Amazon FBA fulfillment FAQ

An FBA 3PL is a third-party logistics provider that stores your bulk inventory outside Amazon, preps it to Amazon's requirements and sends replenishment shipments into FBA as stock sells. It gives you a buffer so you are not dependent on Amazon's capacity limits, and it lets the same inventory serve other channels.

No, not in the U.S. Amazon discontinued its in-house prep and item-labeling services for U.S. FBA inbound shipments starting in 2026, so sellers now need to arrive with units already prepped and labeled. That makes a prep-capable 3PL or your own compliant prep process a requirement rather than an option.

Your bulk inventory sits in a 3PL warehouse, and smaller shipments are sent into FBA on a schedule that keeps a target number of days of cover at Amazon. Shipment size is based on sell-through, inbound lead time and your capacity limits, so you avoid both stockouts and excess storage fees.

Yes, by helping you choose the inbound option that costs least overall. Amazon-optimized splits usually carry no placement fee but require shipping to several fulfillment centers, while minimal-split options carry a fee. A 3PL can compare the fee against the extra freight and pick the better total, shipment by shipment.

Yes. AWD is Amazon's own upstream bulk storage, built mainly to feed FBA, and it works well for some sellers. A 3PL gives similar bulk storage and replenishment with full control over prep, packaging and where the stock goes next, including Walmart, Shopify, retail and wholesale orders that AWD's multi-channel options may not cover.

MCF is an Amazon service that ships orders from your other sales channels using inventory stored in FBA. Many sellers use MCF and a 3PL together, with the 3PL handling DTC and wholesale from upstream stock and MCF as a backup, or the reverse, depending on fees and each channel's packaging rules.

Amazon requires every unit to have a scannable barcode, usually an FNSKU label, and requires specific prep by product type. Examples include polybags with suffocation warnings for openings of 5 inches or more, sealed or double-bagged liquids, bubble wrap for fragile items and sold-as-set labels for bundles. Requirements change, so always check Seller Central's current guidance.

Yes. Dated products are tracked by lot and expiration and picked first-expired, first-out. Amazon requires expiration dates on both units and master cartons in an accepted format and requires a minimum remaining shelf life at receipt, so we check dates before shipments are built.

Yes. Removal orders and returns from FBA can be received, inspected, graded and either reprepped for reinbound, moved to other channels or set aside for liquidation. This is often cheaper than paying long-term storage on slow movers.

Most FBA quotes are returned within 24 hours. Share your SKU count, monthly units, carton and pallet details, prep needs and channels, and we will recommend a market and a replenishment model with transparent pricing.