Amazon FBA is a fulfillment service offered directly by Amazon to ease the burden on sellers. Shipments to Amazon's FBA warehouses are made directly at one of Amazon's own fulfillment centers and can be stored there. Amazon employees manage, pack, and ship the goods, as well as handle all customer inquiries and returns.
Three Options for Shipping from China to Amazon FBA Warehouses
There are three different options for shipping goods from China. The three options are explained in more detail below, showing their pros and cons:
1 - Ship directly to Amazon FBA warehouse
As an overseas importer, this is the easiest and cheapest way to ship your goods to Amazon's FBA warehouse. With drop shipping, suppliers either arrange their own deliveries to Amazon warehouses or use FBA carriers to ship the goods. If a carrier is not available due to local circumstances, shipping through a fulfillment service provider, the so-called Amazon Prep Service, may also be considered.
2 - Step 1: Ship to seller's home; Step 2: Ship to Amazon FBA warehouse
Another option is to order items at home before shipping them to an Amazon FBA warehouse. The biggest benefit is that sellers can check the goods themselves and thus also check the quality standards of the products. If there are any quality defects in this regard, they can be remedied before the product is sent to the customer.
However, this shipping method incurs additional shipping costs. Due to the detour through the seller's home, an additional flat shipping fee is required. Therefore, one should know the nearest Amazon warehouse before deciding to go with this method. If the added shipping costs do not significantly impact product profits, then additional quality checks have a big advantage over drop shipping.
3 - Step 1: Ship via Fulfillment Provider; Step 2: Ship to Amazon FBA warehouse
A Fulfillment Service Provider is an independent third-party company that assists with import customs clearance, shipping from suppliers to Amazon warehouses, product inspection, packaging, and labeling of shipments according to Amazon's specific requirements.
There is an additional fee for receiving these services and should be carefully considered. Shipping through a fulfillment service provider may be a good option if you're not sure if the supplier or your own shipping is properly labeled.
Shipping method from China to Amazon FBA warehouse
Express to Amazon FBA warehouse
This is the easiest way for the consignee to ship, just need to confirm the arrival of the goods. The selected courier service provider is responsible for all import procedures. There are many such courier service providers around the world, such as UPS, FedEx and DHL.
Depending on the country of production China to Europe, the shipping with the courier service provider is usually completed within 4-7 days. However, express shipping is especially suitable for small shipments, such as when ordering product samples, as the total cost increases with shipping volume.
Air Freight to Amazon FBA Warehouse
When air freight is used as the shipping method, the shipping route is usually several days longer than express shipping. However, the total shipping cost is about 10%-20% lower than the average expedited shipping.
Air freight is especially suitable for heavy cargoes (rule of thumb: 500kg+) regardless of the size and volume of the cargo being shipped, due to the high import processing fees associated with it. In other cases, express delivery is the more appropriate option.
Shipping to Amazon FBA warehouse
Ocean freight is one of the most complex modes of transport for importing and exporting goods, but it is also one of the most popular. Because even for relatively large quantities of goods, the cost is low. Therefore, low-value but bulky products are particularly suitable for sea freight.
There are two options for finding the right ocean freight forwarder: a freight forwarder specializing in FBA or a traditional freight forwarder. The difference is the overall shipping cost: When using an FBA carrier, the shipping costs involved are usually much lower because the carrier ships a lot of goods to the same Amazon warehouse every day.
A Chinese supplier can usually help in choosing the right FBA forwarder because he has access to a wide range of forwarders due to his experience with other sellers.
Shipping costs vary according to peak and low seasons. However, the cost of ocean freight is usually about 80% lower than that of international express or air freight.
In any case, sellers should ensure that the agreed shipping costs include land transportation from the port of destination to Amazon's warehouse in addition to shipping costs. Hidden costs can be given to sellers here.
Parcel from China (PFC Express) is one of the leading logistics and fulfillment service company based in Shenzhen, China. We are very experienced in cross-border E-Commerce industry for customers who selling made-in China products and to satisfy customers for cost saving in storage room, efficient order management, API Integration support etc. We aim to providing our customers a comprehensive logistics solution, which enables them only need to focus on growing their business.
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2022.11.2
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