Guide · FBA first-leg from China
Since January 1, 2026, Amazon no longer applies FNSKU labels, polybags, bubble wrap or bundling to US-bound FBA inventory on the seller’s behalf. Units must arrive fully prepped. For China-sourced goods the practical answer is to prep upstream — at the China leg, before the first-leg shipment departs — because that adds no extra handling hop.
This page covers what changed and when, the three places prep can now be done, the five ways it goes wrong, and how unit-level prep is executed and evidenced at a China-leg coordination workflow. Policy details are drawn from the industry sources cited at the foot of the page; Amazon Seller Central is authoritative and its current requirements prevail.
These points are compiled from the industry sources cited at the end of this page. Where any detail differs from Amazon’s current documentation, Amazon Seller Central prevails — check it before booking freight.
Before 2026, a seller could ship unprepped cartons from a Chinese factory and pay Amazon to label and bag units on arrival. That backstop is gone, which leaves three places the work can be done.
| Where prep happens | What it costs you operationally | When it is the right answer |
|---|---|---|
| Your own facility | You handle unit-level labeling and bagging yourself, then ship prepped cartons onward. Full control; the labour is yours and it does not scale with volume. | Small catalogues, high-value units, or anything where you will not delegate the handling. |
| A US prep centre | Adds a domestic touch point after import: goods are received, prepped and re-shipped inside the US before reaching a fulfillment centre. | Goods that are already in the US, or shipments that were dispatched unprepped before the policy change. |
| The China leg, before first-leg departure | Prep happens where the goods already are, so no extra hop is added and the shipment arrives ready to check in. Requires declaring every service explicitly, with the label files attached, at order time. | China-sourced goods, and any catalogue where unit-level labeling or bagging is the bulk of the work. |
No cost comparison appears here, because the answer depends on your unit count, your unit value and the lane you are already booking. What is structural rather than situational is the handling: prepping at the China leg adds no extra hop to goods that have not left China yet.
Three prep tasks cover most FBA shipments. Here is what each requires and how it is executed in a China-leg coordination workflow such as WooliiPorter’s:
| Prep task | What Amazon requires | How it runs at the China leg |
|---|---|---|
| FNSKU labeling (relabel) | Each unit needs a scannable FNSKU barcode that maps to the seller’s listing, covering any other scannable barcode on the packaging. | The merchant uploads the printable FNSKU label file and written instructions with the order; warehouse staff print, apply and photograph each labeled unit before it can move to packing. |
| Polybagging and protection | Loose, exposed or multi-part items must be bagged; polybags with large openings require a suffocation warning. Fragile items need protective wrapping. | Declared as a polybag/repack service on the order; executed during packing from the merchant’s instructions, closed with mandatory photo evidence. |
| Palletizing (for LTL/FCL first-leg) | Palletized freight to Amazon fulfillment centers must follow Amazon’s pallet and carton requirements for the booked shipment. | Requested as a palletize service on FBA first-leg orders; performed at dispatch as part of the freight handoff. |
Exact label, bag and pallet specifications change; verify current requirements in Amazon Seller Central for your marketplace and shipment type before dispatch.
Prep failures are almost always instruction failures rather than execution failures. Each failure below has a mechanism that stops it, and each mechanism leaves something you can see on the order record.
| What has to be right | Why it matters | What enforces it at the China leg |
|---|---|---|
| The FNSKU file is the right one | A label mapping to the wrong listing is worse than no label: the units check in against someone else’s inventory record. | The printable label file is uploaded with the order. An FNSKU job without the file and written instructions is refused rather than improvised. |
| Other scannable barcodes are covered | A visible manufacturer barcode competes with the FNSKU at receiving. | The instruction is part of the declared service, and each labeled unit is photographed before the order can move to packing. |
| Polybag warnings are present where required | Bags with large openings need a suffocation warning; missing it is a compliance failure, not a cosmetic one. | Declared as a polybag or repack service and executed during packing from your written instructions, closed with photo evidence. |
| Nothing was prepped that you did not ask for | Silent prep is an unpriced operation you cannot audit and did not authorise. | Prep is added only by explicit declaration on the order, and each declared service becomes its own settlement line item. |
| You can prove what was done, months later | Prep failures surface at Amazon receiving, long after the operation. | Every declared service closes with mandatory photo evidence attached to the order record before packing and quoting. |
WooliiPorter operates FBA first-leg preparation and dispatch coordination from China to the US, EU, Canada and Mexico for merchants who buy from their own suppliers. Prep follows one deliberately rigid rule: every prep service must be declared explicitly by the merchant on the order — prep is never added silently.
Why so strict? Because prep failures are usually instruction failures. Removing ambiguity at order time — explicit declaration, attached label files, mandatory evidence — is what makes prep done an ocean away auditable from your desk.
Not for US-bound FBA inventory. As reported by the industry sources cited in this guide, Amazon announced on July 28, 2025 that it would discontinue in-house FBA prep and labeling — FNSKU labeling, polybagging, bubble wrapping, bundling and boxing — effective January 1, 2026. Amazon Seller Central is the authoritative reference and its current requirements prevail.
There is no longer an option to pay Amazon to fix prep after arrival. As reported, unprepped or mis-prepped units risk rejection at receiving, non-compliance fees, delayed check-in or unsellable status. Confirm the current handling in Seller Central before booking freight.
At the China leg, between the factory and the first-leg departure, whenever the work is unit-level labeling and bagging. Doing it after import adds a domestic touch point and a second handling step to goods that are already in the country they need to be in. The three places prep can happen — factory, China leg, destination 3PL — differ in cost, turnaround and who carries the compliance risk.
The reported scope is US-bound FBA inventory, including inventory routed through Amazon’s own inbound programmes that ends up in FBA fulfillment centres. Requirements for other marketplaces are set per marketplace, so verify your specific marketplace and shipment type in Seller Central rather than assuming the US rule applies.
Applying a scannable barcode that maps a physical unit to your specific Amazon listing, covering any other scannable barcode on the packaging. It is the prep task that most often has to be done unit by unit, which is why moving it upstream to where the goods already sit changes the economics of the whole shipment.
Not silently. Every prep service must be declared explicitly by the merchant on the order, with written instructions and the printable label file where one applies; an order without them is not accepted for that service. That is deliberate — prep failures are usually instruction failures, so ambiguity is rejected at intake rather than discovered at Amazon receiving.
Amazon announced the change to sellers via Seller Central (login required). The public reporting below is what this page relies on; always confirm current requirements directly in Seller Central, which is the authoritative reference and whose requirements prevail over anything stated here.