Your Amazon FBA Prep Checklist: Labels, Packaging and Sets

What FBA prep actually covers

Fulfillment by Amazon means Amazon stores your inventory and ships it to customers, but the seller is responsible for preparing every unit so it can be received, tracked and picked without problems. Prep covers three core areas: barcodes and labeling, packaging, and product-specific preparation such as bagging or suffocation warnings.

Everything in this guide is a planning framework from Teal Packaging's editorial team for organizing your prep workflow. The specific requirements summarized here come from Amazon's own seller guidance, and you should re-verify the details in Seller Central before each shipment, because Amazon updates its prep requirements periodically and your product category may carry additional rules.

• Barcodes: choose manufacturer barcode or Amazon barcode per unit
• Labels: print clearly, place on suitable surfaces and check scannability
• Packaging: contain each unit in a single secure package
• Product-specific prep: bagging, sets, and category rules

Step 1: Choose the right barcode for each unit

Amazon identifies inventory with scannable barcodes and uses them to credit you as the seller. There are three barcode types, so confirm the right one for each SKU before labeling.

Manufacturer barcodes are the default. These can be a UPC, EAN, JAN or ISBN, and Amazon tracks inventory with them unless you change your barcode setting. When multiple sellers share the same manufacturer barcode, Amazon may fulfill orders from whichever inventory is closest to the customer, so a customer may receive a unit from another seller's stock.

Amazon barcodes are required for products that are not tracked by manufacturer barcode, are in used condition, lack a scannable manufacturer barcode, are media products, are restricted or dangerous goods, or are consumable or topical products such as baby items. Non-brand-registered sellers must apply Amazon barcodes to ineligible products. Brand-registered sellers may be eligible for an exemption allowing manufacturer barcodes on otherwise ineligible products through Brand Registry.

Transparency barcodes are item-level authentication codes with the Transparency T logo. They must not cover or be covered by any other label.

• Default: manufacturer barcode (UPC, EAN, JAN, ISBN)
• Switch to Amazon barcode (FNSKU) for used, restricted, consumable, topical and certain media products
• Transparency codes protect against counterfeits and must stay uncovered

Step 2: Print and apply labels correctly

If you apply Amazon barcode labels yourself, follow the printing specifications Amazon publishes. Amazon does not accept damaged or photocopied labels, so check that every label prints cleanly and scans.

Placement matters as much as printing. Put each label on a smooth, flat surface and avoid corners, edges and curves where the scanner line cannot read the barcode cleanly. If your product needs no extra packaging, cover any original barcodes so they cannot be accidentally scanned alongside the FNSKU. If the product requires extra packaging such as bubble wrap, apply the label on the outside of that packaging so it remains scannable.

For large shipments, Amazon's guidance is to select all pages and generate a label file for each page, then match labels to units using the product title and condition, or generate a packing list to match FNSKUs with products.

Step 3: Package units as individual or case-packaged

Amazon sorts products into two packaging categories, so identify which one applies to each box before packing.

Individual products are packaged and shipped in the same box but sold separately. They may differ in quantity, condition and SKU, for example a shampoo and a conditioner from the same seller shipped together but sold as separate listings.

For case-packed shipping, distinguish the shipping case from the sellable unit: use cases containing units of the same SKU and condition, with the same unit quantity in each case. A DVD collection or book series sold as one unit is a set; it is not by itself an example of a case-packed shipment. Confirm the current case-pack rules in Seller Central.

If you sell items together as one unit but they are not an official set, package them together and clearly mark the outside with a label stating Sold as set, Ready to ship, or This is a set, do not separate.

• Individual: same box, sold separately, SKUs may differ
• Case-packed: same SKU and condition, with equal unit counts across cases
• Bundles: package together and mark the set clearly on the outside

Step 4: Secure loose products and bag where required

Every unit, including multi-volume book sets, must be contained within a single secure package. Amazon does not accept units requiring multi-piece assembly, such as a wheelbarrow shipped with disconnected handles.

Units not in secure packaging, like loose sleeves or pouches, must be bagged or secured with a non-adhesive band or removable tape. All footwear must be packaged with no material exposed, either in shoe boxes or poly bags with a suffocation warning.

Amazon's guidance lists categories that need bagging: perforated packaging, pellets, powders and granular items, plush products, baby products, apparel, fabrics and textiles, jewelry and small products, and liquids. Check the full product-specific prep pages in Seller Central for the current bag specifications, such as thickness and warning label placement, before ordering bags.

• One unit equals one secure package, always
• Loose sleeves and pouches: bag or band them
• Footwear: fully enclosed, poly bags need suffocation warnings
• Bagging categories include powders, plush, apparel, jewelry and liquids

A hypothetical worked prep example

Imagine a hypothetical seller, Maya, sending 120 units of a textile scarf set to FBA. This is an illustrative exercise, not a real shipment or cost benchmark.

Scarves fall under apparel and textiles, so each unit needs bagging. Maya orders poly bags with printed suffocation warnings. She is not brand registered and the scarves have no scannable manufacturer barcode, so each bag gets an Amazon barcode label. She prints 120 labels at 300 DPI on a laser printer, each 2 by 3 inches, black ink on non-reflective adhesive paper.

She sells each set as three scarves in one unit, so she bags the three together and adds a second small label reading Sold as set, do not separate, positioned so it does not cover the FNSKU label or the suffocation warning. She places each FNSKU label on the flat front face of the bag, away from the seams and corners.

Her unit count check: 120 units times 1 FNSKU label each equals 120 labels, plus 120 set labels, so she prints 240 labels total and verifies the count against her packing list. The number of shipping cartons depends on the packed sets' dimensions and weights and Amazon's current carton limits; this example does not establish carton capacity. This is hypothetical planning math, not a substitute for the shipment details entered in Seller Central.

• 120 units, 1 FNSKU label each: 120 labels
• 120 set-marking labels: 120 labels
• Total printed: 240 labels, verified against the packing list

Decision table: which prep path applies

Use this table as a quick triage sheet during your SKU review, not as a complete prep specification. Confirm barcode eligibility and product-specific packaging requirements in Seller Central before labeling.

Optional: Ships in Product Packaging

Ships in Product Packaging allows eligible FBA products to ship in their own packaging without Amazon-added material. Customers can still choose additional Amazon packaging at no charge, and Amazon says the fulfillment discount still applies. Amazon states enrollment is free and lists fulfillment discounts between $0.04 and $1.32 per certified item. These are Amazon's stated program terms, not a Teal Packaging price or promise; confirm current eligibility and discounts directly with Amazon.

Before enrollment, eligible products must have a buyable FBA offer. Review eligibility and the applicable flexible or rigid packaging requirements, then group eligible products by size, weight, material, packaging and product-to-packaging ratio. Amazon directs sellers to test the largest or heaviest product in each group. Its overview describes self-testing for products weighing less than 50 pounds that contain no liquids or sharp items; confirm the full testing requirements for your product before choosing that route. Where third-party testing is needed, Amazon describes ISTA 6 testing and submission of an ISTA-6A lab report. Potentially sensitive items must be marked and labeled discreetly; consult Amazon's sensitive-items list and full packaging requirements.

Note that Teal Packaging does not certify products for this program and does not claim ISTA or Amazon certification for anything we print or convert. If you source packaging from us for this program, plan for your own testing and certification steps with Amazon.

• Enrollment is free per Amazon; packaging updates and lab testing may cost money
• Group products to reduce certifications needed
• Self-test only for items under 50 lbs without liquids or sharp items
• Teal supplies packaging; you own the testing and certification

Pre-shipment checklist

Run this checklist once per shipment, not once per product line, because barcode settings, quantities and packaging can change between sends. This is Teal Packaging's editorial planning framework; the sources cited cover only the specific Amazon requirements summarized above.

• Confirm barcode setting per SKU: manufacturer or Amazon barcode
• Verify label stock: right size, black ink, non-reflective adhesive paper; Amazon recommends a 300 DPI laser printer for best results
• Spot-check label placement on flat surfaces, away from edges and curves
• Cover original barcodes where required
• Bag all units in bagging categories, with suffocation warnings where applicable
• Mark bundles: Sold as set, do not separate
• Confirm footwear and multi-piece rules if applicable
• Match printed label count to unit count and packing list
• Re-verify current prep requirements in Seller Central before sealing boxes

Scope limits

This guide covers general FBA prep planning. It does not cover dangerous goods classification and documentation, expiration-date labeling rules, temperature-sensitive or hazardous cold shipping, or marketplace-specific requirements outside the general Amazon store flow. For restricted products, food safety and hazardous materials, build a review workflow with your own compliance questions and confirm requirements directly in Seller Central; do not treat this checklist as a compliance determination. Amazon's requirements change over time, so treat every figure and rule here as something to re-verify in your seller agreement before shipping.

Questions about Amazon FBA prep checklist