Amazon Is Ending FBA Prep Services: What High-Volume Sellers Need to Do Now

Amazon has officially announced that starting January 1, 2026, it will no longer offer FBA prep and labeling services in the U.S.

For sellers moving thousands of units per month, this change is more than an operational inconvenience — it’s a structural shift in how you’ll manage inbound compliance, timelines, and costs. The brands that prepare now will avoid delays, stockouts, and expensive rework in the year ahead.

What’s Changing with FBA Prep in 2026

This isn’t just a partial reduction in services. Amazon will stop handling all forms of inbound prep and labeling, including:

• FNSKU labeling
• Expiration date labeling
• Polybagging and shrink wrapping
• Bubble wrapping and over-boxing
• Warning labels (e.g., suffocation, lithium battery)
• Box taping/sealing
• Kitting and bundling

These changes apply across programs like FBA, AWD, AGL, SEND, and the Supply Chain Portal.

The key date:

• Before Jan 1, 2026 – Shipments created before this date can still use Amazon prep services.
• After Jan 1, 2026 – All prep must be completed before arrival at Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Non-compliant shipments may be rejected, delayed, or result in lost goods without reimbursement.

Why This Impacts High-Volume Sellers Most

For large-scale sellers, the removal of Amazon’s prep safety net has outsized consequences. When you’re moving thousands of units per week, even a 1% error rate can mean hundreds of affected units.

High-volume sellers will face:

• Greater exposure to compliance risk – More SKUs and containers mean more room for error.
• Operational complexity – Multiple product types have different prep needs.
• Tighter turnaround pressure – Reworking non-compliant shipments at scale is costly and slow.

This policy shift effectively transfers responsibility — and risk — from Amazon to the seller.

The New Responsibilities Sellers Must Manage

Once this policy takes effect, you’ll need to own or outsource all prep-related work before your shipments arrive at Amazon’s FCs. That includes:

• Applying FNSKU, expiration date, and warning labels
• Polybagging, shrink wrapping, or bubble wrapping products
• Taping, sealing, and over-boxing
• Bundling or kitting multi-SKU sets
• Creating carton labels for SPD or LTL shipments
• Following Amazon’s routing guide requirements

Failure in any of these areas can lead to delayed check-ins, refused shipments, or permanent inventory loss with no reimbursement.

Why In-House Prep at Scale Can Backfire

At first, it might seem logical to bring prep in-house. But for sellers doing large volumes, this often introduces more problems than it solves.

The challenges of in-house prep include:

• High labor costs – Staffing for thousands of units weekly adds payroll pressure.
• Space limitations – Prep requires dedicated staging and work areas.
• Error risk – One misapplied label can hold up entire pallets.
• Throughput delays – Internal prep can become a bottleneck during Q4 or peak season.
• Distraction from growth – Time spent on low-value prep tasks pulls focus from revenue-driving activities.

For many brands, outsourcing to a specialist is both faster and more cost-effective than building this capability internally.

Choosing the Right Prep-Capable 3PL

With Amazon stepping away from prep, the right 3PL partner becomes critical. Not every fulfillment provider can meet Amazon’s strict compliance rules, so vet your options carefully.

Look for a 3PL that offers:

• Proven Amazon compliance expertise and routing guide knowledge
• Comprehensive in-house prep services:
  • Labeling
  • Polybagging and bubble wrapping
  • Expiration and lot tracking
  • Kitting and bundling
  • Carton labeling
• 24–48 hour turnaround for inbound shipments
• Real-time inventory visibility through integrated tech
• Experience handling high-volume Amazon brands
• Hazmat and FDA-regulated product support, if relevant to your catalog

A capable 3PL won’t just help you meet the new requirements — they’ll turn prep into a streamlined, repeatable process that can scale with your business.

Turning Compliance Into an Advantage

While this change creates new operational burdens, it also opens opportunities to improve speed, control, and flexibility.

Benefits of moving prep off Amazon’s plate include:

• Faster check-ins at fulfillment centers
• Better inventory accuracy with pre-shipment QA
• Flexibility to use the same inventory across FBA, FBM, and DTC channels
• Reduced dependency on Amazon’s internal labor cycles
• Predictable, flat-rate prep costs that improve margin planning

Action Plan: How to Be Ready Before the Deadline

To stay ahead of the January 2026 transition, start making adjustments now.

1. Audit your catalog – Document the prep needs for each SKU.
2. Check with your manufacturer – See if they can handle any labeling or packaging upstream.
3. Evaluate 3PL partners – Look for proven Amazon prep capabilities.
4. Run a small test shipment – Work out process kinks before going all-in.
5. Document workflows – Create SOPs for supplier-to-prep-to-FBA movement.
6. Track performance – Monitor prep accuracy and FC check-in times.
7. Train your team – Make sure internal ops understands the new requirements.

Conclusion

Amazon’s decision to end FBA prep services shifts more operational responsibility onto sellers, especially those shipping at scale. The brands that treat this as a chance to strengthen their supply chain will gain an edge in speed, control, and compliance.

If your business ships 1,000+ orders per month, the time to secure a prep-capable 3PL is now — before the rush hits in late 2025. With the right partner, this policy change can be an opportunity, not just an obstacle.

‍

‍