How to Send Your First Shipment to Amazon FBA

If you’re sending your first inventory to Amazon FBA, you need a clear sequence in Seller Central: build the shipment, label each unit as the workflow requires, seal and label the cartons, then hand them to a carrier so the warehouse can receive them.

That’s the order this job usually follows. Because Amazon’s screens and prep rules can change, use the steps below as a practical guide and confirm the details in Seller Central Help before you seal anything.

What to Settle Before Send to Amazon

Open Send to Amazon only after a few basics are true:

• The SKU is converted to FBA and you can sell it.

• You know how many units you will send , matching what is on the shelf.

• You can print a clean barcode. Blurry labels cause more trouble than almost any other packing mistake.

If a unit needs extra prep (a poly bag, bubble wrap, a set band), plan that before you confirm quantities. Amazon may refuse, return, or prep non-compliant inventory at your expense.

Also glance at the listing shoppers will see. Stock in a fulfillment center sells through those images. If the main photo is still a draft, finish it before you depend on that inventory.

Create the Shipment in Send to Amazon

In Seller Central, go to your Shipping Queue and open Send to Amazon . That workflow is your shipping plan: what you send, how it is packed, and how it travels.

Work in this order:

1. Choose inventory. Pick the ship-from address, marketplace, and FBA SKUs. Enter quantities that match the physical count.

2. Complete packing details. Tell Amazon whether boxes are single-SKU or mixed, and who does prep and labeling (you or Amazon’s paid options where offered).

3. Confirm shipping. Add an estimated ship date. Choose small parcel for individual boxes, or LTL if you are sending pallets. Pick a carrier. Partnered-carrier options can print shipping labels and pass tracking back into Seller Central; non-partnered means you upload tracking yourself later.

4. Review destinations and charges. For a first send, prioritize a clean receive over squeezing every fee.

Do not invent a second count “for later.” Wrong quantities in the plan create receive mismatches even when the labels look fine.

Label Each Unit When the Workflow Asks

Once the shipment is open, the next risk is the barcode on each sellable unit. Amazon FBA labels tell the fulfillment center which offer the item belongs to.

Which barcode does this shipment need?

Before you print anything, check what Send to Amazon asks for on that SKU. An FNSKU is Amazon’s barcode for your offer. Many FBA paths require that Amazon barcode on each sellable unit. Other paths allow a manufacturer barcode such as a UPC when your settings allow it. Follow the choice shown in the workflow. Do not guess from an old screenshot.

Print and place labels so they can scan

Amazon’s seller guidance for self-printed Amazon barcodes typically calls for roughly 1–2 inches tall and 2–3 inches wide, black ink on non-reflective adhesive paper, and a scannable code with the FNSKU, title, and condition. Confirm the live Help page for your case. Then:

• Print so the barcode scans. Test one label before you run the whole batch.

• Put the label on a flat face, not on a corner or seam.

• If Amazon requires its barcode, cover other barcodes on the unit so they cannot be scanned by mistake.

• If the unit is bagged or wrapped, put the scannable label on the outside of that prep.

Do not photocopy Amazon labels. Damaged or copied labels are a common reason inventory gets delayed.

Pack Cartons, Apply Box Labels, and Hand Off

Amazon FBA box labels identify the carton. They are not the same as the FNSKU on each unit. Finish carton contents in the plan first, then print box labels so you are not resticking every carton.

When you pack each carton, do the following:

• Seal a carton only when the contents match what you entered.

• Put the Amazon box label on a large flat face. Do not tape over the barcode.

• Place the carrier label beside it when both are required.

• On reused boxes, cover or black out old outer barcodes so Amazon does not scan the wrong code.

Hand packages to the carrier with the shipment ID handy.

Check Before You Hand Off, Then Watch Receive

Run this checklist before the first carton leaves your space:

• Plan status is ready to ship, with quantities matching the shelf.

• Each unit has the barcode type the workflow required, applied so it can scan.

• Each carton has the correct Amazon box label for this shipment.

• Required prep is done for those SKUs.

• Carrier method matches what you selected (small parcel or LTL).

Before those boxes leave, also confirm the listing shoppers will see is ready. Inventory in a fulfillment center sells through your photos. If the main image or supporting slots are still thin, finish them first. Designkit’s Amazon Listing Images tool can help you build a white main image and supporting frames from product shots. For a fuller image checklist, see the Amazon Listing Images Guide .

Create Your Listing Image Set

After the carrier takes the boxes, add or confirm tracking if Amazon did not capture it automatically. When receive starts, compare received units to what you sent. Fix discrepancies early; they are harder to untangle weeks later.

Conclusion

A clean first FBA send is one job: build the shipment in Send to Amazon, label units and cartons when the workflow requires it, then hand off freight you can track. Watch receive status until the inventory shows as available.