Sourcing from China for Amazon FBA means choosing a product with real margin after FBA fees, getting it prepped to Amazon's exact spec at the factory, and shipping it to a US warehouse where — as of 2026 — Amazon will neither prep your units nor act as your importer. Two rule changes landed this year: Amazon stopped offering FNSKU labeling and poly-bagging for inbound US FBA on 1 January 2026 (SalesDuo), and Customs tightened who can be the importer of record. This guide walks the whole chain: product selection, FBA-specific prep, shipping, and the landed-cost math that decides whether a product is worth buying at all.
Step 1 — Selecting a product that survives FBA fees
The mistake beginners make is choosing on factory price. On FBA, the factory (FOB) price is only one line in a stack that ends with Amazon's cut. Before you fall in love with a product at a booth, sanity-check three things:
- Referral fee: Amazon takes ~15% of the sale price in most categories.
- Fulfillment fee: a per-unit fee based on the unit's size tier and weight — Amazon added a new Small Bulky tier on 15 January 2026 (Aura), so a few centimetres can move you between fee bands.
- Landed cost: everything to get one unit into the Amazon warehouse (see Step 4).
A workable rule of thumb: your all-in cost (landed + FBA fees) should sit around 30–40% of the sale price to leave room for advertising and profit. FOB (Free On Board — the price with goods loaded on the vessel at the Chinese port) that looks cheap can still lose money once a bulky unit hits the fulfillment fee. Favor products that are small, light, hard to break, and not restricted (batteries, liquids, and anything with a "hazmat" flag add prep and paperwork).
At a fair like the Canton Fair or Yiwu, capture the numbers that feed this decision on the spot: FOB price, MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity), carton dimensions and units-per-carton. Those carton figures are what later tell you the size tier and the container fill.
Step 2 — FBA-specific requirements you must build into the PO
This is where FBA sourcing differs from ordinary importing. Every unit must arrive at Amazon already prepped and labeled — and since 2026 Amazon no longer does the missing steps for you (SalesDuo). Put every requirement into the purchase order so the factory does it, priced in, before the goods ever ship.
FNSKU labeling
The FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit) is Amazon's own barcode that ties a unit to your listing. It must be scannable, printed at 300 DPI, and it must cover or replace any existing UPC/EAN barcode so your stock is not commingled with other sellers' (SeafreightGo). Send the factory the FNSKU PDF from Seller Central and have them apply it during production.
Poly-bagging and suffocation warnings
Poly bags must be transparent and at least 1.5 mil thick; any bag with an opening of 5 inches or more (measured flat) needs a printed suffocation warning (Simpl Fulfillment). Loose, sharp, or fragile items have their own prep (bubble wrap, sets bagged as one unit).
Carton (shipping box) limits
Cartons going into FBA cap at 36 × 25 × 25 inches and 50 lb — heavier only for a single oversized item, and then only with a lift label on at least five sides (Aura). Each carton needs an Amazon box-ID (shipment) label. Tell the factory the max carton weight up front; it changes how they pack.
Who actually does each step
| FBA prep requirement | What it means | Who does it (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| FNSKU unit label | Amazon barcode covering the UPC, on every unit | Factory (send the PDF) — Amazon no longer labels for you |
| Poly-bag + suffocation warning | Transparent ≥1.5 mil bag, warning if opening ≥5" | Factory, specified in the PO |
| Bundling / sets as one unit | Multiple items sold as one ASIN, bagged together | Factory or a 3PL prep center |
| Bubble wrap / fragile prep | Protecting breakables to survive the network | Factory or prep center |
| Carton box-ID (shipment) label | Amazon-generated label per carton | You / your freight forwarder at shipment creation |
| Compliance docs (CE, batteries, hazmat) | Safety data, exemption sheets, testing | You + factory paperwork |
| Importer of record + duty payment | Legal importer at the US border | You or your forwarder (DDP) — never Amazon |
If your factory can't hit Amazon spec reliably, route the goods through a third-party prep center near the port (in China or in the US) that does FNSKU labeling, poly-bagging and inspection before the units go to Amazon. That is also your quality gate — see quality control and inspection in China.
Step 3 — Shipping China → Amazon: the routing decision
Two decisions: how it flies or sails, and where it lands first.
Air vs sea
Air freight runs roughly 8–14 days door-to-FBA at about $5.50–$9.00/kg; sea freight runs 30–45 days at roughly $1.50–$4.00/kg, or about $100–$150 per CBM for LCL (Unicargo, ForwarderOne). CBM (cubic meter) is volume — a container fills by volume before weight for most consumer goods. Air earns its premium only for launches, urgent restocks, or small high-value items; for everything bulky and non-urgent, sea wins on cost.
Ship straight to Amazon, or via a prep center?
Sending a container direct to an Amazon fulfillment center is cheapest per unit but unforgiving: the goods must be 100% correct — perfect prep, correct labels, an appointment, and a compliant carton — or they get rejected. Routing through a 3PL prep center first (China-side or US-side) adds a handling cost but lets you inspect, fix prep, split one factory shipment across multiple Amazon locations, and avoid Amazon's inbound placement fees on a poorly split load. For a first order with a new supplier, the prep-center buffer usually pays for itself.
Step 4 — Landed cost vs FBA fees: the number that decides
Two different cost stacks, and you must add them:
- Landed cost — factory FOB + freight (allocated by CBM) + insurance + customs duty + clearance + inland to the warehouse. For a first-time importer the factory price is typically only 60–70% of landed cost. The full formula, with a worked China→US example, is in how to calculate landed cost from China; our landed-cost calculator applies your own rates line by line.
- FBA fees — referral (~15%) + per-unit fulfillment fee by size tier + any monthly storage.
Duties and the importer of record — the 2026 change
The sub-$800 de minimis exemption was removed for China on 2 May 2025, so every shipment now clears formally and carries duty — including Section 301 tariffs on top of the base rate. Crucially, Amazon will not act as your importer of record and will not pay duty; if duty is unpaid, Customs holds or rejects the load (Carra Globe). You need a US importer of record — your own US entity or, more commonly for overseas sellers, a DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) arrangement where the freight forwarder acts as importer and bills you the duty. 2026 also tightened who may be an importer of record, so confirm your forwarder's setup before you ship (Carra Globe).
Only when landed cost and FBA fees are both in the model can you see the real margin — and decide whether to place the order at the price you were quoted.
FAQ
How do I find products to sell on Amazon FBA from China?
Start from demand (a category selling well on Amazon with room for another seller), then source it at a China trade fair or on a B2B marketplace. At the booth, capture FOB price, MOQ, carton size and units-per-carton for each candidate. Back home, compute landed cost plus FBA fees and keep only the products where all-in cost lands around 30–40% of the sale price.
Can the Chinese factory apply the FNSKU labels?
Yes — and since Amazon stopped labeling inbound US units on 1 January 2026, you should. Send the factory the FNSKU barcode PDF from Seller Central and require it in the purchase order, applied during production at 300 DPI, covering any existing UPC. Verify it on samples: a wrong or unscannable FNSKU means the whole shipment is refused.
Should I ship from China straight to Amazon or through a prep center?
Direct to Amazon is cheapest per unit but demands perfect prep, labels and a compliant carton or the load is rejected. A 3PL prep center adds a handling fee but lets you inspect, fix prep, and split the shipment across warehouses. For a first order with a new supplier, the prep-center buffer usually pays for itself; for a proven supplier, direct is fine.
Does Amazon handle customs and import duties for FBA?
No. Amazon will not act as importer of record for FBA inventory and will not pay your duties; an unpaid shipment is held or returned at the border (Carra Globe). You need a US importer of record, or a DDP deal where your forwarder imports and bills you the duty. Since the China de minimis exemption ended in 2025, every shipment clears formally and carries duty.
Air freight or sea freight from China to Amazon FBA?
Sea for almost everything: 30–45 days but roughly $1.50–$4.00/kg (or ~$100–150/CBM LCL). Air (8–14 days, ~$5.50–9.00/kg) only earns its premium for product launches, urgent restocks, or small high-value items. A common pattern: air a small first batch to start selling, then backfill by sea.
At the fair you have fifteen seconds per product — the numbers that later decide FBA viability (FOB, MOQ, carton size) have to be captured then, not reconstructed later. Fairloop captures each product offline in one photo and computes landed cost and container fill back home, so you walk into the FBA fee math with real figures. See pricing.
Read also: how to calculate landed cost when importing from China.