Shipping to Amazon FBA from China as a small seller

From supplier to FBA warehouse: the process step by step

• 1. Create the shipment plan in Seller Central: Amazon assigns the destination warehouses and generates carton and shipment labels.
• 2. Prep at origin: your supplier or an inspection/prep partner in China applies FNSKU labels, poly bagging, and carton labels per your plan.
• 3. Freight and export: the forwarder books express, air, or sea and handles Chinese export clearance.
• 4. US customs entry: filed in your name as importer of record, with duties paid at the correct HTS rate. Amazon will not clear customs for you.
• 5. Compliance check and delivery: verified-compliant cartons are delivered to the assigned FBA warehouses; sea and palletized freight needs a carrier appointment through Amazon's system.

Each stage can be handled by a different vendor, but for a small load, bundling freight, customs, and the FBA-compliant handoff into one managed DDP flow is usually simpler and cheaper than coordinating three vendors yourself.

Which shipping method for FBA restocks

• Express courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS): 5 to 7 days door to warehouse, typically $6 to $10 per kg all-in. The default for urgent restocks and loads under 30 kg.
• Air freight: 5 to 10 days, typically $3 to $6 per kg. The middle option for 30 to 300 kg.
• Sea LCL: 25 to 35 days to West Coast warehouses, 35 to 50 to the East Coast, roughly $0.80 to $1.50 per kg equivalent. The cost floor for steady SKUs above about 1 CBM.

A common pattern for established SKUs is parallel restocking: sea freight carries the base inventory and air freight covers spikes, so a customs exam or port delay on the sea leg does not stock you out. Full stage-by-stage numbers are in the shipping time from China to the USA guide. Sellers who outgrow direct restocks often add a US overseas warehouse as a buffer.

Customs comes first, Amazon second

Your goods clear US customs as a normal import: commercial invoice, HS code, duty, and a customs entry. Amazon is not the importer of record and will not clear customs for you. Only after the goods are cleared can they go to an FBA warehouse.

FBA prep and labeling: now entirely your responsibility

Before January 2026, Amazon offered in-warehouse prep services: applying FNSKU labels, poly bagging, and basic packaging corrections, for a fee. That option is gone. Since January 1, 2026, every unit must arrive at the FBA warehouse fully prepped and compliant. Non-compliant shipments are refused and returned.

• FNSKU labels on each sellable unit, applied before the goods reach the warehouse.
• Carton and shipment labels generated from your Amazon shipping plan.
• Poly bagging, bubble wrap, and bundling completed before shipment, per Amazon's product-specific rules.
• Box weight and dimension limits respected.

The practical consequence: prep must happen either at the China supplier, at a third-party prep center after US customs clearance, or as part of a freight flow that includes a prep step before forwarding to FBA.

Why direct-to-warehouse is rarely simple

Suppliers in China can apply FNSKU labels, but they cannot create your Amazon shipment plan, they cannot guarantee full compliance with Amazon's current rules, and customs clearance still has to happen on US soil before goods can move to FBA.

Many small sellers route through a US prep step: the freight forwarder or a prep center clears customs, verifies and completes labeling and packaging, then forwards compliant cartons to FBA. With Amazon no longer correcting non-compliant units, this step is now the primary risk-control point in the chain.

For a small load, bundling freight, customs, and the FBA-compliant handoff into one managed flow is usually simpler and cheaper than coordinating three vendors yourself.