Every brand has two stories. The one in your product photos. And the one in your fee table.

The FBA Prep Service fees table isn’t just a list of charges. It’s a mirror of how your catalog behaves inside Amazon’s system. If you read it carefully and run an FBA prep audit, it will tell you which SKUs are quietly draining margin and which ones should move first to your own prep or a 3PL partner.

Why an FBA prep audit matters now

Each prep category in the table looks small. Fragile or glass standard size uses bubble wrap and labeling and costs $1.59 per unit. Adult products that need opaque bagging and labeling run $1.55 per unit. Small items that need bagging and labeling land at $1.25 per unit.

None of that sounds shocking for a single order. But FBA isn’t about single orders. It’s about thousands of units, month after month, where the same fee hits the same SKU again and again.

An FBA prep audit turns those quiet cents into visible dollars. Once you see the totals by SKU, the next decisions become obvious.

Step 1: tag every SKU to the fee table

Start simple. Export your catalog with SKU, product type, and units shipped per month.

Then sit with the FBA Prep Service fees table and match each SKU to the right row:

• Fragile or glass.
• Liquids.
• Apparel and textiles.
• Baby products.
• Small.
• Adult.
• Powders or granular.
• Perforated packaging.
• Sold as set.

For each SKU, ask what prep Amazon currently does for you:

• Does it bubble wrap the unit?
• Does it bag it?
• Does it use an opaque bag because of the product type?
• Does it add labels for you or just rely on your own?

Write down the category and whether the product usually needs bubble wrap, bagging, opaque bagging, and labeling.

You now know where each SKU sits in the fee table.

Step 2: calculate real prep spend per month

Now bring volume into the picture. For each SKU, take its category and look at the per unit total in the table:

• If your standard fragile item needs bubble wrap and a label, use $1.59.
• If your adult product needs opaque bagging and a label, use $1.55.
• If your small standard item uses bagging and labeling, use $1.25.

Multiply that per unit fee by the number of units you ship each month.

A standard size adult product that ships 5,000 units a month at $1.55 costs $7,755 per month in prep alone.

A small item that ships ten thousand units a month at $1.25 costs $12,500 per month.

Do this for every SKU. Then add the totals to see your catalog wide prep spend.

You now have the real cost of carrying your current habits forward.

Step 3: rank SKUs by pain

Not all prep costs are equal. Some SKUs are cheap to prep and don’t move much volume. Others are expensive and fly out the door. Use your sheet to sort SKUs by monthly prep cost from highest to lowest.

At the top you’ll see combinations like:

• High volume fragile SKUs that always need bubble wrap and labels.
• Adult products that must use opaque bags.
• Small units that look simple but move in very large numbers.

These are your “pain list” products. They’re the first candidates to leave Amazon prep or leave FBA entirely.

Mid-level SKUs may still work inside Amazon’s system for now. Even there, you’ll start to ask whether a small change in packaging could move them to a cheaper prep category.

Step 4: choose the right path for each SKU

Once you know which SKUs hurt the most, the FBA prep audit moves from math to strategy.

Some products will stay with Amazon prep for a while:

• Their volume is low.
• Their fees are modest.
• They’re not worth the distraction right now.

Some products will shift to better packaging from your supplier:

• A sturdier carton might remove the need for bubble wrap.
• A design change might remove the need for perforated packaging.
• If you can drop a product into the “sold as set” or “small” rows without bubble wrap, your per unit cost shifts.

And some products are simply better off leaving Amazon prep altogether. These re often the high volume SKUs with heavy prep categories. They’re strong candidates for self-prep or, more realistically, for a 3PL partner that can take over the whole process.

This is where the audit earns its keep. You’re no longer making guesses. You’re moving SKUs based on clear numbers.

Where ShipSage fits after your FBA prep audit

ShipSage doesn’t act as an in-house FBA prep service. Instead, it gives brands another path.

You can move selected SKUs out of the FBA prep line and into ShipSage warehouses. Inventory arrives once. ShipSage receives it, applies your packaging and labeling rules, and then ships orders directly to customers or through Seller Fulfilled Prime where that setup makes sense.

Because ShipSage runs a multi-warehouse network across the United States, it can place stock closer to buyers and support fast two-day delivery for most of the country.

Its own order management and warehouse management systems tie receiving, inventory, and shipping together in one view. That makes it easier to keep prep consistent and to see what each unit really costs.

After an FBA prep audit, many brands find a pattern. They keep some SKUs on FBA with minimal Amazon prep. They move high cost prep SKUs to a partner like ShipSage and let that network handle storage and shipping instead.

The shift isn’t about leaving Amazon. It’s about refusing to let one fee table decide the fate of every SKU you sell.

FAQ about running an FBA prep audit

1. What is an FBA prep audit?

An FBA prep audit is a simple review where you match every SKU to a row in the FBA Prep Service fees table and calculate monthly prep spend by SKU and in total. It helps you see which products are paying the most for Amazon prep.

2. How do I start an FBA prep audit?

Export your catalog with SKUs and monthly units, then tag each SKU to the right prep category in the table. Multiply the per unit fee by units shipped to see what each product really costs in prep.

3. Which SKUs should move first after an FBA prep audit?

Start with high volume SKUs in expensive prep categories, such as fragile, adult, or small items that always need bagging and labeling. These products usually deliver the biggest savings when you change packaging or move them to a warehouse partner.

4. How often should I repeat an FBA prep audit?

Run a quick version every quarter and a deeper version at least once a year. Fee tables change, catalogs grow, and an audit keeps your decisions grounded in current data.

5. How can ShipSage help after my FBA prep audit?

After you identify costly SKUs, you can move selected products to ShipSage for storage, careful handling, and fast direct shipping or Seller Fulfilled Prime. That lets you reduce dependence on Amazon prep while keeping orders fast and reliable for your customers.