What Is FBA Prep?
FBA sellers aren't supposed to pack everything in a box, and then hand it over to couriers. The inventory you send must be subject to some rules in order to be accepted by the Fulfillment Center. Some of these rules are applicable to all inventory. Some are only applicable to specific categories. FBA prep is the process that prepares your inventory for shipping to Amazon. This primarily focuses on labeling and packaging products, however certain sellers, particularly those that import products are also required to add an inspection to their inventory. It is crucial to get it right before you submit your FBA. If you make a mistake, Amazon won't accept your product and you'll be required to pay to get it all returned. And, even more so, if damaged stock is sent into Amazon, customers will likely complain and return the item. These complaints could accumulate and lead to your listing be removed or your account to be suspended.
Why Outsource FBA Prep?
In the case of FBA preparation, you have three options: complete it yourself either pay Amazon to handle it, or outsourcing the task to a third-party. FBA prep is complicated, requires a great deal of expertise and could easily go wrong. In the theory of it, outsourcing it means that you hand it over to the experts. The FBA prep service should know the procedure and ensure that the stock you are sending into FBA conforms to Amazon's regulations, lowering the risk of your stock being rejected. This is particularly crucial when it's your first time submitting stock to FBA because you don't fully comprehend how challenging an operation is until you've actually done it and learned from your mistakes. Amazon's many rules mean that preparing inventory for FBA could be a huge burden on your time. You'll end up looking through the inventory, making boxes and printing labels, which is when you could be better spent on sourcing new products.
Price
Price is the main concern for sellers when looking at FBA preparation services. While it shouldn't be the primary factor, it is normal to want the best deal. It doesn't matter if the initial costs are high. You need to find out whether the service is charged per item or monthly. For sellers with huge stock levels the monthly fee is probably more suitable. However, a per item price is more appealing to sellers who only ship stocks occasionally. Understanding what's included in the process of packaging is essential as many prep services charge extra for bubble wrap and poly bags. It is also important to know what the storage costs are and how many units you need to send to the prep centre at any given moment. Although price is an important factor when choosing the best FBA prep service, it's not always the most important. It's not necessary to select a service that is low-cost. But, you wish to keep your costs in check. There is no need to incur high initial costs. When you become more familiar with the preparation process it is possible to cut costs, such as by splitting tasks between your manufacturer and the prep service you use. Have a look at the best Door to Door Delivery website for details.
Location
When considering the location of your prep facility You must think strategically. If you are shipping large volumes from China, private label will likely be the major source of business. It's worth looking into the ports from which your shipments are arriving and finding a prep center near them. Danny McMillan believes that having prep centers located near ports for shipping is a good idea. Not only does it reduce time and assist in trucking costs, but additionally, it can make your business run more efficiently. The prep center might be able of sending an individual to your port in the situation of an emergency. If your prep center were only 300 miles away from the port, this would not be a possibility. Another thing to think about for retail arbitrage sellers is that they should have a pre-fab center that is close to their home and, therefore, when they need to source stock, they can either carry it home their own or pay very little transportation costs. Be careful about choosing a prep center in relation to the proximity of an Amazon Fulfillment Center though, as the Amazon warehouse you ship to may be different every time. If you sign up for Amazon’s Inventory Placement Service, this is also the case. Amazon will allow you to send your entire inventory of one item to the Fulfillment Center. But Amazon has the power to alter the shipping location from shipping to shipping.