📬Shipments 101

Understanding FBA vs. FBM and Basics of Making Shipments

This section is divided into two subsections:

• The Differences Between FBA and FBM

• Making Shipments 101

These subsections are designed to enhance your understanding of effective shipment methods.

Differences Between FBA and FBM

When it comes to shipping products to Amazon, there are two primary methods: FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) and FBM (Fulfillment By Merchant).

FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon): In this method, bulk goods are first shipped to your home. For example, let’s say Bob orders 100 items from Apple. These 100 items are shipped to Bob's house. He then packages these items into a single box and sends this box to an Amazon warehouse. From there, Amazon takes care of shipping each item to the respective customers.

Pros of FBA: Increased likelihood of winning the buy box.

Cons of FBA: There's a waiting period before your listing becomes active, as it depends on the processing time of your inventory at Amazon's warehouse.

FBM (Fulfillment By Merchant): With FBM, you handle shipping directly to the customer.

Pros of FBM: Your listing becomes active immediately, which is beneficial especially in scenarios where there's no buy box.

Cons of FBM: It's generally more challenging to secure the buy box.

FBM orders are notably straightforward and will appear on your main Seller Central panel.

• It's advisable to use Seller Amp for determining the profitability of each product. Once you've assessed profitability using Seller Amp (which we provide at no cost to you), you can proceed with creating your shipment.

How to Create an FBA or FBM Shipment:

Here’s a step-by-step guide on setting up an FBA shipment:

Adding the Product to Your Seller Central Account: Begin by adding your product to your account in Seller Central. To do this, click on the three lines located at the top-left corner of the screen. Next, navigate to "Inventory" and then select "Manage all inventory."

Now, click the check mark on the items you want to send to Amazon. Once you've done that, you will want to click on Actions, and then you will click on "Send/Replenish Inventory." Then Click " Continue."

Step 3. The next thing you will want to do is click on "Prep and Labeling," then input the respective information. If no prep is needed, then click on "no prep." You will usually only prep items that are bundled together.

Step 4. You will then enter the respective amount of units in the box "units." You will then click on "Print Skus." You will then print these SKUS with any printer. You can purchase these $10 skus in the Sellers Toolbox section. Once printed, place the SKUS on the respective inventory. Once completed, click on "Pack individual units. Then place the items in a box and tape it up.

Step 5. Once you've taped up the box, you will input the box dimensions and click "continue."

Step 6. You will then select the day you want to ship it out and then print the labels. Then place the labels on the box and drop it off at UPS.