FBA Prep Guides and Services
Marketplace Prep is an Amazon FBA prep and DTC fulfillment center in Fort Worth, Texas. These guides explain how prep, labeling, packaging and fulfillment work, and the service pages explain how we run each one.
Guides
How Amazon FBA prep and fulfillment work, and how to choose a partner.
What Does an FBA Prep Center Do?
Receiving, prepping every unit to Amazon’s requirements, and shipping it into FBA.
What Is FNSKU Labeling?
What the label is, how it differs from a UPC, and why every unit now needs one.
What Is a 3PL for Amazon Sellers?
What a third-party logistics partner receives, stores, prepares and ships for you.
FBA Prep Center vs 3PL
Every prep center is a 3PL, but not every 3PL is built around Amazon’s inbound rules.
When to Use a Prep Center for Amazon FBA
The point where the time and error cost of prepping yourself passes the cost of outsourcing.
FBA Prep Center vs DIY Prep
When prepping in house still costs less than the work it displaces, and when it stops.
How to Find an FBA Prep Center
The five things to judge a prep center on before you send inventory.
What to Look for in an Amazon Prep Center
Accuracy, communication, software and Amazon depth, in the order they matter.
FBA Prep Center Checklist
A printable checklist for vetting a prep partner and getting your own side ready.
How to Ship Inventory to a Prep Center
Routing product to the prep center instead of an Amazon fulfillment center.
Amazon FBA Poly Bag Requirements
Thickness, sealing, overhang, barcode and suffocation-warning rules for poly bags.
Amazon Case Pack Requirements
One SKU per case, identical counts, scannable barcodes and the exterior label rules.
How Does DTC Fulfillment Work?
Receiving, order capture, pick and pack, and carrier transit, each on its own clock.
FBA prep services
Standard prep is billed at the published per-unit tiers on our prep pricing page.
FNSKU Labeling Service
FNSKU labels printed from your shipment plan and applied over every manufacturer barcode.
Poly Bagging Service
Poly-bagging to Amazon’s thickness, seal and warning-label rules.
Bubble Wrap Prep
Protective wrap for glass, ceramics and other breakables bound for FBA.
Kitting and Bundling
Multi-packs, bundles and kits assembled to your spec and labeled as one unit.
Case Pack Compliance
Case packs built and checked against Amazon’s case rules before they ship.
FBA Case Forwarding
Sealed manufacturer case packs checked, labeled and forwarded into FBA.
FBA Inspection Service
Units checked against your documented spec at receiving, before they ship to Amazon.
Amazon Freight Booking
LTL and pallet shipments booked into FBA through the Amazon Freight portal.
FBA Prep for Wholesale Sellers
Bulk receiving, inspection and labeling for wholesale inventory headed to FBA.
FBA Prep for Private Label Brands
Packaging, inserts and prep documented per brand at onboarding.
DTC fulfillment services
Pick, pack and ship on ShipHero. Rates are on our fulfillment pricing page.
Not sure where your inventory fits?
Tell us what you sell and how you ship, and we will tell you plainly whether we are a fit.