It is important to adhere to our fulfilment process, product
preparation requirements, and review FBA product restrictions before listing products for
Fulfilment by Amazon.
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, blocking of future shipments to the
fulfillment center, or charging for preparation or for noncompliance at the fulfillment
center.
For additional product requirements and restrictions, ensure to review the following as
appropriate:
Expiration-dated inventory requirements
All topical and consumable products (including nutritional supplements), whether for human
or animal consumption, are considered by FBA to be subject to expiration, even if an
expiration date is not indicated on the packaging. Inventory in the Health and Beauty
category with a Period After Opening (PAO) symbol (example below) is marked to expire 900
days after the date that it is processed at the fulfillment center.
Amazon considers a best-by or sell-by date the equivalent of an expiration date.
Note: To be eligible for FBA, food and beverage products and products that ship with food or
beverages must be lot-controlled and have a minimum remaining shelf life that is greater
than 90 days. Items within 50 days of the expiration date at the time of arrival will
be marked for disposal by Amazon. Inventory subject to disposal cannot be returned to
you.
Important: Expiration-dated products intended for regular application or
consumption or sold in bulk/bundles packages must have a remaining shelf life that includes
the consumption period in addition to the 90 days. For example, a 240-count bottle of daily
supplements must have a remaining shelf life of 240 days + an additional 90 days at the time
of check-in at the fulfillment center.
Please follow these guidelines for expiration-dated products:
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Expiration dates must be displayed in the format MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY. If the
expiration date is in a different format, you must cover the existing date with a
printed label with the expiration date in the correct format. Lot numbers alone are
insufficient.
Note: Our system stores the expiration-date information in Coordinated
Universal Time (UTC). Due to the time-zone conversion, the date on the box label might
differ from what you originally entered.
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Numerical date formats are preferred. However, expiration dates that are stated with
an alphabetical abbreviation for the month (for example, DD-JAN-YYYY) are
acceptable.
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Any printed manufactured date must be clear that it is a manufacturing date or you
must covered the date with a label that specifies the manufacturing date and the
expiration date in the correct format. Failure to specify the manufactured date or
expiration date on a product might cause delays in receiving your products or it may
cause products to be received as expired.
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All expiration-dated products must have the expiration date printed in a font that is
36 point or larger. All case packs, multi-packs, and display boxes must have the
expiration date on the box or bundle, as well as on each individual item inside the box
or bundle.
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When you ship expiration-dated inventory to a fulfillment center, only one expiration
date per ASIN is allowed in the same shipping box. Multiple ASINs with differing
expiration dates can be shipped in the same box only if all of the units of each ASIN
have the same expiration date.
Some selling categories have different expiration date requirements than the ones described
above.
Prepping expiration-dated products
Expiration-dated products must be fully enclosed and sealed in packaging suitable for
shipping.
Expiration-dated products that require additional prep, such as poly bagging or bubble
wrap, must have labels with expiration dates in 36-point font or larger applied to the
outside of the product prep or packaging. Lot numbers are sufficient.
Note: Each cartoon can have only one expiration date per ASIN. Multiple ASINs can be shipped
in the same cartoon as long as each ASIN has only one expiration date.
Important: Failure to include the expiration date on the outside of the prepped
item may result in the item being re-labeled at additional cost to you.
Labeling expiration-dated products
All expiration-dated inventory requires an Amazon product label. For more information, see
Use an Amazon product label to
track inventory.
In addition, Amazon barcodes must be applied to all products that are
not tracked using manufacturer barcodes. This category is comprised of:
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Products with an expiration date
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Consumable products
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Topical products such as skin creams, shampoos, and cosmetics
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Products that are prepped so that the barcode cannot be scanned
You can print Amazon barcodes and apply them to your products yourself, or Amazon can print
and apply them for a per-item fee. For more information, see Use an Amazon barcode to track
inventory and FBA Label Service.
If your inventory requires an Amazon barcode, you can sign up for FBA Label Service and
Amazon will apply barcodes to your eligible inventory with a per-item fee.
Downloads
Packaging and Shipping Inventory
to Amazon (PDF)
How to Label Products
(PDF)