Shipping products from China to Amazon FBA directly is a popular and cost-effective method. If you are an Amazon FBA seller and want to avoid expensive third-party logistics companies, you should try sending goods to Amazon FBA warehouses directly.
Although the shipping process seems quite straightforward, it is more complex than getting products UPS labeled by your shipper. However, it enables quick delivery to the warehouse. Therefore, this guide will talk in detail about how to get your shipments from China to Amazon FBA. We will explain the process, perks, and tips for shipping products to Amazon FBA directly in this article.
- What Shipping Methods Can be Used to Send Products from China to Amazon?
- The Pros and Cons of Shipping Your Products from China to Amazon FBA
- How to Get Your Shipments from China to Amazon FBA Directly in 3 Easy Steps?
- What are the Benefits and Drawbacks of Shipping Your Products to a Third-party Logistics Company?
- When Should You Ship Your Products Directly From China To Amazon FBA?
- When to Ship Your Products to Amazon FBA Using a Middleman?
- 4 Things To Consider Before Your First China Sourcing
- Wrapping Up
What Shipping Methods Can be Used to Send Products from China to Amazon?
For shipping your products to Amazon, you broadly have three choices:
- First ship the products to your warehouse located in the United States and then to Amazon.
- Send the products to Amazon using your own freight forwarders from China directly.
- Use Amazon Global Logistics to ship the goods from China to Amazon directly.
Due to the limited storage capacity and inventory charges, Amazon has made it difficult and costly to get your products shipped from China to Amazon FBA warehouses. Therefore, if your products are expected to stay in the Amazon warehouse for 6 months or more, you should go for a middleman or a third-party logistics company.
However, if your products get sold quickly, it is better to ship them directly to Amazon FBA from China.
Amazon has also introduced freight forwarding services known as Amazon Global Logistics (AGL). It offers a pick-up facility for your products in China and ships them to Amazon FBA warehouse directly.
You can even use your own freight forwarder which is simple since most freight forwarding companies know how to get your shipments from China to Amazon FBA. No matter which method you choose, your supplier will have to add Amazon shipping labels to all of your boxes in case of your own freight forwarder or using Amazon Global Logistics.
Another option can be getting your products shipped to a third-party logistics company or your own house directly. After the product arrives at your warehouse, you can ship it directly to Amazon warehouses with the help of UPS-partnered transporters. Although it is the easiest method, it costs the most.
Read more: Is UPS or FedEx Better? Which One is the Quickest and Cheapest?
The Pros and Cons of Shipping Your Products from China to Amazon FBA
Here’s an overview of the pros and cons of shipping the products directly from China to Amazon FBA:
Pros
- Quick transit
- Cost-effective
- Smooth product handling
Cons
- Payment of duties and freight before the product even reaches Amazon warehouse
- No partnered carriers support
- Proper adherence to Amazon’s standards for packaging and shipping
- No domestic inspection of products is possible before going to the warehouse
- Supplier knows that you sell the products on Amazon
The best thing about shipping directly to Amazon FBA from China is that it is way faster and cheaper. This method saves around one to two weeks in transit time and hundreds of thousands of dollars required by third-party logistics companies on every shipment.
On the other hand, the biggest drawback of using direct shipments from China to Amazon FBA is that Amazon needs standard packaging for all products. If you ship an oversized item along with the standard-sized ones, it will be delivered to a different warehouse even if you had paid the placement fee.
Another problem with this method is that you cannot inspect the products domestically before they arrive at the Amazon warehouse.
How To Get Your Shipments from China To Amazon FBA Directly in 3 Easy Steps
If you want to ship products from China to the Amazon warehouse via sea or air, you can follow the procedure discussed below:
- Log in to your Amazon Seller Central and create a shipment. After you create the shipment, verify the address of the warehouse where it will be delivered by creating a draft first.
In case you are using Amazon Global Logistics for shipping products, you should add the address of your factory in China as the ship from value. Else, enter South California on the ship from address.
- After confirming that all your products will be shipped to the same warehouse, contact the supplier to apply bar codes to each product, carton labels to every master box, and pallet labels on the four sides of all pallets. The same process will be used if you are shipping through Amazon Global Logistics or your own freight forwarders.
- Schedule door-to-door pick-up services with your freight forwarder from China to the warehouse address. Otherwise, select a suitable pick-up time with Amazon Global Logistics after setting a date when your product will be ready for shipment.
Many different services are available in China that handle shipments and offer direct shipping facilities to Amazon FBA warehouses. These companies quote a good rate, however, you may experience language issues.
What are the Benefits and Drawbacks of Shipping Your Products to a Third-party Logistics Company?
Due to the limited inventory storage and their increasing rates of direct shipping to Amazon, third-party logistics services have become popular. You can easily get your products shipped from China using 3PL (third-party logistics) services.
These services come with some perks and drawbacks. Let us have a look at the benefits and drawbacks of the 3 PLs (Third-party logistics).
Pros
- No storage limitation
- Easy division of shipments to different Amazon warehouses
- Allows domestic inspection of orders before reaching Amazon warehouse
Cons
- Slow delivery
- Costly
- Requires more handling of products
One of the biggest benefits of using 3PL services is that there is no limit to inventory. It lets you drop as many products as you want and whenever you want. Plus, it now enables accessing Amazon Partnered Carriers for shipping small parcels at much lower costs.
Third-party logistics are super beneficial for shipment except for the cost and time, which are two critical factors.
In terms of time, 3PL services take two to five days to receive and prepare the shipment and then a few more days to send it to the Amazon warehouse. Hence, this service adds one to two weeks time for the package to reach Amazon FBA.
If we talk about cost, most third-party logistic companies normally charge something between $1 to $5 as the receiving fee for each carton or $10 to $50 for every pallet. They also take a pick/pack fee between $1 to $4 to send the package to Amazon FBA excluding the carrier charges.
Additionally, you might have to pay labeling fees of about $0.1 to $0.25 for some cartons and then the storage fees.
To have an idea, check out the rate list of 3PL companies below:
When Should You Ship Your Products Directly From China to Amazon FBA?
You should ship your products directly from China to Amazon FBA in the following cases:
- Your shipment falls under your inventory limits.
- You need to ship fewer products physically, such as one carton that has a price below $800.
- You have long-term working experience with your supplier and you have been shipping goods to Amazon FBA for a long period.
- You need to send it without wasting any time.
When to Ship Your Products to Amazon FBA Using a Middleman?
You should ship your products to Amazon FBA using a middleman in the following cases:
- You are going to have the first shipment from the supplier for the first time so that you can inspect it yourself or get it prepared and labeled by some company.
- You are going to use Amazon FBA for the first time and you want to avoid any error or shipment rejection.
- It is cheaper to get these services.
- You need to ship a large number of products and the inventory limits are expected to exceed, restricting you to shipping it all to Amazon.
4 Things To Consider Before Your First China Sourcing
Sourcing is a profitable game but it can be tricky for complete beginners in the field. So, beyond looking for how to get your shipments from China to Amazon FBA, consider the below factors if you are sourcing from China for the first time:
- Find out what the market needs: If you don’t know what you have to sell, the first step is to conduct market research. As a newbie, you must search for highly profitable and popular products to sell on Amazon. For this purpose, you can use keyword research on Amazon and even some market intelligence tools.
- Decide your supplier after deep research: In the second phase, you need an experienced and reliable supplier who manufactures in China and deals with Western companies. Don’t blindly pick any random supplier offering apparently great deals.
- Ensure high-quality and efficient delivery: To leave a good impression on your first deal, go through the customer feedback for the related products and figure out the loopholes. After you are done with the design, make sure to audit the product in the factory. Finally, stay in touch with the supplier to ensure timely delivery.
- Manage payments and increase prices: When purchasing products from suppliers, keep a record of the payments by using any financial tools for assistance. Get your invoice prepared and decide on a suitable payment mode. You might experience price fluctuations on your orders due to the changing costs of the raw materials. Therefore, discuss it with your supplier beforehand and ask him to provide a validity period for the price quoted.
Wrapping Up
Whether you are new to the sourcing game or an expert, it is essential to understand how to get your shipments from China to Amazon FBA to avoid shipping challenges at each stage. Fortunately, Amazon lets you ship products from China using your own freight forwarders, Amazon Global logistics, or third-party services. You can go for the 3PL services if your shipments are within the inventory limit or ship them directly in the alternate case. So, keep this guide as your reference and light up your shipment game.