eFulfillment Service (EFS) publishes its FBA prep prices, so you can put them next to Simpl's before talking to either sales team. EFS's 2026 Standard Plus fee list charges $0.50 per item to pick and pack units under 5 lb, $0.25 per item for labeling, a $20 minimum per FBA prep order, and $25 a week for client support. Simpl Fulfillment's FBA prep rate card charges $0.90 per item for FNSKU labels, and a $40 minimum per inbound shipment covers receiving, boxes, basic inspection and Amazon shipment plans.
The two fee lists charge for different things, so price your own shipment on both. EFS suits a seller who wants its FBA Prep Order Integration to build Amazon inbound plans for them, or who preps well under 1,000 units a month and has no other orders to ship. Simpl suits a seller who also wants their own-site and marketplace orders shipped from the same stock in Austin, Texas.
What each provider charges for FBA prep
The fee sheets are built differently. EFS charges for picking and labeling each unit and bills standard receiving at $11 per half hour. Simpl folds receiving, boxes and shipment plans into the $40 minimum per inbound and charges per item for labels and packaging.
Fee | eFulfillment Service | Simpl Fulfillment |
|---|---|---|
Labeling | $0.25 per item (labor and material) | FNSKU labeling $0.90 per item; additional labeling $0.25 per item |
Pick and pack | $0.50 per item under 5 lb | Not a separate line on the rate card |
Heavy or large items | $0.75 per item plus $0.35 per lb at 5 lb and up | Large items $0.50 per unit; oversized items $2 per item |
Polybag, bubble wrap, boxing | Not separate lines in the FBA section; FBA excessive handling is $0.30 or $0.60 per unit depending on the task | Polybagging $0.35; bubble wrap $0.60; boxing individual units $0.80 (all per item) |
Bundling and kitting | Kitting $22.50 per half hour plus stock packaging and $0.25 per label | Multipack and bundling $0.25 per item |
Receiving | Standard receiving $11 per half hour | Included in standard prep |
Minimum charge | $20 per FBA prep order | $40 per inbound shipment |
Recurring support fee | Comprehensive Client Support $25 per week | None on the FBA prep rate card |
Storage | $0.45 per bin (under 100 SKUs) or $0.25 per bin (100+ SKUs); overflow $0.25 per cubic foot | 1 week included; then $40 per pallet per month |
Published prep turnaround | No number of days on its FBA prep page | 1 to 3 day receiving and prep |
Location | Traverse City, Michigan | Austin, Texas |
EFS's pricing agreement says it can change prices with 30 days' written notice, so confirm the EFS column against its current fee list before you sign.
What the minimums mean for a small shipment
EFS's "no order minimums" and its $20 floor describe different things. The first is about volume: its FBA prep page says you can prep 50 units or 50,000. The second is a floor on each prep order's bill: the fee list sets an FBA Prep Order Minimum of $20 per order.
Simpl's floor is $40 per inbound shipment, and that minimum covers receiving, boxes, basic inspection, dunnage, Amazon shipment plans and a week of storage.
Both floors only matter on small shipments. If each unit needs only EFS's listed pick ($0.50) and label ($0.25), a prep order passes $20 at 27 units. If each unit needs only Simpl's FNSKU label ($0.90), an inbound passes $40 at 45 units. Send a few hundred units at a time and you pay the line items, not the minimum.
The fee lists also differ on recurring charges. EFS bills Comprehensive Client Support at $25 a week, which comes to $1,300 over a year. Simpl's FBA prep rate card has no weekly or monthly support line.
Simpl's account minimums depend on which service you use. An account that only uses FBA prep has a 1,000-unit monthly minimum. Standard ecommerce fulfillment accounts, which ship your DTC and marketplace orders, have a $750 monthly minimum billed pay-the-difference: if a month's fulfillment fees come in under $750, you pay only the gap. That's roughly 90–100 orders a month for light packages on standard shipping; heavier, larger or faster shipments reach it with fewer orders. EFS says it has no order minimums, so a seller prepping a few hundred units a month with nothing else to ship is the clearest case for EFS.
Turnaround and getting stock into Amazon
Simpl lists a 1 to 3 day receiving and prep turnaround, after which it ships the inbound from Austin by UPS for small shipments or by freight for larger ones. That window covers receiving and prep; carrier transit to the Amazon fulfillment center comes after it. You can follow each shipment in Simpl's software and in Seller Central.
EFS says it turns orders around quickly but gives no number of days. Its FBA Prep Order Integration creates the inbound plan with Amazon once you submit an order, handles SKU labeling and box contents from your Seller Central requirements, and selects the cheapest shipping option automatically.
Simpl's standard prep includes creating Amazon shipment plans and syncing Amazon inventory. If hands-off inbound plans matter most to you, ask both providers to walk you through one shipment before you commit.
Support
EFS promises a dedicated account manager on every account and says every quote includes one at no extra cost. Its fee list also bills Comprehensive Client Support at $25 a week, so ask EFS how the two apply to your account.
At Simpl, every client gets a dedicated account manager: a real person reachable by email, with same-day (often faster) responses during business hours.
Location and sales tax
EFS says it preps from a 200,000 sq ft warehouse in Traverse City, Michigan, has been founder-owned since 2001, and that many prep services such as labeling, poly-bagging and bubble wrapping are untaxed in Michigan.
Simpl preps FBA inventory at its Austin, Texas warehouse and ships DTC and marketplace orders from the same stock.
Which one fits you
EFS is likely the better fit if:
- You want its FBA Prep Order Integration to build your Amazon inbound plans and choose the shipping for you.
- Your prep orders are often tiny, and its $20 floor per order is lower than Simpl's $40 floor per inbound.
- You prep well under 1,000 units a month and have no DTC or marketplace orders to ship. EFS says it has no order minimums, while a prep-only account at Simpl has a 1,000-unit monthly minimum.
- Your tax advisor confirms that the Michigan sales-tax treatment EFS describes applies to your business.
Simpl is likely the better fit if:
- You also sell on Shopify or your own site and want those orders shipped from the same Austin stock. Order fulfillment starts at $7 per order, and the $750 monthly minimum is billed pay-the-difference. 98.8% of orders received by 12pm CT on a business day ship the same day, measured from September 21 to October 23, 2026.
- You'd rather have receiving, boxes, basic inspection and shipment plans covered by one $40 minimum per inbound, with per-item prices for labels and packaging on the rate card.
- You don't want a weekly support fee. Simpl's prep rate card doesn't list one, and every client gets a dedicated account manager by email.
Comparing other prep centers? See Simpl vs MyFBAPrep. If Amazon's own prep changes are why you're shopping, read what to do now that Amazon's FBA prep service is discontinued. Simpl Fulfillment wrote this page, so weigh our column with that in mind; the EFS figures come from EFS's own pages, linked below. When you're ready for a quote on your SKUs, tell us what you ship.
Sources
- eFulfillment Service: 2026 Standard Plus fee list
- eFulfillment Service: MSA pricing sheet updated September 2026
- eFulfillment Service: FBA prep page
- Simpl Fulfillment: FBA prep rate card
- Simpl Fulfillment: pricing page
Updated October 2026.
FAQs
Does eFulfillment Service publish FBA prep pricing?
Yes. EFS's 2026 Standard Plus fee list sets FBA pick and pack at $0.50 per item under 5 lb, labeling at $0.25 per item, FBA excessive handling at $0.30 or $0.60 per unit depending on the task, and an FBA Prep Order Minimum of $20 per order. EFS's pricing agreement says it can change prices with 30 days' written notice.
Does eFulfillment Service have a minimum?
EFS's FBA prep page says it has no order minimums and that you can prep 50 units or 50,000. Its 2026 Standard Plus fee list sets an FBA Prep Order Minimum of $20 per order and bills Comprehensive Client Support at $25 per week, so the floor applies to each prep order's bill rather than to your volume.
What does Simpl Fulfillment charge for FBA prep?
Simpl charges a $40 minimum per inbound shipment, which covers receiving, boxes, basic inspection, dunnage, Amazon shipment plans, Amazon inventory sync and a week of storage. On top of that, FNSKU labeling is $0.90 per item, polybagging $0.35, bubble wrap $0.60, multipack bundling $0.25 and boxing individual units $0.80. An account that only uses FBA prep has a 1,000-unit monthly minimum. Simpl's ecommerce order fulfillment, which ships DTC and marketplace orders, has a separate $750 monthly minimum billed pay-the-difference.
How fast is FBA prep turnaround at each provider?
Simpl publishes a 1 to 3 day receiving and prep turnaround, then ships the inbound to Amazon from Austin, Texas; carrier transit to the Amazon fulfillment center comes after that window. EFS's FBA prep page says it turns orders around quickly but gives no number of days.
Which is better for a small Amazon seller?
It depends on what else you need. EFS's FBA Prep Order Integration builds Amazon inbound plans for you, and its $20 floor per prep order is lower than Simpl's $40 floor per inbound, though its fee list also charges $25 a week for client support. Simpl fits sellers who also want DTC and marketplace orders shipped from the same Austin stock, starting at $7 per order with a $750 monthly minimum billed pay-the-difference.
