Amazon's prep rules are specific, and the cost of ignoring them lands on you - unfulfillable inventory, prep fees charged back, or warnings against your account. Here is what the requirements actually are.
FNSKU labelling
Every unit needs a scannable FNSKU barcode unless you are enrolled in Amazon's commingled inventory programme, which most sellers should avoid because it mixes your stock with other sellers' and exposes you to their quality problems.
The label must cover any existing barcode - EAN, UPC or otherwise. A unit with two scannable barcodes is a receiving error waiting to happen, and Amazon will treat it as your fault.
Poly bagging and suffocation warnings
Items that could be damaged by dust or moisture, soft goods, and anything with loose parts generally need bagging. Any poly bag with an opening of five inches or more must carry a suffocation warning, printed legibly.
The bag must be transparent enough for the FNSKU to scan through it, or the label goes on the outside. Bags should be sealed, and any excess plastic trimmed so the unit is not larger than it needs to be - dimensional size drives Amazon's own fees.
Bundles and multipacks
A bundle sold as one unit must be packaged so it cannot separate in the fulfilment centre, and must be labelled 'Sold as set, do not separate' or equivalent. Only the outer packaging carries the FNSKU; individual items inside must not have scannable barcodes exposed.
This is where a lot of returns and negative feedback originate - a bundle that arrives split is, from the customer's point of view, a wrong order.
Expiry dates
Consumables, supplements and topicals need the expiry date printed in a legible format on both the unit and the outer box, and Amazon requires a minimum remaining shelf life on receipt. Stock arriving too close to expiry gets refused or destroyed.
Prep centres that handle food and supplements will check this on receipt, which is one of the clearest cases where outsourcing pays for itself.
Fragile, liquid and sharp items
Glass and other fragile goods need protective wrapping and must survive a drop test. Liquids need double-sealing against leaks. Sharp items must be fully covered so a warehouse worker cannot be injured handling them.
Oversized and heavy units carry their own team-lift labelling requirements above certain weights.
What changes in July 2026
Amazon has announced it will stop offering its own FBA prep and label services in Europe from 1 July 2026. Sellers who currently pay Amazon to prep or label on receipt will need to do that work themselves or move it to a third-party prep centre.
If that describes your setup, the time to compare providers is before the deadline rather than after it, when every UK prep centre will be fielding the same enquiry.
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