A common question in the Amazon Launchpad Discord: “What shipping supplies do I need to get started?”
Fulfillment by Amazon means shipping all of your inventory to a fulfillment center. They have specific guidelines for shipments such as size and weight of each box, how items should be prepped, and how items should be packed. This article focuses on supplies you’ll need for Fulfillment by Amazon, so stay tuned for more articles that go into those guidelines.
Fulfillment by Amazon Shipping Supplies Checklist
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Necessary items:
- Boxes – maximum 25 inches on one side. You can buy boxes on Amazon, at Walmart, Lowe’s or Home Depot. UHaul locations also sell boxes.
- Packing tape.
- Packing materials – bubble wrap for glass, packing paper, etc. Anything except packing peanuts which Amazon prohibits.
- Poly bags – get different sizes and ensure that they have a suffocation warning.
- Box cutter or scissors
- Tape measure
- Shipping scale
- Felt tip markers
Optional items:
- Thermal shipping labels
- Thermal barcode labels
- Thermal printer
Instead of the optional items, use an inkjet or laser printer with regular paper to print labels and barcodes.
Fulfillment by Amazon Shipping Supplies Tips & Tricks
Approach local businesses for used boxes. They typically break down boxes and put them in the recycle bin, so most shouldn’t have a problem either letting you go through their bin or setting boxes aside for you.
If you source products online, reuse the boxes and packing materials from your orders. 99% of the time I reuse boxes and the money savings add up over time. Do your best to remove any old shipping labels or use the felt tip marker to scribble them out.
Most poly bags sold will have the suffocation warning preprinted on them. If you buy some that don’t, you can make your own and tape the warning on the outside of the bag.
If you have a thermal printer, sign up for a free UPS account and get free shipping labels. They sent me a 6,000 label count roll that lasts for months.
UPS also rents thermal printers for $3/week. Personally, I used my inkjet printer I already had. It took longer to cut and tape labels on, but it worked fine.