 to poly bag, $1.00 to opaque bag and $1.04 to bubble wrap a standard-size unit) show what the same work cost inside Amazon.
• Amazon's manual processing fee still applies if you or your provider skip box content information: $0.15 per unit from January to October and $0.30 per unit in November and December.

To see how prep fits in your total fulfillment bill, see 3PL pricing or run your numbers through the fulfillment cost calculator.

What it means for 3PLs

Amazon's US and Canada help pages now point sellers to third-party service providers for prep and labeling. For a 3PL, offering FBA prep means working to Amazon's packaging and barcode rules, creating shipments in Send to Amazon, and submitting box content information for every box. 3PLs that do this work can read about Fulfill.com for 3PLs.

Amazon FBA prep FAQ

What is FBA prep?

FBA prep is preparing products so an Amazon fulfillment center can receive, store and ship them: an Amazon or manufacturer barcode on every unit, plus poly bags, bubble wrap, boxes or set labels where the product needs them.

What was the Amazon FBA prep service?

It was Amazon's paid service that prepped and labeled your units at the fulfillment center, from $0.55 per unit for a label to $1.04 for bubble wrap on a standard-size item. In the US it ended for shipments created on or after January 1, 2026.

Is Amazon FBA prep ending?

It has already ended in the US (January 1, 2026), and in the Canada store and Amazon's European stores (July 1, 2026). For any other store, check its FBA Prep Service page in Seller Central.

Does Amazon still label products for FBA?

Not in the US. The FBA Label Service ended with the prep service. You apply Amazon barcodes yourself, through your manufacturer, or through a provider, unless you are a brand owner using manufacturer barcodes on eligible products.

What happens to shipments created before January 1, 2026?

Amazon said it would keep prepping and labeling them, even if the inventory arrived after January 1, at the fees in its published table.

Need prep handled outside Amazon? Browse 3PL partners or tell us what you sell and get matched with 3PLs that prep for FBA.