In an official statement earlier this year, Amazon announced that they are shifting their main focus entirely to fulfillment operations and will be ceasing all U.S. FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) Prep services starting January 1st, 2026. Third-party merchants utilized the program to prepare products in accordance with Amazon’s requirements before being sent to a fulfillment center.
This change marks a significant shift in Amazon’s fulfillment strategy, requiring sellers who rely on FBA Prep services to find a new path forward.
Breaking Down FBA Prep
What Services Will No Longer Be Offered By Amazon?
Among the services being discontinued are: barcode and other product labeling, bagging, bubble wrapping, boxing, providing opaque coverings, and set creation/kitting/bundling.
What Are Amazon’s Prep Standards for FBA?
Amazon Barcodes
While Amazon does accept certain approved manufacturer barcodes, they mostly operate using their own barcodes, including an Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) and a Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit (FNSKU).
An ASIN identifies a product in Amazon’s catalog, while an FNSKU tracks that product specifically within a seller’s inventory.
For example, if two Amazon sellers offer the same shampoo, the shampoos from both sellers will share an ASIN because they are the same product within Amazon’s inventory, but they will not have the same FNSKU numbers because they come from different sellers.
In the same way, if one seller carries both shampoo and conditioner, neither product will share ASIN or FNSKU number, despite being from the same seller.
While Amazon will still provide barcodes to sellers to use, understanding how they are used within the system is essential for sellers who will now be responsible for properly labeling their products with the correct ones.
Product-Specific FBA Prep Standards
Amazon’s FBA Prep Guidelines vary by category, and these individual guidelines must be met before products can be accepted by Amazon for FBA.
For example, every category from liquid products to apparel to books has a completely different set of mandatory FBA prep standards.
Going forward, Amazon sellers will need to become well-versed in these different FBA prep standards if they weren’t already.
Fortunately, Amazon does supply both FBA prep guidelines for each category as well as packaging and label application requirements for their sellers to use.
The Risks of Not Meeting Amazon Prep Standards
Starting on January 1st, 2026, items shipped to Amazon for FBA that do not meet Amazon’s prep standards may be rejected, returned, or disposed of without reimbursement.
The risks are particularly high for sellers with complex products, multiple categories of products, or international shipments.
Rejected products cost sellers both time and money, since they must pay for re-prepping and reshipping.
In the past, Amazon Prep Services could correct non-compliant shipments for a fee, but with this service ending, rejected items will simply not be accepted, leading to delays and inventory stockouts.
The Impact of Amazon’s Announcement
What Do These Changes Mean for Sellers in General?
Responsibility Shifts from Amazon to Seller
Beginning in 2026, all FBA prep responsibilities, time, cost, and logistical coordination is shifting from Amazon to the sellers. This also means that sellers will be responsible for ensuring that all inventory sent to Amazon is fully compliant before it arrives at the facility.
Effects on Supply Chain Timeline
Amazon’s withdrawal from prep services will affect both who handles packaging as well as when it happens. Essential packaging and labeling tasks will now move upstream to the seller’s operations or third-party prep partners.
This structural shift means that sellers face longer, more complex lead times and will need to adjust their logistics planning to keep inventory flowing smoothly into Amazon’s network.
Where products could once go directly from the manufacturer to Amazon for prep, they will now require an additional stop or step to be prepped before Amazon will accept the shipment.
This extra stage increases both lead-time and variability, especially during peak seasons when prep centers face capacity constraints. Additionally, sellers will need to adjust reorder points and plan inventory replenishment earlier to prevent stockouts.
Sellers who aren’t meticulous about prep quality could see unpredictable inbound delays, slowing restocks and hurting sales rates.
Potential Cost Increases
Amazon’s in-house prep services were designed primarily to streamline the flow of inventory into its network, which kept fees below market value.
With Amazon no longer absorbing prep expenses, sellers are likely going to feel the cost increase when they take over their own prep responsibilities as well as the cost of any additional logistics required to have that prep completed.
Who Will Be Most Affected by Amazon’s Decision to Cease FBA Prep Offerings and Why?
Sellers Who Have Heavily Relied on Amazon Prep in the Past
Sellers who have relied on Amazon’s prep services may be less familiar with the complexities of the process, making it more difficult for them to navigate FBA standards pre-intake and possibly increasing the chances of prep mistakes during the transition period.
The biggest hurdle for these sellers is going to be inexperience with FBA prep, particularly for sellers whose inventory falls into multiple product categories.
Small Businesses
Smaller Amazon sellers face more limitations than larger ones because of space, staff, and resource constraints, making the extra prep responsibilities, costs, and risks more impactful.
This isn’t to say that smaller businesses can’t handle their own prep, but the upcoming increase in responsibilities, cost, and risk are going to impact them more than it will for larger companies.
Sellers Whose Products Require Complex Prep
Sellers whose products may necessitate more steps to ensure that they meet Amazon’s prep requirements are going to face increased compliance challenges simply due to the heightened risk of mistakes that come along with having so many steps.
International Sellers
International sellers may face additional lead-time constraints since inventory often ships long distances, leaving fewer opportunities for last-minute corrections.
Because overseas shipments typically move directly from the factory into Amazon’s network, it becomes especially important to ensure that prep and labeling are fully compliant before goods leave the point of origin.
What FBA Prep Options Do Sellers Have?
Sellers can handle prep themselves, outsource it to a 3PL, or coordinate with their suppliers to ship Amazon-ready products. Each path has trade-offs in terms of cost, control, and complexity.
In-House FBA Prep
When choosing to do FBA prep in house, sellers are taking responsibility for and control of the prep of their products. All bagging, boxing, labeling, and more takes place at their own facility and is done by their workers.
In-house prep offers maximum control over quality, speed, and compliance while avoiding third-party service fees. It can also reduce long-term costs once order volumes are high.
However, it requires dedicated space, staff, and management, which increases fixed expenses and limits scalability.
This model is most effective for established sellers with consistent sales volumes that can offset the operational investment in additional space, manpower, and other resources.
Shifting FBA Prep to Manufacturers
Manufacturer FBA prep means that the product supplier or factory takes care of all the necessary preparation required for Amazon FBA before the products ever leave the production site.
This approach minimizes handling and shipping costs, allowing inventory to move efficiently from production to FBA.
However, there are challenges. Many manufacturers lack detailed knowledge of Amazon’s FBA compliance requirements, simply because FBA prep is not their specialization.
Errors during the prep process, like missing barcodes or incorrect carton labeling, can lead to Amazon rejecting or delaying shipments, causing stockouts and lost sales.
Additionally, quality control becomes harder to manage remotely. That means that FBA prep mistakes are often not discovered until after products arrive at Amazon’s warehouse for intake.
This model is ideal for sellers with standardized, low-complexity products and dependable manufacturing partners, but it does require oversight to avoid compliance errors that can interrupt the supply chain.
Partnering with 3PLs for FBA Prep
This model involves partnering with third-party logistics companies (3PLs) to outsource FBA prep from the sellers to receive, inspect, label, bundle, and ship inventory to Amazon.
For sellers new to the idea, it might seem intimidating to bring a new player into the supply chain. While it’s true that partnering with a 3PL involves introducing an additional hand-off, it can make transitioning away from relying on Amazon Prep Services much smoother.
That’s because 3PLs are built for this type of work. Their operations are designed around tasks like pick-and-pack, labeling, and inventory management.
Rather than having to set up new workflows or expand internal capacity, sellers can tap into an existing infrastructure that’s ready to handle volume fluctuations and seasonal demands. This alone can reduce friction and keep products moving toward FBA fulfillment without unexpected delays.
Another key advantage is compliance. Many 3PLs that support Amazon sellers are already familiar with FBA’s packaging, labeling, and shipment standards, and that experience can help reduce the risk of shipments being flagged or rejected upon intake.
That being said, not all 3PLs are the same, so it is important that sellers are verifying that potential partners are indeed well-versed in FBA prep requirements.
Because 3PLs service multiple clients, they’re able to keep their overhead costs lower, which is particularly helpful for businesses with lower inventory quantities. However, 3PLs do cost more per unit and per service, which can add up quickly at higher volumes.
Additionally, sellers planning on switching over to 3PL partnerships need to consider that centers could get overloaded with Amazon prep work due to Amazon’s announcement, so leaving the switch until the last minute isn’t advisable.
Working with a 3PL means relying on an external partner for accuracy and timeliness. This gives sellers less control than they would have with in-house prep and requires clear communication between both parties.
Sellers who want to grow quickly without managing their own facilities would benefit most from partnering with a 3PL for prep.
FBA Prep Hybrids
A hybrid FBA prep approach combines multiple methods and provides flexibility, cost efficiency, and potential risk reduction by distributing responsibilities across different partners.
The main drawback is the increased coordination required to maintain consistency and clear communication among all parties. Tracking inventory across multiple prep sources can complicate planning, especially for replenishment forecasts.
Despite this complexity, a hybrid model is often the most strategic choice for businesses with diverse product lines or fluctuating sales volumes, as it balances control, scalability, and cost management.
Conclusion
Amazon’s move to cease FBA prep offerings puts the responsibility onto the sellers, so the best plan ahead will depend on the specific needs of their businesses. The good news is that there are multiple prep options to choose from, all with their own strengths.
After January 1, 2026, Amazon will no longer provide prep or labeling services for new inbound shipments. Only shipments created and sent to Amazon before this date will receive prep under the current system.
To prepare for the transition, sellers should begin by auditing their current inventory to identify SKUs with special prep needs. It’s also beneficial for sellers to document prep workflows to ensure consistency once this change takes effect.
Midwest Assembly, Warehousing, and Distribution offers FBA Prep and compliance services. Learn more about what that includes.