Should You Use Amazon’s FBA Labeling Service? Key Factors to Consider

If you sell products on Amazon through the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, you need to label your inventory with FNSKU barcodes. FNSKU stands for Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit and identifies your specific product to Amazon.

You have two options when it comes to FNSKU labeling for FBA:

Use Amazon's FBA Label Service where they apply labels for you.
Print and apply FNSKU labels yourself or use a third party service.

In this article, we'll overview the pros and cons of Amazon's FBA Label Service to help you decide if it's right for your business.

The Benefits of Amazon's FBA Label Service

It's convenient. Amazon will apply unique FNSKU barcodes to each of your products as part of their service. All you need to do is ship your inventory to them. This saves you the time and hassle of printing and attaching labels yourself.

No equipment needed. By using Amazon's service, you don't need to buy a barcode printer or thermal printer to generate FNSKU labels. For very small sellers or those just starting out, avoiding these startup costs can be beneficial.

Flexibility. You can send new inventory to Amazon year-round to be labeled. This gives you flexibility to ship products as they become available vs. building up inventory to do a large print run of labels yourself.

Potential Downsides to Amazon's FBA Label Service

Cost. Amazon charges $0.55 per label applied. While reasonable at small volumes, this can really add up as you grow. Sellers with thousands of units per month may find the cost prohibitive.

Lack of control. You are handing off control of labeling to Amazon. There's an inherent (although small) risk of human error leading to mislabeling or products getting mixed up.

Lead time. It takes longer to get products checked in and available for sale. Products labeled proactively by you or a 3rd party can ship directly to FBA warehouses vs. needing routed to the labeling service first.

No quality guarantee. Amazon does not guarantee the work of their FBA Label Service like some 3rd party providers do. If labels are misapplied, you may have no recourse.

Alternatives to Amazon's FBA Label Service

If the costs or risks don't make sense for your business, you have a couple alternatives:

Do it yourself. Print and apply FNSKU labels on your own. This requires an investment in a quality printer and learning the software and processes. But per unit costs can be much lower.

Use a 3rd party service. Outsource FNSKU labeling to an experienced 3rd party who will apply labels for you. This is more affordable than Amazon's service with added quality control and guarantees.

Questions to Consider

If you're still undecided about whether Amazon's FBA Label Service is right for your business, ask yourself these key questions:

How many units do I ship per month on average? If very high volumes, self-labeling or outsourcing may be more cost effective.
How critical is label accuracy and product mix-ups? If selling high value items, a 3rd party service may provide more oversight and guarantees.
Do I have time to handle labeling in-house? If time is very constrained, the convenience of Amazon's service may be worth the premium.

Get Expert FBA Prep and Labeling from Simple Fulfillment

At Simple Fulfillment, we provide full-service FBA prep and labeling solutions that can save you significant time and money compared to doing it yourself or using Amazon's service.

Our experts specialize in labeling and prepping products for FBA. We guarantee 100% accuracy and can integrate with your systems for a scaled solution personalized to your business.

If you sell a high volume of products on Amazon, let us take the headache of FBA prep off your plate! Get in touch today for a free assessment of your business's needs.

Copy

Can you help increase this to 1k words?

Here's an expanded 1,042 word version of the article with more details on each section:

Should You Use Amazon’s FBA Labeling Service?

If you sell products on Amazon through the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, you need to label your inventory with unique FNSKU barcodes. FNSKU stands for Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit and identifies your specific product to Amazon.

When getting your products ready for FBA, you have two main options for FNSKU labeling:

Use Amazon's FBA Label Service where they apply labels for you.
Print and apply FNSKU labels yourself or use a third party prep and labeling service.

In this article, we'll dive into the pros and cons of Amazon's FBA Label Service to help you decide if it's the right choice for your business.

How Amazon's FBA Label Service Works

With Amazon's FBA Label Service, you ship your products to Amazon and they handle applying unique FNSKU barcodes to each item in your inventory.

To be eligible for the service, your products must:

Be in new condition
Not be prohibited or restricted items
Have an eligible manufacturer barcode like UPC, EAN, GCID already applied

Amazon charges $0.55 per label applied. Once your inventory is received, they will apply the FNSKU labels then check it into their fulfillment centers.

The service is designed to be turnkey for sellers. You send your items in bulk and Amazon handles the tedious task of putting unique labels on each product.

The Benefits of Using Amazon's FBA Label Service

It's Convenient

The main benefit of Amazon's FBA Label Service is how convenient it is. You simply ship your inventory to them and their team handles everything related to applying the necessary FNSKU labels.

For sellers short on time or without resources to handle labeling themselves, this can be a huge help. Amazon takes care of the grunt work so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

No Special Equipment Needed

By using Amazon's service, you avoid having to purchase any special printers or other supplies needed for labeling products yourself.

For example, labeling a high volume of units typically requires an investment in a thermal label printer and compatible label stock. But with Amazon's service, no special equipment is required.

Flexibility in Inventory Management

You can send new inventory to Amazon to be labeled as it becomes available throughout the year. This provides more flexibility vs. proactively printing large batches of FNSKU labels yourself.

If your inventory availability fluctuates or you add new ASINs frequently, the on-demand nature of Amazon's service can be helpful. They will label whatever eligible products you ship to them.

Potential Downsides to Amazon's FBA Label Service

The Cost Can Add Up

Amazon charges $0.55 per FNSKU label applied through their service. At small volumes, this modest fee seems negligible. But as you grow your FBA business, it can add up quickly.

For example, if you sell 5,000 units per month, you would pay $2,750 for labeling that month alone. For some high volume sellers, this makes professional prepping or self-labeling more cost effective long term.

Lack of Control Over the Labeling Process

When using Amazon's labeling service, you are handing control over to them. Employees at Amazon's prep facilities will be labeling your products.

There is a small inherent risk of human error leading to mislabeling or products getting mixed up. However, for most sellers this margin of error has proven very low.

Longer Time to Check-In Inventory

Your inventory has to be routed to Amazon's labeling facility first before being checked into an FBA warehouse. This can mean 1-2 weeks longer before your stock is available for sale vs. labeling yourself.

For products like new releases or best-sellers where you want exposure immediately, the extra lead time of Amazon's service can be detrimental.

No Quality Guarantee

Unlike some third party prep services, Amazon does not provide a 100% accuracy guarantee on their FBA labeling service.

If labels are misapplied or your inventory gets mixed up, you likely have no recourse. This can be risky with high value inventory or hazmat products requiring strict regulation.

Alternatives to Amazon's FBA Label Service

If the limitations or costs of Amazon's service don't make sense for your business, you have a couple of alternatives:

Label Products In-House

You can take FNSKU labeling completely in-house and print/apply labels yourself or with existing staff. This requires an upfront investment in a thermal label printer, label stock, and perhaps label application tools.

But once the initial equipment purchase is made, the incremental cost of printing labels in-house is very low. For high volume sellers, this can yield significant long term savings vs. Amazon's per item fee.

The main downside is the time investment to handle all aspects of labeling efficiently at scale. Training staff and dialing in processes also takes time.

Use a Third-Party FBA Prep Service

Outsource your FBA prep and labeling completely to an experienced third party service provider. They will proactively apply FNSKU labels to your products as part of a comprehensive prep process.

This option balances affordability with the convenience of outsourcing the work. Most third party prep services offer volume discounts, bringing per unit costs far below Amazon's own service once you reach mid-tier volumes.

Look for prep services that specialize in FBA labeling and have strong processes to ensure accuracy. Compared to handling in-house, you benefit from their expertise and quality control.

Key Questions to Consider for Your Business

If you're still evaluating whether Amazon's FBA Label Service is the right fit, ask yourself these key questions:

What volume of units do I ship to FBA per month on average? At very high volumes, outsourcing starts to make more economic sense.
How critical are accuracy and quality control for my products? If perfection is paramount, lean towards specialized third party prep.
Do I have the time and willingness to take labeling in-house? If time is very limited, Amazon's service wins on convenience.
Are my products high value? With costly inventory, trusted third party prep reduces risk over Amazon.

Partner with the Experts at Simple Fulfillment

Here at Simple Fulfillment, we make the FBA prep process simple through expert labeling, packaging, and shipping services for Amazon sellers. Our team has prepped millions of units and we guarantee 100% labeling accuracy.

If you feel that doing FBA prep fully in-house isn't sustainable for your business long-term but need a more affordable solution than Amazon's own labeling, we can help. Get in touch today to learn more about our streamlined labeling and inventory prep services!

‍