Selling through Amazon FBA means your packaging must satisfy two audiences at once: the retail customer who opens it, and Amazon's warehouses that receive it. The second audience has written rules, and breaking them means check-in delays and fee surprises.
Amazon's outer-carton rules (the ones that bite)
- Cartons should not exceed 50 lb (22.7 kg) — and must be marked "Team Lift" above that; 100 lb max in most categories.
- No carton side over 25 inches (63.5 cm) without special handling.
- Every box needs the FBA shipment label covering all other barcodes (or a blank label area left for it), plus the box-content information if you use that program.
- Polybagged units above 5 inches need a suffocation warning printed or applied.
What this means for your custom packaging
1. The retail box ships inside an Amazon-approved master carton. Tell your factory the master carton spec is FBA — they'll size and label accordingly and can print "Team Lift"/suffocation text where needed. 2. Leave a label zone. Ask for a clear, unprinted area on the master carton for FBA labels — or order the labels pre-applied at the factory, which many sellers do to skip prep-center fees. 3. Plan the polybag decision early. If individual units are polybagged for protection, the warning text must be legible — factories can print it on the bag at negligible cost versus buying compliant bags later.
The retail-side opportunity
Remember the customer still opens *something*. A plain polybag reads cheap at unboxing. The common FBA pattern: a branded folding carton or rigid box inside a plain master carton. You pay for the inner box, but it's what earns reviews and repeat purchases — and unlike generic prep, it's designed once and serves for years.
At KUBO Paper we prepare FBA-ready master cartons regularly: correct specs, label zones, box-content alignment. Tell us your marketplace at quoting and the prep requirements get built into the packaging order instead of becoming your problem at check-in.
FAQ
Can the factory ship directly to an Amazon warehouse?
Yes — factories routinely ship DDP or FOB to Amazon fulfillment centers with the FBA labels applied. Provide the shipment ID labels from Seller Central after creating the shipment plan; the factory handles carton labeling and booking.
Does my inner box need a barcode (FNSKU)?
Individual sellable units need the FNSKU (or GCID via manufacturer barcode) — your factory can print it on the retail box or apply label stickers during packing. Decide before printing: printing it is cleaner and one less prep step.