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Shipping products to Amazon FBA is not just "book a shipment and hope it arrives." For international sellers shipping from China to Amazon FBA in the US or Europe, the inbound workflow has a few make-or-break moments: packaging and labels, box content accuracy, customs importer setup, and the final delivery appointment. This guide walks you through the real step-by-step process from finished production to FBA check-in, with practical timelines, cost drivers, and the mistakes that most often cause delays or refusals.
Quick answers
Transparency note: This guide reflects common inbound workflows and Seller Central requirements available as of December 2025, with examples focused on US and EU inbound shipments. Policies, fees, and routing can change. Always confirm the latest requirements inside Seller Central before you ship.
Use this if you are:
If you are still deciding whether FBA is right for you, start with What is Amazon FBA and then come back here once your product is confirmed.
At a high level, shipping products to Amazon from production to FBA looks like this:
Pro tip
Inbound shipping gets much easier when you assign an owner to each step. Example: The supplier owns production and packaging photos, the inspection company owns the QC report, the forwarder owns customs and delivery appointments, and you own the shipment plan accuracy.
Before anyone packs cartons, confirm whether your ASIN needs special prep like poly bagging, bubble wrap, expiration date labels, or suffocation warnings. If you rely on Amazon to fix prep problems at receiving, you risk delays, unplanned service fees, or refusal. The safest workflow is to prep correctly before the shipment leaves the origin country.
For most private label sellers, you either:
Common mistake
Printing unit labels too late. Sellers finish production, rush pickup, and then realize the factory did not label units consistently. Fixing labels after export is one of the most expensive "small mistakes" because it usually means relabeling labor at a 3PL, plus delays.
Amazon receiving is optimized for predictable cartons. Your goal is clean labeling, accurate box content, and cartons that meet size and weight limits.
Even if you do not hire a full inspection company, do not skip quality checks entirely. At minimum, verify:
In 2025, most sellers create inbound shipments using the "Send to Amazon" workflow. The steps below keep you out of trouble when shipping directly to Amazon FBA from China or any overseas supplier.
Creating a shipment with placeholder box sizes and then "fixing it later." Box weights and dimensions are not cosmetic. They affect partnered carrier options, appointment planning, and receiving. If you change cartons after labels are printed, you risk label-to-box mismatches.
Print your FBA box ID labels from Seller Central and apply them to the correct cartons. If you provide box content information, each label is box-specific. Mixing labels across cartons is one of the fastest ways to trigger delays at receiving.
Your last-mile delivery method should match your shipment size:
Before you confirm cartons and shipping method, calculate profit with realistic freight and duty. Use the free SellerSprite Profitability Calculator to estimate FBA fees, shipping cost per unit, and net margin so your first inbound shipment does not surprise you.
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Most sellers use one of three options: express courier, air freight plus last mile, or sea freight plus truck. Your best choice depends on urgency, volume, and cash flow. If you are asking "how to ship to Amazon FBA from China," this is the section that will decide your cost per unit.
If you are launching a new ASIN, consider a split shipment. Send 10% to 30% by air to start selling and collect early data, then ship the remaining volume by sea to protect the margin.
Your forwarder or broker typically needs:
Customs is where first shipments get stuck when sellers assume Amazon will "handle the import." In most cases, you (or your appointed partner) must be correctly listed for import compliance and duty payment. Build this into your forwarder conversation before pickup so the shipment does not stall at the port.
Once cleared, the shipment moves to Amazon via SPD, LTL, or FTL. Your forwarder should confirm the delivery appointment requirements for the assigned fulfillment center and ensure the cartons or pallets match what you created in Seller Central.
After delivery, receiving time varies. Many shipments check in within a few business days, but delays happen during peak season or when labels and box contents are not clean.
Costs vary by season, carrier capacity, product type (batteries increase complexity), and destination. The goal here is not a perfect quote, but a realistic way to estimate per-unit shipping cost and avoid margin surprises.
Example scenario
A seller ships about 2 CBM of cartons from Shenzhen to an Amazon US fulfillment center area (example: Southern California region). The shipment is 18 cartons, with a total gross weight of 210 kg. For air freight, chargeable weight is often based on volume, so 2 CBM can be priced roughly as 330 to 340 kg chargeable weight, depending on the carrier's rules.
For this size, sellers often compare two options:
Do not evaluate shipping cost by total dollars. Evaluate it by cost per sellable unit. A shipment that is "cheap" but arrives late can still be expensive if you stock out and lose ranking.
Here are the issues that most often create pain on first shipments:
Overweight cartons trigger more than a fee risk. They can trigger refusal risk and shipment blocking warnings. Train your supplier to weigh cartons after packing, not before.
Inaccurate box content info is one of the most common reasons a shipment takes longer to reconcile. If each label is box-specific, the contents must match that label.
Sellers change carton count after pickup. The supplier adds "just two extra cartons" or repacks cartons to reduce damage. If the shipment plan and labels do not match, receiving becomes slow and painful.
For EU and UK inbound, the biggest operational difference is the importer setup. Many sellers need an EORI number and VAT registration, depending on the import model. Your forwarder can handle customs, but they still need the correct legal setup from you.
If you want to scale shipping decisions with data, pair this inbound workflow with your broader FBA foundation. Continue with the course chapters inside SellerSprite Academy.
Join the SellerSprite community on the Facebook Group to share your sourcing journey, ask questions, and get support from fellow Amazon sellers.
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It depends on volume, route, season, and product type. The fastest way to estimate is to convert your shipment into cost per unit: (all in freight + duty + prep) divided by sellable units. For small shipments, express is simple but expensive. For medium shipments, air plus delivery is often the best balance. For large shipments, sea plus truck usually wins on margin.
Receiving time varies by fulfillment center workload and shipment quality. Clean labels, correct box content info, and cartons within limits usually check in faster. Peak season and mismatches can slow reconciliation.
Yes, many sellers do. The key is process control: your supplier must follow your prep and labeling rules, and your forwarder must handle customs and appointment delivery correctly. For first shipments, many sellers route through a forwarder warehouse to verify cartons and labels before final delivery.
Missing or incorrect box labels, cartons exceeding weight or size limits, and shipment plan mismatches (carton count, contents, or prep). These are usually preventable with a strict pre-ship checklist.
For very small test shipments, supplier shipping can work if they are experienced with Amazon labels and carton rules. For most sellers and any meaningful volume, a forwarder reduces risk because they can manage customs, appointments, and last-mile coordination.
Base it on realistic sales velocity and lead time. If your sea lead time is 40 days door-to-door, build enough buffer to avoid stockouts. Use the SellerSprite Profitability Calculator to see how shipping cost per unit impacts margin at different shipment sizes.
Ready for the next step? Open the SellerSprite Academy course directory to continue building your Amazon FBA skills chapter by chapter.
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SellerSprite Team. SellerSprite is an Amazon seller platform used by 1.6M plus registered sellers worldwide, with 700K plus browser extension installs, refined over 8 plus years of product and workflow iteration. We publish step-by-step playbooks to help sellers move from product validation to supplier execution with fewer avoidable mistakes.
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