Greetings all, and welcome to part two of the FBA packaging and prep series. In the first installment, I covered what sellers need to know about bar codes when using the FBA program. This article will cover the basic guidelines for packaging and prepping inventory prior to sending it in to a Fulfillment Center.

It’s important that products reach customers in the same condition they were received at the Fulfillment Center.

In traditional retail, products usually ship from the warehouse to the store, but with Amazon, sellers ship their own products to their warehouse. Then the warehouse ships the products to an Amazon FC, where the products are unpacked and placed on our shelves. Once the products are sold, they get pulled from the shelves, packed in a new box, and shipped to the customer. It’s important that products are packaged as securely as possible, to avoid damage.

Follow these general requirements for packaging and prep when shipping units to FCs:

• Certain products have specific requirements. Before you begin, check out the Packaging and Prep requirements help page, where you can review the specific requirements for packaging particular products.

• Amazon may refuse, return, or repackage any product delivered to an FC with inadequate or non-compliant packaging at your expense. We may also add specific requirements to a product due to damages and damage-related returns. Any FNKSU you use needs to be unique and correspond to one unique product. For example, each variation type such as size or color, must have a different FNSKU.

• Each unit must have an exterior scannable barcode, or a label that includes a scannable barcode, and a corresponding easily readable and accessible numbers.

• You will also need to remove, cover, or render un-scannable any existing scannable barcodes on the outside of shipping boxes. For example, cover existing barcodes with opaque tape, or use a black felt-tip marker to render the barcode un-scannable. This prevents the incorrect barcode from being accidentally scanned during the receiving process.

We also have distinct requirements for packaging individual products and case package products. What’s the difference?

• Individual products are packaged and shipped in the same box, but aren’t sold as a set--often differing in quantity condition and SKUS. For example, if a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner from the same seller were sold separately, but packaged and shipped in the same box, they would be considered individual products.

• Case-packaged products are packaged and shipped in the same box, but have matching SKUs, conditions, and equal quantities. This generally applies to products packaged by the manufacturer instead of the seller. Examples of case-packaged sets include a DVD collection or a series of books. Products that aren’t an official set but sold as such, like a set of toy cars sold as one unit, need to be packaged together and marked as a set on the outside of the packaging. Add a label to the unit that clearly states that the products are to be received and sold as a single unit. Recommended phrases to use on these labels include “Sold as Set” “Ready to Ship” or “This is a Set, do not separate.”

Shipping loose products? Here are a few additional requirements to note:

• Each unit (including multiple volume book sets) must be contained within a single secure package. Amazon does not accept units that require multi-piece assembly (such a wheelbarrow with disconnected components, but sold as one piece).

• Units that aren’t contained in secure pack caging (like loose sleeve or pouches) must be bagged or secured with a non-adhesive band or removable tape.

• All footwear must be packed with no footwear material exposed (either in shoe boxes or poly bags).

Remember that specific preparation guidelines need to be followed for certain products. For more info, review the Packaging and prep requirements help page.

If you have additional recommendations to share, please let me know in the comments!