FBA Shipping from China to Amazon: A Step-by-Step Guide

Shipping from China to Amazon FBA is a typical and beneficial Amazon business methodology. It's not as confusing as it seems. Still, there is no question that this is a bit more complicated than simply requiring suppliers to put the UPS logo on it.

In this article, our FBA experts will look at the alternatives for shipping from China to Amazon FBA and define what you must know before making your initial China purchase.

FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. This is an Amazon service that provides inventory, bundling, and fulfillment support to suppliers. This really helps suppliers and provides greater flexibility in their sales model. The program enables merchants to send their products to Amazon fulfillment centers and then store the items in a warehouse until the products are sold. After an order is placed, an Amazon representative personally makes, packs, and delivers the item.

If you are an Amazon supplier sending products from China. So, when you choose to use the Amazon FBA facility, you have a problem. The main issue you will have to deal with is deciding on the way to ship your products from China to the Amazon FBA warehouse.

Essentially, there are different modes of shipping. 3 of them are shown below. The goal is that you can choose the most reasonable route for your particular situation.

Now, when it comes to dropping shipping, we mention directly from the supplier to Amazon FBA. As a businessman abroad, this is the least demanding and most useful method of use. It is also the least costly method compared to other methods.

When you choose to use drop shipping, the supplier may organize your purchase to an Amazon warehouse.

Or you can find your own FBA forwarder. If neither you nor the supplier can find an FBA freight forwarder. Then, you may also consider shipping through Amazon Prep Management.

When deciding to go direct by sea, the next step is to choose a shipping method from courier services, air or sea.

However, we recommend that you use a courier service such as FedEx or UPS. Because it is the best way to drop ship to Amazon FBA from China.

If you do not ship items to your residence, please provide elements of the Amazon FBA service. You will not have a chance to see your items. This is also the most obvious benefit of having the item shipped to your home first. Because this enables you to feel and inspect your items.

To sum up, if you find a quality problem, you can fix it immediately before the customer buys it.

Thus, the danger of bad customer reviews is eliminated. However, this method may cost you additional transportation costs. Therefore, choose this method only if you accept shipping.

Prep Service is a third-party agency that can assist you with import declarations, customs clearance, shipping of goods from your suppliers to Amazon warehouses, packing lists, product evaluations, packaging, consolidated shipping, and trademark registration based on Amazon’s clear prerequisites.

Now, there are mainly 4 ways to ship directly from China to the Amazon FBA distribution center. We've fully described each shipping method below so you can take the right steps.

Express delivery is probably the cheapest way to ship your products to Amazon. Especially suitable for all kinds of light and compact private-label traders.

As the fastest express service, this shipping method provides competitive speed and reliable shipping to Amazon FBA service for China-imported products. This is the fastest way to send your items from your supplier to Amazon Central.

Advantages: The fastest shipping method, it only takes a few days to reach the United States.

Disadvantages: High cost, increasing the seller's fees. Also, certain products (fluids, batteries, etc.) have restrictions

When choosing a courier company, consider your shipping goals and your expectations (speed, quality of service, courier shipping costs, and tracking).

Beyond that, you'll need to look for a service provider that handles dangerous goods. You can choose from a variety of courier services.

You just need to consider cost, handling, and other important things. We recommend choosing any of the following three logistics services: DHL, FedEx, or UPS.

Sea freight is common freight and the main mode of transportation for imports. Low cost, bulk, LCL, or FCL options; each of these points of interest is relevant to ocean freight, which is an important decision for most shippers.

Pros: Lower cost compared to air freight and can handle much larger shipments.

Cons: Slow, may be affected by climate change.

Simply put, sea transportation provides two operations.

- FBA shipments can be shipped directly from suppliers or agents to Amazon FBA warehouses.

You can decide to ship directly from your Chinese supplier or shipping agent to Amazon's fulfillment center or your own fulfillment center.

Due to the large number of customers who decide to do Amazon's groundwork for their items. For example, item evaluation, labeling, and bundling.

- Shipment of goods from an agent or supplier to an individual address.

The sea freight procedure is done by two freight forwarders. The first is in China, and the second is in the US or Europe.

China freight forwarders mainly manage local transportation (from suppliers to ports), trade announcements, and deliveries to destination countries.

Destination freight forwarders basically take care of these things. Trade clearance, duty obligations, and transportation from the port to the Amazon fulfillment center.

When the customs clearance is completed, the freight forwarder usually organizes DHL, UPS, or even FedEx to ship from the seaport to Amazon FBA.

Air freight is the best decision method for shipping large quantities of items at an affordable price. Plus, it's perfect for wholesalers who need quick replenishment.

Choosing this alternative is useful in the long run. If you have a shortage of product and need your item to be in constant stock.

Train transportation is very convenient when shipping goods from China to Europe. The cost and time are almost equivalent to the train and sea freight to the Amazon warehouse.

Packages from China take about 30 days to reach all Amazon centers in Europe. Compared with sea transportation, the train is safe.

Typically, shipping items from China to Amazon requires two certifications. One is item confirmation from customs, and the second is item confirmation from Amazon.

When buying from China, it is wiser to check which certifications the supplier has. If the item is not certified, you must try another provider.

If the supplier's product is not certified, it means that his product is not qualified. Product certification is also important for selling on Amazon. Finally, item authentication cannot be ignored.

When the goods are cleared, the customs has the right to require your items to issue important certificates. If you fail to provide it, customs may fine, hold or damage your item.

So you need to understand what kind of program certification you have to offer. Thus effectively passing custom (which is significant).

When selling on Amazon, you should know whether product certification is required to trade on Amazon. You should agree to Amazon's product guidelines, which shut down listings in some way.

When sending items to Amazon FBA, Amazon expects sellers to provide certification. Affirmed by ASTM F963-16 in the US and SOR/2011-17 in Canada.

All in all, certification means a lot on Amazon. When buying from China, you should check with Amazon. If you require certification or other prerequisites to sell on Amazon.

Before shipping items to Amazon FBA, you should understand Amazon's requirements for items and boxes. Every item, box packed should comply with Amazon warehouse guidelines.

If you do not meet Amazon's prerequisites, your item will be rejected by Amazon's warehouse.

Or when your item package doesn't have the correct FBA markings. Amazon does not know if the item belongs to a specific Amazon seller.

Your item will also be rejected if it does not bear the FBA mark. Once your item arrives at FBA. They need to filter the scanner tags to identify them and locate the product in the correct location.

So you can see that labels are essential in FBA. This is a significant development that will determine the entry of your products into Amazon fulfillment centers and their transactions.

Here are some Amazon warehouse prerequisites for products, shipments, and boxes:

It is necessary for Amazon to label the products. Amazon warehouse will check your FNSKU label when shipping. Therefore, Amazon will place your item in the correct fulfillment center area.

If you need to ship to an Amazon warehouse, you should set up a "delivery plan" on the Amazon website.

You can get the main box label. After downloading the main box tab. You can then print the shipping label and attach the FBA label to the box.

Amazon will also refuse to provide product samples if the box does not have this shipping label attached. Amazon requires at least 2 shipping labels per box.

Below are Amazon's box size and weight requirements that you must abide by no matter what.

- 25 inches on both sides is the limit of the mother box.

- Weight should not exceed 50 lbs. If it weighs more than 50 lbs, please attach a "Team Lift" tag. However, for 100 lbs, attach the "Mech Lift" to the box.

Once you've arranged your delivery, you might consider whether it's possible to track your shipment throughout its transit.

The correct answer is yes! Read on, you will definitely know how to track international express delivery from China to Amazon FBA.

You just need to open the official website of your courier organization. Then, insert your courier tracking code or ID number. Finally, you can get load trace records without any hassle.

It is suitable for global air or sea transportation, especially for travel or group transportation. Therefore, it is necessary to know the real-time delivery information of the freight.

Nevertheless, this is true for both customary sea and air express. Commodities are handled by small freight forwarders.

Unlike large international organizations such as FedEx, these small forwarders do not have their own tracking system.

It will become increasingly difficult to track real-time shipping data for your items. Below we share how to track your shipment using air or sea.

As mentioned earlier, small forwarders do not have their own tracking framework. So if you need to know the shipping status of your load, it's hard.

You must contact your freight forwarder's sales representative or customer representative. They will let you know where your shipment is currently.

In some cases, you can find a freight forwarder with the help of a supplier. You can directly get some information about the status of your shipment.

Instead of contacting the freight forwarder yourself, because usually, those freight forwarders do not speak English.

Whether by sea or air, you only need to check the assessment date at these basic stages:

- The date the cargo leaves the Chinese port or terminal

- The date the item appeared at a U.S. port or terminal

- Goods cleared through US customs date

- The date the product arrives at the Amazon FBA fulfillment center

There is no specific tracking site given though by the forwarder for sea or air shipments.

So you can track the commodity status and aircraft organization for that particular holder through the ocean freight organization.

In any event, tracking is done through these sites. You can get identifying data on when the product left the Chinese port for storage.

Date of assessment of landing in the United States. Or the assessment date that your merchandise will be cleared from the vessel or aircraft.

If you need to know when your item clears customs or ships to the Amazon warehouse. You can ask a freight forwarder who assists you in organizing your shipment.

A.Search by Airline

You simply insert the tracking ID of the air waybill on the carrier organization's website. You can find the Tracking ID or your Airline Billing Number at the top of the carrier's official website.

After inserting the ID, you will have complete information about the product's current location and arrival time.

B.Inquire Through the Shipping Company

You just need to enter your shipping line's name, container ID or number, B/L also known as a bill of lading ID or number, or vessel booking ID or number as required by your shipping organization.

Just tick the "tracking" and you can get detailed data. For example, the port of departure, the port of transit, the port of destination, the estimated time of shipment, etc.

This article has told you how to ship from China to Amazon FBA, FBA Prep, item label prerequisites, delivery calculation, and so on.

We share our thoughts on Amazon. We hope this article helped you ship items from China to Amazon.

Finally, if you have any questions after reading this article, please feel free to contact us. Our staff can help you with any data about shipping from China to Amazon FBA, that would be ideal.

RND is a professional Chinese purchasing agent. Our original idea is to help foreign friends solve their communication problems with Chinese factories and be responsible for the quality control of production. As demand for this service continued to increase, it became our main business. Over the past 16 years, we have built trusting relationships with clients from over 50 countries. With our help, more and more of their products are featured and become bestsellers on Amazon.