Amazon FBA Prep Requirements Checklist for US Sellers

Amazon FBA inbound requirements change by category, but most sellers encounter a common set of prep tasks: FNSKU labeling, poly bagging, bubble wrap, bundling, and carton labeling. Failing prep standards leads to relabeling fees, inbound defects, or rejected shipments.

Always verify current rules in Amazon Seller Central before shipping. This checklist summarizes the prep types a third-party prep center like Smart Prep Services handles daily for US sellers.

Unit-level prep checklist

FNSKU labels applied over existing barcodes, scannable and flat with no wrinkles.

Poly bags with suffocation warning for applicable categories; sealed securely.

Bubble wrap or protective packaging for fragile items per Amazon standards.

Bundles secured so units cannot separate in transit; bundle labels when required.

Sticker, hang-tag, or promotional label removal when selling as new FBA inventory.

Carton and shipment checklist

Box labels and FBA shipment IDs applied to outbound cartons per your inbound plan.

Carton weight within FC limits; mixed-SKU cartons labeled correctly when applicable.

Shipment contents match Seller Central inbound shipment details.

A prep warehouse receives your supplier cartons, completes this checklist, and forwards prepared cartons to Amazon. See our receiving and inspection service and FNSKU labeling page for how we handle each step at our Jamaica, NY facility.