Packaging liquids, pastes, gels, and creams

Properly preparing products that are or contain liquids, pastes, gels, and creams can help ensure they are protected from breaking or leaking throughout the fulfillment process.

Liquids can cause damage during shipping and when stored. Securely pack liquids — including viscous products such as pastes, gels, and creams —to protect buyers, Amazon associates, and other products.

Important: Failure to comply with FBA product preparation requirements, safety requirements, and product restrictions may result in the refusal of inventory at the Amazon fulfillment center, disposal or return of inventory, blockage of future shipments to the fulfillment center, or charges for unplanned services.

Before reading further, determine the following details about the liquid, paste, gel, or cream product you want to sell:

Is your product classified as a dangerous good? See the Dangerous goods identification guide.
Is the container fragile (glass) or non-fragile?
If the container is glass, does it hold 4.2 oz or more, or less than 4.2 oz?
Is your product sold as a set or individually?
Is your product expiration-dated? See Expiration-dated FBA inventory for more information.

Basic drop test requirements

All liquid, paste, gel, and cream products must be able to withstand a 3-foot drop test without the contents of the container leaking or spilling. A drop test consists of five 3-foot drops onto a hard surface:

Flat on base
Flat on top
Flat on longest side
Flat on shortest side
On a corner

Products regulated as dangerous goods

Dangerous goods (also known as hazardous materials or hazmat) are substances or materials that may pose a risk to health, safety, property, or the environment during storage, handling, or transportation because they contain flammable, pressurized, corrosive, or otherwise harmful substances. To find out if your product is a dangerous good, see the Dangerous goods identification guide and watch the Dangerous Goods Awareness video in Seller University.

If your product is a liquid, paste, gel, or cream and is regulated as dangerous good — such as perfume, certain bathroom cleaners, polish removers, and permanent ink — the following prep is required. For more information, visit Packaging and prep requirements.

Container type	Container size	Prep requirements
Non-fragile	Any	Poly-bag
Fragile	4.2 oz or more	Poly-bag, bubble wrap, and box
Fragile	Less than 4.2 oz	Poly-bag or bubble wrap

Note: All liquid products regulated as dangerous goods must be poly-bagged to prevent a leak or spill during transportation, regardless of the product seal.

Products not regulated as dangerous goods

For liquid, paste, gel, and cream products that are not regulated as dangerous goods, the following prep is required. For more information, visit Packaging and prep requirements.

Container type	Container size	Prep requirements	Exceptions
Non-fragile	Any	Poly-bag	If the liquid is double sealed and passes a drop test, no bagging is required. (See the table below for examples of double seals.)
Fragile	4.2 oz or more	Bubble wrap
Fragile	Less than 4.2 oz	No prep required

Additional prep requirements

If your product is bundled to be sold as a set or is expiration-dated, be sure follow the prep requirements listed below in addition to the ones outlined above.

Sold as a set: Regardless of container type, products sold as a set must be packed together to prevent separation. Additionally, if you are selling a bundled set (for example, a pack of three bottles of the same shampoo), you must provide a unique ASIN for the set that is different from the ASIN for individual bottles. For bundled sets, the barcodes on the individual items must not face outward, to help make sure the Amazon warehouse associate scans the barcode for the pack, not the barcode for the individual items inside. Multi-unit bundled products must meet the following criteria:
- Packaging should not give way when pressure is applied to any of the sides.
- Products are securely held in place inside the packaging.
- Packaging is sealed with tape, glue, or staples.
To learn more, see the “Sold as set” section of the Packaging and prep requirements help page.
Expiration-dated: Expiration-dated products must have labels with the expiration date in 36-point font or larger applied to the outside of the packaging.
Important: Failure to include the expiration date on the outside of the prepped item may result in the item being relabeled at additional cost to you.

To learn more, see Expiration-dated FBA inventory.

Definition of a double seal

A double seal is defined as a tightened lid that cannot be easily opened and one of the following:

Other types of double seal	Example
Induction seal: Thermoplastic material sealed to the opening of a container through induction heating.
Safety ring: A plastic band sealing the cap of a product to the container
Clips: Metal clips sealing the lid to the can. Applicable to liquid, paste, gel, and cream products that are in cans and are not regulated as dangerous goods. A minimum of two clips are required.
Plastic wrap band: Tight plastic film around the opening of the product.

Watch this brief video (in English) for examples of how to prep your products for shipment to and storage in Amazon fulfillment centers.

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