When Amazon makes a small change, it rarely feels small. Amazon stopping FBA prep services in 2026 is one of those changes.

On January 1, 2026, Amazon stops all prep and item labeling for FBA in the United States. That includes labeling, bagging, bubble wrap, kitting, and other prep work on units that enter the FBA network. If it ends up in FBA, it has to arrive ready to store and ready to ship.

Shipments created before that date can still get prep. Shipments created on or after that date will not. From that point, Amazon expects every unit to arrive in perfect condition with the right label, or you carry the risk and the cost.

Why small items feel this change first

Big products hurt when they go wrong. Small products hurt when they go wrong often.

Most small item brands run on volume and thin margins. You sell many units, each one with a modest profit. Anything that adds time or error per unit eats into that profit fast.

Small items also need more handling. They need bagging so they do not get lost. They need warning labels and barcodes that stay readable. They sometimes need bubble wrap even when they look sturdy, because a loose box on a long truck ride is not gentle. Amazon used to offer a safety net for this work.

Take that net away and three things change for small items. First, your staff touches each unit more often before it leaves your space. Second, the number of things that can go wrong increases with volume. Third, every mistake now carries more downside. Non-compliant units face higher inbound defect fees, returns, disposal, and no reimbursement if damaged.

For a large seller with a few big products, this is annoying. For a brand sending thousands of small items, this becomes a daily tax.

The new job Amazon quietly handed you

When Amazon stopping FBA prep services was announced, the message was polite. Amazon said most sellers already handle their own packaging, either in house or through partners. So they framed this as a natural next step.

In practice, Amazon just handed you a new job. They turned you into a small warehouse manager, whether you wanted that role or not.

You now need to answer questions like these. Where will prep happen. Who checks barcodes. Who decides when a batch is good enough to ship. What happens when a supplier sends mixed labels or weak cartons.

Big brands already have teams for this. Many small item brands do not. They built their business in a world where Amazon would fix a portion of the mess for a fee.

3 main choices for small item brands

There are many variations, but they fit inside three main paths.

1. Do everything yourself.

Here you build a small prep operation in house. You buy printers, labels, bags, tape, tables, and racking. You write simple prep rules and you train staff on how to follow them every day. This path gives you control. It also ties more of your time and attention to physical work instead of growth.

2. Push prep to your suppliers.

You tell factories to label and bag each unit to FBA standards before it leaves them. This can work well when you have strong partners and clear rules. It breaks when suppliers cut corners or misread the requirements. You gain simplicity on your side but take on risk from someone else’s warehouse.

3. Work with a prep-focused partner or 3PL.

Here you send inventory to a specialist that lives in this world every day. They receive, inspect, label, bag, bundle, and ship to FBA, or ship direct to customers if you reduce FBA use. This is the path many guides now expect most sellers to take, because it turns a new fixed cost into a variable service.

Small item brands will likely mix these paths. Maybe you let one product stay in FBA with supplier prep and move another product to direct fulfillment through a third party. The important idea is simple. You no longer think of prep as an afterthought. It becomes part of your margin math.

Why some small sellers will quietly step away from FBA

When a system gets harder, people either get better at that system or build a new one.

Some small item sellers will double down on FBA and build strong prep workflows. Others will look at the new fees, the new rules, and the new risk and say something else. They will say, maybe it is time to send some stock through another path.

That other path can be direct fulfillment from a 3PL. It can be Seller Fulfilled Prime with a partner that understands fast shipping and strict cutoffs. It can be a mix of FBA for a few winners and outside fulfillment for the rest.

For brands like this, a provider such as ShipSage matters in a different way. ShipSage does not prep goods into FBA. Instead, it helps sellers build a parallel track where small items live in a warehouse that is designed for direct fulfillment and Seller Fulfilled Prime. Pick and pack stays careful. Orders still arrive fast. But your ability to ship does not depend on Amazon prep rules.

That matters for risk. When one door depends on a single company, it only takes one new rule to lock it.

The quiet deadline before the real deadline

January 1, 2026 is the official date. Most small item brands have an earlier date, even if they have not written it down.

You do not want to learn prep on the same week that Amazon stops helping. You want a few trial runs while the net still exists. That way the mistakes live in a smaller test, not in your core business.

So treat the next few weeks as practice. Pick one product line. Map how much prep Amazon does for you today. Then build a simple version of your future process and run it while you still have time to adjust.

In the end, Amazon stopping FBA prep services forces a choice. You can see it as another squeeze on small sellers. Or you can treat it as the nudge that pushes you to build a supply chain you actually understand and control.

The brands that handle small items well in this new world will not be the ones with the fanciest software. They will be the ones that see this change early, accept it, and quietly build a system that works without Amazon holding their hand.

FAQ

1. What does “Amazon stopping FBA prep services” actually mean?

It means that starting January 1, 2026, Amazon will no longer bag, bubble wrap, label, or otherwise prepare your units for FBA. Every unit entering FBA in the US must arrive fully prepped and correctly labeled before it reaches Amazon.

2. When does Amazon stop offering FBA prep in the US?

Amazon stops FBA prep and labeling services for US FBA shipments created on or after January 1, 2026. Shipments created before that date may still receive prep under the old rules.

3. Why are small item sellers hit hardest by Amazon stopping FBA prep services?

Small items usually move in higher volumes and need more handling and protection. When prep shifts from Amazon to you, every extra touch, label, and bag cuts into already thin margins.

4. What happens if my products are not prepped correctly after 2026?

Poor prep can lead to inbound defects, delays, returns, and disposal. In many cases you also lose reimbursement protection if items are damaged because they did not meet Amazon’s packaging and labeling standards.

5. What are my options now that Amazon is stopping FBA prep services?

You can build in house prep workflows, push more prep to your suppliers, or work with a specialist partner or 3PL. Most brands end up using a mix, depending on product type and volume.

6. How does this change affect brands that sell lots of small items?

Brands with many small SKUs now need tighter processes around labeling, bagging, bundling, and quality checks. Without that, small mistakes repeat across hundreds or thousands of units, turning into big costs fast.

7. How can ShipSage help if I want to move away from relying on FBA prep?

ShipSage does not do FBA prep, but it can store your inventory and ship orders direct to customers or via Seller Fulfilled Prime. That lets you keep small items moving quickly with careful pick and pack, without depending on Amazon prep services at all.