What Is FBA Prep?
FBA does not allow sellers to just put their stock in a container and send it to them. Fulfillment Center can only accept inventory that is in line with certain requirements. Some of the rules are universal while certain rules are specific to each category. FBA prep is the process of getting your inventory prepared to be shipped into Amazon. It is mainly focused on labeling and packaging items, but some sellers, specifically those that import products are also required to add an inspection to their inventory. Getting your FBA preparation correct is very essential. It is possible to be penalized for not preparing the FBA preparation correctly. Worse still, if you ship damaged goods to Amazon and it's incorrectly shipped to a buyer, they are likely to file a complaint and then return the item. If you've had numerous complaints, this could impact your sales and could result in the removal of your listing or your account being shut down.
Why Outsource FBA Prep?
FBA preparation is a choice of outsourcing the process to third parties and doing it yourself, or paying Amazon. FBA preparation is complex difficult, complex, and easy to overlook. By outsourcing the process, in theory, you are handing it over to experts. FBA preparation services must be familiar with the process. They'll make sure that the stock you send to FBA is compliant with Amazon's rules. This can reduce the chance of your stock being rejected. This is especially important for new FBA sellers. Once you've experienced it, you'll not know the level of difficulty. Amazon has numerous rules that could make it time-consuming to prepare inventory to be sent for FBA. Although you might find yourself checking out stock, designing boxes, and printing labels, your time might be better spent sourcing products.
Price
When deciding on FBA preparation services, the most important consideration for most sellers is price. While it shouldn't be the only factor you think about, it's normal to want to find the most affordable price. It is not a good idea to continue paying for high prices even if they are initially with a high price. First, you should ask whether your prep services are charged per item or per month. Sellers who have a large volume of inventory will benefit by a monthly charge and sellers who have lower volume sales will benefit from the per-item cost. Low volume sellers may prefer the per item charge as they will likely send inventory less often. You will then want to be aware of the costs associated with the packaging process as certain prep companies will charge extra for packaging materials such as bubble wrap and poly bags. It is also important to know what storage fees are and how many units you need to send to the prep centre at any given moment. The primary consideration when selecting the FBA preparation service is price. A budget-friendly option should not cut corners, however you should also consider allowing the preparation costs to remain manageable. Remember, just because the costs are high at first, it doesn't mean they're going to remain that way. You can reduce the cost of your services as you become more familiar with the procedure of preparation, such by splitting certain tasks between your manufacturer (or your preparation service). Check out the top Door to Door Delivery website for details.
Location
It's crucial to plan strategically the place you'd like your preparation centre to be. If you have a large private label enterprise it is likely that you will import large quantities of stock from China. It is advisable to determine the ports at where your goods arrive and to select a prep facility close to. Danny McMillan has found that prep centers close to shipping ports can help cut down on time and costs. This can also make it easier for your company to be run efficiently. The prep center might be able to dispatch someone to your port in the case of an emergency. If your prep center were just 300 miles from the port, this would not be a possibility. Retail arbitrage traders should also look into having a pre-production facility close to their residence to be able to source stocks quickly and quickly. You should not choose a prep centre based on the closeness to an Amazon Fulfillment Center. Each Amazon warehouse will be different. This is even if Amazon's Inventory Placement Service is signed up. In this program, you send all of your inventory of a particular product to the same Fulfillment Center, but Amazon is able to, and will alter the location of your shipment from time to shipment.