Amazon AU prep and labelling checklist for FBA

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) means Amazon stores your stock and ships each order. In return, every unit and every carton has to arrive prepped and labelled exactly the way Amazon asks, or it can be refused, relabelled for a fee or held up at receiving.

This checklist is built from Amazon Australia's public Seller Central help pages, read on 2 November 2026. Amazon changes these rules, sometimes with little notice, and some details only show inside your own Seller Central account. Check the current Seller Central requirements before you book a shipment, and treat this as a list of what to ask about, not the final word. Print it, or save it as a PDF to share with your factory and forwarder.

1. Barcodes: FNSKU or manufacturer barcode

• Every unit you send needs a scannable barcode. There are two kinds: a manufacturer barcode (the GS1 EAN or UPC printed on your pack) and an Amazon barcode, called an FNSKU, which Amazon issues for your listing and which starts with X.
• Work out which one Amazon will track your units by. Amazon AU says that from 31 March 2026 brand owners can keep using manufacturer barcodes without stickers, and resellers must use Amazon barcodes even if the product has a manufacturer barcode.
• To use your manufacturer barcode, Amazon asks for a new product, one scannable barcode that matches one listing, and a brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry with you as the Brand Representative. Enrolling the brand is not enough on its own: the products must also be registered to it.
• Get your barcode numbers from GS1, not a reseller. Amazon says it checks product IDs against the GS1 database, and that bought or incorrect codes can cost you your listings or selling privileges. See GS1 barcodes in Australia.
• If you want to list without a barcode (a GTIN exemption), know the catches: Amazon wants your brand permanently on the product (printed, engraved or embossed, not a sticker), approves it per store and category, and units without a GTIN always need FNSKU labels.
• One FNSKU per variant. Each size, colour or pack count needs its own.

2. Unit labels

• If you use FNSKUs, print them black on white, non-reflective labels with removable adhesive, between 2.54 x 5.08 cm and 5.08 x 7.62 cm in size.
• Use a thermal or laser printer, not inkjet. Amazon wants labels that stay scannable for two years.
• Put the label on a flat face, not around a curve or corner, and keep it 0.63 cm in from the edge of the packaging.
• Cover every other visible barcode on the unit, so only one can be scanned.
• Do not cover warning, safety or compliance information, and that includes your country of origin marking.
• If the FNSKU is printed on the packaging at the factory instead, it has to meet the same rules.

3. Prep: how each unit is packed

• Sets: if several pieces sell as one unit (tongs and a skewer set, say), seal them together in a box, shrink wrap or bag and add a label such as "Sold as set" or "This is a set. Do not separate." Amazon will not assemble a set for you.
• Sharp items: skewers and pointed tools must be packed so the point cannot come through during handling. Amazon's sharp items rules ask for packaging that covers the point completely and that the item cannot cut through, such as a blister pack, a box or bubble wrap. A card or plastic sheath on its own is not enough unless it is rigid and secured to the product.
• Poly bags: transparent and fully sealed, with a printed or stuck-on suffocation warning if the opening is 12.7 cm or more. Amazon's pages give different minimum bag thicknesses, so take the current figure from Seller Central and give it to the factory in writing.
• Boxed units: six sides, closed, and firm enough not to collapse when pressed.
• No price tags, flyers or other marketing inserts in the unit.
• Amazon AU offers a paid prep service, with a sharp items category, but it will not put items together as a set, and you still have to pack sharp products safely in the carton. Check current availability and fees in Seller Central.

4. Cartons and shipment labels

• Every carton gets its own FBA box ID label, printed from your shipment in Seller Central. Do not photocopy or reuse one on another box.
• Put the box ID label and the carrier label on a flat face, uncovered, not across a seam or opening.
• Standard cartons: no more than 63.5 cm on any side and no heavier than 22.6 kg, unless the box holds a single oversized item. Oversized single items have their own limits and team lift labels.
• Case packs (identical units packed together by the maker): one SKU per carton, the same quantity in every carton, and no more than 150 units per carton.
• Mixed cartons are allowed. Enter the box contents in Seller Central, or Amazon processes them by hand for a fee.
• Enter accurate carton weights and dimensions for every shipment.
• One shipment per carton. Do not mix units from two shipments in one box.
• Cover or remove old labels and barcodes on reused or factory cartons.
• Use packing Amazon accepts, such as bubble wrap, air pillows, foam sheets or full sheets of paper. Packing peanuts, shredded paper and crinkle wrap are not accepted.

5. Getting imported stock to Amazon

• Amazon will not act as importer of record. You, or a customs broker acting for you, clear the goods through Australian customs and pay the duty and GST.
• Shipments must arrive at the fulfilment centre on Delivered Duty Paid terms. A delivery with charges to collect is refused. See Incoterms in plain English.
• Do not name Amazon as the owner or importer on any shipping or customs document.
• If the factory or forwarder delivers straight to Amazon, send them the box ID labels and these rules in writing, and check unit labels and cartons at the pre-shipment inspection while you can still fix them.

6. Australian rules that still apply

• Country of origin on the pack. Under the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Regulation 2016, goods imported as prepacked articles are among those that need a trade description naming the country where they were made, in English, on the package or a label, and nothing else on the pack may obscure it. The Federal Register of Legislation shows that regulation due to be repealed on 1 April 2027, so check what replaces it. Whether a particular pack is covered is a question for your customs broker.
• Country of origin on the listing. Amazon AU asks sellers to give a country of origin in the listing's safety and compliance details, one country per listing, and makes you responsible for getting it right.
• No misleading origin claims. The ACCC says origin claims must be true, the law covers online listings as well as packs, and images or symbols that suggest a different country can mislead. "Designed in Australia" with no true origin is a risk.
• Product safety. Amazon requires products covered by an ACCC mandatory standard to comply before they are listed, and as the importer and brand owner you carry the duties in selling BBQ accessories in Australia.
• Pack artwork. Work the barcode, origin and count into the design from the start with the artwork checklist.

Decision rules

• If you own the brand, are in Brand Registry and print your own GS1 barcode on the pack, ask Amazon whether you can skip FNSKU stickers. Otherwise, plan on an FNSKU for every unit.
• If a product has a point or an edge, decide the sharp items packing before the packaging is designed, not at the warehouse.
• If units go straight from the factory to Amazon, the factory has to apply the labels, so make them part of the written spec and the inspection.
• If a figure here differs from what Seller Central shows you, Seller Central wins.

Common mistakes

• Buying cheap barcode numbers from a reseller, then having listings or stock rejected.
• Covering the "Made in China" marking with an FNSKU sticker.
• Skewers poking through poly bags, or sets arriving as loose pieces.
• One box label photocopied for every carton.
• Overweight cartons from a factory that packs to its own standard size.
• Shipping on terms that leave duty or freight to be collected at Amazon's door.
• Using these notes instead of the current Seller Central pages.

Next step

Get your barcode numbers sorted with GS1 barcodes in Australia, build the FNSKU or barcode position into your pack with the artwork checklist, and add the FBA prep and carton rules to your quote basket notes so the factory quotes for them.

Common questions