Fulfilment by Amazon
- Features & Benefits
Put Amazon’s Fulfilment Technology to work for you.
Put Amazon’s Fulfilment Technology to work for you.
You sell it, we ship it. Amazon has created one of the most advanced Fulfilment networks in the world, and your business can now benefit from our expertise. With Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) you store your products in Amazon’s Fulfilment centres, and we directly pick, pack and deliver them as well as provide customer service.Enjoy these benefits when you partner with us.
Eligible for Super Saver Delivery & Amazon Prime
Customers love FREE Super Saver Delivery and Amazon Prime. FBA listings on Amazon.co.uk feature the same delivery messaging we use for Amazon.co.uk listings. Learn more…
Competitive Price Sorting
Your FBA listings on Amazon.co.uk get the same treatment that Amazon gets; we sort them on the item price without the cost of shipping, which also gives you an edge when competing for the Buy Box!
Trusted Customer Service and Returns
FBA listings are displayed with the “Fulfilment by Amazon” logo, so customers know that packing, delivery, customer service and returns are all handled by Amazon.
Fulfil Orders from other Channels
You can fulfil your orders from other channels using your inventory at Amazon. You maintain control over your inventory and can have it returned at any time.
- Pricing
- How it Works
How it works
Step 1 You send your products to Amazon.
You send your new or used products to Amazon’s Fulfilment centres.
- Upload your listings to Amazon’s system.
- Let Amazon fulfil all or part of your inventory.
- Amazon provides PDF labels and shipping status.
- Select your own carrier and arrange the shipment.
Unsuitable Products
Before listing products for Fulfilment by Amazon, it is important to know what is suitable for our fulfilment process and what is not. There are four criteria that can make products unsuitable for Fulfilment by Amazon:
Categories Requiring Approval
For some product categories, Amazon limits the addition of new sellers and closely monitors seller performance to ensure a high-quality experience for buyers. These measures are taken because of the types of products sold in the category, and often reflect concerns about consumer safety, product quality, branding, or import and export restrictions.
You can sell items in the following categories: Books, Music, DVD, VHS, Baby, Toys & Games, Electronics & Computing, Home & Garden, Shoes, Software, Sports & Leisure, DIY & Tools and PC & Video Games. Prior approval is required to sell in the following categories: Clothing, Health & Beauty and Jewellery & Watches. Contact us to request approval.
Restricted Products
Certain products are not allowed on the Amazon.co.uk website under any conditions. Some products may not be sold as a matter of compliance with legal or regulatory restrictions, for example, prescription drugs. Specific product content is prohibited as a matter of Amazon policy, for example, crime scene photos.
Please see our Restricted Products pages for more information about prohibited and permitted products. For additional information regarding prohibited content and copyright violations, please see our Seller Offenses & Prohibited Content page.
Hazardous Materials
In addition, materials that pose a health risk due to toxic chemicals or volatile substances are not permitted. For a complete list of products restricted in our fulfilment centre, see our FBA Manual 2.5 Product Restrictions.
Improper Packaging
Amazon has established packaging requirements that help provide a safe working environment in the fulfilment centres while enabling an efficient fulfilment process. Included with the packaging requirements are physical limitations on the products we will handle in our fulfilment centres. Large or heavy items can pose dangers to employees and interfere with the fulfilment process. See FBA Manual 5.8 Packaging Requirements.
Upload listings
Fulfilment by Amazon offers three channels for uploading your listings to accommodate the scale of your business.
Add a Product
If you have a small number of items you want Amazon to fulfil for you, you can list them one at a time. This online tool in your seller account enables you to select items in the Amazon.co.uk catalogue or add new ones if you have a Pro Merchant account. Once you have your inventory listed, you can simply convert it to be fulfilled by Amazon. For more information, go to Listing Your Item.
Flat File Feeds
If you have large volumes of inventory, you can list items by uploading a flat file through the Upload tool in your seller account. We provide an Excel spreadsheet template that you can use to build the file. This method enables you to directly list them for Fulfilment by Amazon and bypass the conversion process. For more information, go to FBA Manual 4.3 Flat File Feeds.
API Integration
If you have large volumes of inventory and development resources available to you, you can integrate your own website or inventory management software with Amazon’s inventory catalogue using Amazon’s SOAP API. This method enables you to directly list them for Fulfilment by Amazon and bypass the conversion process. For more information, go to Amazon Fulfilment Web Services.
Create a Shipment
Once your listings have been converted to Fulfilment by Amazon, the shipping workflow will walk you through the process of creating a shipment.
You enter item quantities and select your carrier. The workflow will identify inventory that needs to be labelled and provide item labels, packing slips and shipment labels that you can print. We’ll also notify you of any errors and provide tips along the way to help you streamline the shipment process. Once your items are packed and your shipment is labelled, you can hand your shipment over to your carrier. If you have a large shipment, you can also arrange for less than truckload (LTL) or self-delivery.
For more information, go to FBA Manual 5.3 Shipping Work Flow .
Step 2 Amazon stores your products.
Amazon catalogues and stores your products in our ready-to-ship inventory.
- Amazon receives and scans your inventory.
- We record Item dimensions for storage.
- You monitor inventory using our integrated tracking system.
Receiving Inventory at the Fulfilment Centre
Inventory you send to an Amazon fulfilment centre is generally scanned and made available for sale within three business days of being received. You can track the status of your shipment in the Shipping Queue with the status cycling through In Transit, Delivered, Checked-In, Receiving and finally Closed. During the Receiving process, your item barcodes are individually scanned and entered into the tracking system, the dimensions and weight are captured for storage and fulfilment purposes.
For more information, go to FBA Manual 5.4 Shipping Queue .
Protecting your Inventory
Our Fulfilment Centres offer a secure modern environment. We store inventory either in bulk or in individual “pickable” locations. Media products are stored on library-type shelving in vertical, spine out positions with loose stacking to avoid “shelf wear.” Specialty items like high-value goods may be placed in specific secure areas of the fulfilment centre as appropriate. If inventory is damaged or misplaced while in Amazon’s control in the fulfilment centre, we will purchase the inventory from you.
For more information, go to Fulfilment by Amazon Replacement Value Schedule .
Storage Rates
The unit dimensions are measured to the nearest 1/10" and the accumulated cubic feet of all your inventory is recorded each night for the total volume of your stored inventory. You pay for the average daily volume you have in storage during the month; this means you only pay storage for what is in our fulfilment centres while it is there.
For more information, go to the FBA Programme Fees or download the FBA Programme Fees (PDF).
Step 3 Customers order your products.
Amazon fulfils orders on your behalf – orders placed directly on Amazon.co.uk or Fulfilment requests you submit for sales not on Amazon.
- Your listings rank by price alone since they are eligible for Super Saver Delivery.
- Amazon Prime members can upgrade shipping options for your FBA listings
- You can sell on Amazon.co.uk, your own website or anywhere you want and have orders fulfilled by Amazon
FBA Listing Advantages
Once your products are listed through Fulfilment by Amazon, your customers will be able to take advantage of offers such as FREE Super Saver Delivery, Amazon Prime shipping discounts, Express Delivery and Evening delivery in London and Birmingham with Fast Track Messaging as well as world class Amazon customer service just to name a few. When customers see “Fulfilled by Amazon” beneath your product listings, they know their orders will be fulfilled securely and on time.
For more information, go to Fulfilment by Amazon Programme.
Multi-Channel Fulfilment
With Multi-Channel Fulfilment, you can use Fulfilment by Amazon to fulfil orders from any sales channel. Once inventory is in our fulfilment centres, you can choose to sell it on Amazon.co.uk or not. When an order comes in, tell us where and how to ship it, and we’ll do the rest.
You can submit orders from your seller account, by uploading a flat-file feed or by integrating with Amazon’s SOAP API. You can select between Standard Delivery (1-day processing and 3-5 business days shipping), Two-day Delivery, or Next-day Delivery. Your packing slips will contain your business name and can include a customized message to the customer.
On Multi-Channel Fulfilment orders, you can work directly with your customers to handle customer service issues.
For more information, go to FBA Manual 7.4 Submit Orders for Multi-Channel Fulfilment.
Selling on Amazon Rates
With the exception of Multi-Channel Fulfilment orders, all Selling on Amazon fees will apply to purchases made on Amazon.co.uk. Unlike merchant fulfilled orders, you won’t receive a shipping credit.
For more information, go to Fees and Pricing or download the FBA Programme Fees (PDF)
Step 4 Amazon picks and packs your products
Fulfilment by Amazon picks your products from inventory and packages them.
- Amazon locates your products using our advanced web-to-warehouse, high-speed picking and sorting system.
- Customers can combine your orders with other items fulfilled by Amazon.
Branding
All Fulfilment by Amazon orders are shipped in Amazon branded boxes. The packing slip displays the Amazon brand and the name of the merchant. For Multi-Channel Fulfilment, you also have the option of adding a brief personalised message on the packing slip.
Pick & Pack Rates
All products fulfilled by Amazon.co.uk are assessed a Pick & Pack Fee. The amount of the fee varies depending on these criteria:
- Dimensions and Weight: Standard or Oversize
- Product Category: Media or non-media
For more information, see FBA Programme Fees or download the FBA Programme Fees (PDF).
Step 5 Amazon ships your products.
Amazon delivers the products to your customers from our network of Fulfilment centres.
- Amazon ships customer orders using the method they choose.
- We provide tracking information for customers.
- For orders on Amazon.co.uk, customers can contact us for customer service.
Fulfilment Rates
The cost of fulfilment depends upon the origin of the order.
If the order was placed on Amazon.co.uk, you will be charged the following three fees:- Pick & Pack (per unit ordered)
- Order Handling (per order)
- Weight Handling (envelope max 300 g, box up to 2 kg, box over 2 kg)
For Multi-Channel Fulfilment (orders originating anywhere other than Amazon.co.uk), you will be charged the following fees
- Pick & Pack (per unit ordered)
- Shipping Method (per order – standard or expedited)
- Shipping Weight
For more information, see FBA Programme Fees or download the FBA Programme Fees (PDF)
Customer Service
One of the advantages of Fulfilment by Amazon is the use of Amazon’s customer service to handle customer inquiries, refunds and returns. For orders from the Amazon.co.uk website that Amazon fulfils, we will manage all customer service associated with fulfilment of your products in the programme. Our online returns centre provides customers with help pages and details about how to contact us. If the customer wants to return a product, we direct the customer to our online Returns Centre.
For more information, got to FBA Manual 7.5 Customer Service.
- Testimonials
Fulfilment by Amazon in Action
Simplify the fulfilment process by letting Amazon store, pick, pack and deliver your items. Merchants are taking advantage of this powerful tool to help their businesses succeed. Sign up today and see how Fulfilment by Amazon can increase your sales.
“FBA is ideal for our needs because it saves us a lot of time that can be better expended on market research, generating and purchasing new products, extending our range etc. Let’s face it, these are vital prerequisites of future growth – on all channels.”
Michael Hönle
Managing Director of Wimax, also known as Mundo del Arte Gmbh
“FBA has likely been the best business decision we made in 2009—Sales are up and growing our business further is a very achievable goal”
Simon Mott
co founder and owner of Economic Comics
“Amazon currently contributes almost 50 percent of our sales volume with FBA slowly growing to increase this figure. Year on year, our Amazon sales are significantly higher, and we will beat last year’s total sales figure within the first nine months of this financial year.”
Dave Solomon
Founder and Managing Director DST (UK) Ltd
“Fulfilment by Amazon is well conceived and very clear. Amazon provided us with a good explanation of how it works. The programme is very easy to use. Since becoming an FBA merchant, Cinereplicas has been able to increase its turnover by 50 percent!”
Fabrice Bensoussan
Managing Director of Cinereplicas
“Our clients place an incredible amount of trust in Amazon. They can rely on their FBA goods arriving the next day if they order express delivery or within two days at the latest if they choose one of the other delivery options. With all other platforms, it takes a lot longer to transfer the money and arrange the delivery. The name Amazon automatically increases customer satisfaction.”
Pero Vrdoljak
Owner of Empressia.
“Amazon is our strongest channel with more than 69 percent of our business and the largest growth in the last year.
We didn’t anticipate the customer service element of FBA. We put a low tariff on it until we saw how quickly FBA customer service handled issues with our Amazon orders at peak periods. Customer service was a big advantage to us during our huge growth in December.
With the flexibility of FBA, I can now buy inventory at a time during the year that it is discounted. I can shrink and grow my inventory at any time, flexing up and down during on and off peak seasonality. Amazon is our favorite channel and Fulfilment by Amazon has enabled us to continue to meet our increase in sales. We plan to continue the strong relationship."
Mark Senior
Founder and Owner of Gamesbuyer.co.uk.
“In 2008 our sales with Amazon were 80 percent of those recorded with another on-line channel in the same period. This year our Amazon sales passed the mark of the previous 12-month period as early as June 10. This is at least partly due to Fulfilment by Amazon, even if we only joined in March 2009. Thanks to Fulfilment by Amazon, we can draw on almost unlimited stock maintaining capacity and are no longer forced to provide huge amounts of warehouse space on our own premises. We save a lot of time and human resources through not having to pack the goods for shipping to end customers ourselves. If we deliver from here, the costs are around 90 Euro cents higher per parcel than through Amazon, taking into account the carton, packing material, etc.
Fulfilment is easily the best thing Amazon has on the market. It lets entrepreneurs concentrate on the essentials. It works not just for sports goggles but for absolutely everything connected to sports and leisure."
Matthias Rosemann
Owner and Managing Director of Eye-Alpin
“Amazon enjoys an excellent reputation with German consumers. Despite this, the success of the partnership took us completely by surprise. Our sales with Amazon rocketed. All in all, business transactions are far less complicated than with alternative channels.
Fulfilment by Amazon relieves us of several tasks that other people can get done better. Our model is still the same but the door has been opened to new business opportunities."
René Kräupziger
Owner and Managing Director of 101Shirts
“Internet merchants never have a minute to spare because business in the twenty-first century is a 24/7 affair. Since joining FBA, I not only have more free time—I can also make better use of it for strategic buying, establishing contacts with new vendors, and sounding out sales opportunities in other countries, and so on.
Although we were highly automated, we had reached the limits of our capacity at close to three hundred parcels a day. Now they are packed for us by Amazon before I even get out of bed. For sellers who still do the majority of their outward handling manually, FBA is probably an extremely attractive proposition even with much smaller volumes than ours.
The price structure is so cheap that at first I found it difficult to believe. I had to telephone Support to get confirmation. If customers see that Radio Wolf ships via Amazon, they are more likely to order because they trust Amazon’s logistics. This is a clear competitive advantage."
Bruno Wirth
General Manager Radio Wolf“I recorded a 40 percent increase in sales in October 2009 compared with the same period last year.”
Élise Phelippeau
founder of Un Monde Ludique- FAQ
- Events and Tutorials
