With millions of products available to purchase at the click of a button, it comes as no surprise that Amazon’s automated despatch process relies heavily on accurate barcodes and labelling. So, if you want a piece of the FBA action, you’re going to need to know what Amazon wants, and give it to them exactly how they want it.
Any products you want to send to Amazon for their fba service need to be clearly labelled and include the specific information they require. Amazon can actually fine you if you get this wrong, but don’t worry, we’re here to help with all you need to know on how to print amazon barcode labels correctly the first time, every time.
Shipping Creation Workflow
In the third step of the Shipping Creation Workflow, you’ll be asked to choose how you want to label your products, so choose wisely. You can use the manufacturer’s existing barcode for eligible items (you’ll be notified where you can do this), you can ask Amazon to do it for you, (but bear in mind they’ll charge you per label which can be extremely costly), or you can do it yourself. And if you want a job done properly…
Let’s take a look at what Amazon want:
Amazon FBA Label Requirements
Each label acts as a product identifier which is unique to Amazon Fulfilment. It needs to include a barcode, FNSKU, the item name, and its condition. It’ll look something like this.
It’s worth noting that these labels go on your products. A separate label will be generated along with the shipping label for the outer box you ship the goods to Amazon in.
What labels do I need for fba?
There are several size options of labels for you to choose from depending on the items you are selling:
- If your items have no original barcodes, you are free to choose the size that suits you best.
- If your items have original barcodes or barcode labels on, Amazon asks that these are fully covered to avoid any confusion or incorrect scanning – in this case, you need to choose a label size large enough to fully cover these original barcodes.
To ensure that the barcodes will scan, there must be sufficient white space around the Amazon barcode and related text – Amazon advise you should leave 0.25” (6.25mm) on the sides and 0.125” (3.1mm) from the top and bottom.
We recommend testing your output and tweaking your margins if necessary as Amazon have a strict policy on this.
The following label sizes match with the various outputs and sizes available when printing from Amazon:
How to print a barcode label for Amazon
From the Label Products section of Send/Replenish Inventory:
- Select ‘Merchant’ in the ‘Who labels?’ drop down menu
- Check that the number of units matches the number of labels to print
- Amazon will only show 100 SKUs per page so if you’re shipping more items than this, make sure you click ‘All Pages’ on your shipment
- Select your preferred label size from the drop down menu
- Click the orange ‘Print labels for this page’
- Either save or print the generated file – just make sure you put your label paper into the printer if you’re going to print straight away
In most instances, the product name will be enough for you to match the label to the product, but if not you can always generate a packing list later in the shipping creation process.
How to label products for Amazon fba
Once you’ve printed your fba labels, you’ll need to stick them to a smooth and flat surface of the product, and cover any original barcodes. You should use a laser printer to print your labels – inkjet printers are susceptible to smudging which can make the labels difficult to read and scan. Here are our top tips for labelling your products:
- Cover any original barcodes – you need to make sure you cover the entire, original manufacturer’s barcode (UPC, EAN, ISBN) with your product label. If you don’t completely cover the barcode, it can cause errors and might result in lost inventory.
- Amazon advise you to allow 0.25” (6.25mm) between the edge of the label and edge of the packaging for consistent scanning – we recommend testing to ensure this is the case.
- Do not place the barcode on a curve or corner of the package – this can make it harder to read or scan. If you’re sending cylindrical items, place your barcode lengthwise.
Keep in mind
Amazon have the right to destroy mislabelled items if the owner is unknown. If you are identified as the seller, Amazon will relabel the items at your expense, so it’s really important to get it right!
Contact Us
We hope the above advice gives you all the help you need for printing your fba barcode labels. eCommerce despatch operations are our speciality so if you have any unanswered questions or require further assistance then please get in touch – we’ll be more than happy to help.