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How do you ship products from China to Amazon FBA?

You need an importer of record who isn’t Amazon, a shipment sent duties paid, an Amazon barcode on every unit, an FBA label on every box, and a carrier that books a delivery appointment. Rabbit buys your batch on 1688 and can hold it in China for Amazon, but its Amazon route isn’t open to US seller accounts yet.

By , founder of Rabbit · Updated November 9, 2026.

What are the steps to ship from China to Amazon FBA?

  1. Find your importer of record. Amazon never acts as importer for FBA inventory, whatever the size or value of the shipment. You can be the importer, including from outside the US as a non-resident importer, or use a customs broker.
  2. Ship duties paid. Amazon requires every shipment to travel DDP and refuses one that arrives with duties, taxes or shipping to collect: DDP or DDU.
  3. Prep every unit. Each unit needs its own scannable barcode, in a secure package that meets Amazon’s prep rules.
  4. Label every box. Each box carries its own FBA Box ID label, printed from your shipment in Seller Central.
  5. Book the delivery. Your carrier books a delivery appointment at the fulfillment center. Without one, the shipment is refused.

Who is the importer of record when you ship to Amazon?

You, or someone you appoint, never Amazon. The importer files the entry, pays the duties, taxes and fees, and makes sure the goods meet US rules. Amazon can appear as the ultimate consignee on the entry, written as “c/o FBA” after your name, but not as importer. A customs broker can tell you whether you need a customs bond, or extra permits for your product.

What labels does Amazon require on goods from China?

  • On each unit. Since March 31, 2026, a reseller uses Amazon barcodes (FNSKU labels) even when the product already has a manufacturer barcode; brand owners can keep theirs. You print and stick them, or Amazon does it for a fee per item.
  • On each box. One FBA Box ID label per box, on top of the carrier’s label. Old barcodes on a reused box must be covered or crossed out.
  • On some packages. A poly bag with an opening of 5 inches or more needs a suffocation warning. A set sold as one unit is marked as a set.

Amazon can refuse stock that arrives with packaging or labels that don’t comply, or dispose of it at your cost.

What boxes does Amazon accept?

  • A rigid six-sided box, no larger than 25 inches in width and height and 36 inches in length.
  • No more than 50 lb, unless it holds a single heavier item, which then needs “Team Lift” labels.
  • Accurate box weights and dimensions, given for every shipment.

How do delivery appointments at Amazon work?

The carrier, not you, books the appointment, at least 24 hours ahead. No truckload, less-than-truckload or small-parcel shipment is accepted without one, and a carrier 30 minutes late or more is refused. Once refused, the carrier gets the information from the fulfillment center, and you deal with the carrier.

What does Rabbit do for an Amazon batch?

  • You order the batch “to Amazon”. You pay for the goods without a street address, since the Amazon warehouse isn’t known yet; Rabbit asks for your name and phone number, because carriers need a contact.
  • The batch is bought and kept at Rabbit’s warehouse in China, where the boxes are measured. Storage is free for 30 days.
  • Shipping to the Amazon warehouse is quoted once the boxes are measured, shipment by shipment, and paid then.
  • The estimated profit Rabbit shows for Amazon is before that shipping: it says “on quote” on that line instead of guessing a price.
  • A product delivered one piece at a time, from AliExpress, doesn’t go to Amazon as a batch. And the logo-on-packaging option goes with a batch delivered to you, not to Amazon.

Can a US seller use Rabbit to ship to Amazon FBA today?

Not yet. Rabbit’s Amazon route was built for amazon.fr, and its prices are calculated in euros:

  • In ChatGPT or Claude, the sell_on_amazon tool, which tells what Amazon keeps on a sale, is not open to a US account. Rabbit says so and offers a quote or the product page instead.
  • An order “to Amazon” can’t be paid in dollars yet. Rabbit refuses it before you pay, rather than taking an order it can’t ship.

What a US account can do today: get a quote, order a sample of up to 3 pieces with shipping included, and check the product before any batch: how to order a sample from 1688. When to move from a sample to a batch: test, batch, brand.

How does Rabbit buy from 1688 for you?

  1. Search. Send me a 1688 link, a photo or a few words: I search 1688 and AliExpress and show you what I find. You never read Chinese or talk to the supplier, and nothing I write to you is in Chinese. When my search finds nothing, a person in China searches for you.
  2. Price it. Before you order, I estimate the cost delivered to your door and your estimated profit on each sale. In the US, the import duties on goods from China are counted.
  3. Order. You order and pay in Rabbit, in dollars with a US account. Your first order doesn’t need a subscription.
  4. Receive in China. Your goods arrive at my warehouse in China. Every parcel is opened, checked and photographed, and you see the photos before it ships. If a piece doesn’t match, I offer a replacement, a credit or a refund.
  5. Ship. I ship to you, in the US or in any of the 23 countries I deliver to. A shipping quote is a ceiling: it can go down when the parcel is weighed, never up.
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Sources

For your exact situation: your accountant or a customs broker.