FBA Prep vs Fulfillment
FBA Prep Center vs Fulfillment Center: Which One Do You Actually Need?
A prep center gets inventory Amazon-ready. A fulfillment center ships orders straight to your customer. Most sellers past their first year need both — here's how to tell, with real published rates.
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Get a fulfillment quote in 24 hours
Tell us what you sell and your monthly volume. A real person replies within one business day with exact numbers.
Before you request a quote
Know the cost. Check the fit. Plan your first shipment.
Start with a small shipment or an established operation. There is no minimum volume. Tell us what you sell so we can confirm the handling, space and shipping you actually need.
What will my first month cost?
Example: 500 full-service FBA units under 5 lb × $0.75 = $375. If each needs a $0.20 polybag, add $100; one inbound pallet adds $20 and one full billable pallet-month adds $25. Total: $520 before outbound shipping or other requested work.
Examples use standard storage in the first three months. Long-stay pallet rates are $28/month in months 3–6 and $32/month after six months. Your written quote separates receiving, storage, handling, materials and shipping. Build your own estimate.
Why are there two handling prices?
Under 5 lb, Lean FBA is $0.50/unit and Lean FBM is $1.75/order when goods arrive pre-packed and ready to label. Full-service handling is $0.75/FBA unit or $2.00/FBM order; materials and postage are separate. These are service tiers, not automatic volume discounts.
Heavier items use different weight bands; over 15 lb or bulky items need a written quote. See the complete rate card.
Can you handle my products and platform?
Share your product type, packed dimensions and weight, sales platform and expected volume. Small batches and returns-only enquiries are welcome. Batteries, liquids, food, supplements, temperature-sensitive, hazardous or oversized items need acceptance and handling requirements confirmed before you ship.
For Shopify, Amazon, Walmart or another platform such as Amboras, tell us how orders and inventory are exchanged. The team confirms the connection or file workflow before onboarding; a platform name alone does not guarantee a supported integration.
How do I send inventory?
- Send your SKU list, dimensions, weights and carton/pallet count.
- Receive the written scope, rates and product-acceptance confirmation.
- Confirm account setup, labeling and receiving instructions with the team before dispatch.
- Send shipment details and tracking; agree the first prep job or order workflow.
Receiving location: 6117 Long Dr, Houston, TX 77087. Confirm inbound instructions before sending goods.
What about shipping and storage dimensions?
For a shipping estimate, send origin and destination ZIP codes, packed dimensions, weight, parcel count and desired delivery speed. Handling prices do not include carrier postage. Storage is charged only by carton or pallet. Bin and shelf storage is included in our standard pick-and-pack rate, with no separate charge. Send product dimensions and quantities so the team can confirm usable space, availability and the applicable carton or pallet storage rate in writing.
After you enquire: a real person from our Houston team replies within one business day, confirms any missing details and sends itemized pricing. You can ask for a written quote without booking a sales call. Unsure of volume? Select “Not sure yet” in the quote form.
The short answer
Sell only through Amazon FBA? You need a prep center — receiving, inspection, FNSKU labeling, polybagging, and forwarding to Amazon's fulfillment centers. Sell through Shopify, TikTok Shop, Walmart, eBay, or Amazon FBM and want someone else picking and packing? You need a fulfillment center — storage plus pick-pack-ship to your customer.
Run both channels, which is most sellers within a year or two of launch, and you need both services. We run both under one roof at 6117 Long Dr, Houston: FBA prep at $0.75/unit under 5 lb, materials separate, and FBM/DTC fulfillment starting at $2.00/order. One inventory count feeds both sides, so nothing sits stranded between two warehouses arguing over who lost a case of units.
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What a prep center does that a fulfillment center doesn't
A prep center is a compliance shop. Cartons arrive from your supplier, we count and inspect every unit, then make it Amazon-legal: FNSKU labels over the manufacturer barcode, polybagging with suffocation warnings, bubble wrap on anything fragile, cartons built to Amazon's spec. From there it goes to whichever Amazon fulfillment center your shipping plan assigns. That's the whole job — a prep center's work ends at Amazon's dock and never touches your customer.
A fulfillment center picks up where DTC and marketplace orders live. It holds your inventory on racks you can audit, then picks, packs, and ships each order the moment it comes in — Shopify, TikTok Shop, Walmart, eBay, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Etsy, Magento, or Amazon FBM. Your stock stays yours the whole time; we're executing your orders, not taking custody the way Amazon does at FBA check-in.
FBA Prep Center
$0.75/unit
Full-service FBA handling for units under 5 lb is $0.75/unit, including FNSKU labeling and prep labor. Materials are separate: polybag $0.20/unit and bubble wrap $0.20/unit when needed. Receiving, storage and outbound freight are separate. Lean label-ready units start at $0.50; heavier units use the published weight bands.
Fulfillment Center
From $2.00/order
Pick, pack, ship direct to your customer on any channel. Packaging materials from $0.25, postage passed through at cost.
Prep center vs fulfillment center, side by side
Same warehouse, two different jobs, two different cost models. Here's the published rate card for both, so you can benchmark any provider against real numbers instead of a sales call.
| FBA Prep Center | Fulfillment Center (FBM/DTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Makes inventory Amazon-compliant, forwards to Amazon FCs | Stores inventory, ships orders direct to your customer |
| Base rate | $0.75/unit under 5 lb; materials separate | $2.00/order up to 5 lb · $2.75 (5–8 lb) · $4.00 (8–15 lb) · custom quote (over 15 lb) |
| Storage | $25/pallet per month ($25/month for a full pallet) | Same — $25/pallet per month |
| Receiving | $20/pallet ($5/carton) | $20/pallet ($5/carton) |
| Returns | Handled by Amazon | $1.50/return, inspection included |
| Channels covered | Amazon FBA only | Shopify, TikTok Shop, Walmart, eBay, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Etsy, Magento, Amazon FBM |
| Turnaround | Same-day if received before 2pm CT, Mon–Sat | Same-day if received before 2pm CT, Mon–Sat |
Postage is passed through at carrier cost, no markup. Container devanning and LTL freight are quoted per shipment at negotiated carrier cost. Kitting, bundling, and subscription-box assembly are available and custom-quoted — tell us your specs and you'll have a number in 24 hours.
What a month actually costs
Three real setups, priced against our rate card. No hidden math — these are the published numbers times your volume.
Pure FBA seller: 800 units/month
800 units × $0.75 prep = $600. Add storage for roughly 4 pallets of buffer stock at $25/pallet/month = $100. Receiving on a 4-pallet inbound at $20/pallet ($5/carton) = $80. Total: about $780/month, all in, no setup fee.
Pure DTC seller: fulfillment at 50 / 100 / 300 orders
| Orders/month | Fulfillment cost (under 5 lb, at $2.00) |
|---|---|
| 50 | $100.00 |
| 100 | $200.00 |
| 300 | $600.00 |
Add storage — say 2 pallets at $25/month each = $50 — plus postage at carrier cost. A 300-order/month DTC seller storing 2 pallets lands around $650/month plus postage.
Hybrid launch: 500-unit FBA prep run + 100 direct orders
500 units × $0.75 = $375 in prep. 100 direct orders × $2.00 = $200. One pallet of buffer storage at $25 = $25. Total: about $600 in the first month.
The fine print buyers actually ask about
Every RFQ we get asks some version of these questions. Here's the straight answer for both services.
- Minimums and setup fees: none, for either service. Start with a single unit or a single pallet, month-to-month, no contract.
- Storage billing: $25/pallet per month — you pay for the fraction of the month you actually use, not a flat monthly rate. Climate-controlled, 24/7 monitored.
- Lot and expiration tracking: available in KAK WMS, our real-time inventory dashboard, for both prepped-for-Amazon stock and DTC inventory.
- Packaging: FBA prep includes the FNSKU label and prep labor, with polybags and bubble wrap at $0.20 each when used; fulfillment orders add packaging materials from $0.25. Branded inserts and custom packaging are quoted separately.
- Carrier rates: USPS, UPS, and FedEx labels are passed through at discounted rates with no markup, on both sides.
- Returns: Amazon handles FBA returns directly. Direct-order returns run $1.50 each, inspection included.
- Peak-season surcharges: none. The rate card is locked through Q1 2027.
- Integrations: Shopify, TikTok Shop, Walmart, eBay, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Etsy, and Magento sync to KAK WMS for real-time stock levels and tracking.
See the full breakdown on the KAK price list or the 3PL pricing guide.
Four seller scenarios, four verdicts
1. You import and sell 100% FBA
Say 800 units/month of a private-label product. You don't need order fulfillment — you need receiving, inspection, FNSKU labeling, and fast forwarding to Amazon.
Verdict: prep center. At $0.75/unit that's $800/month, with every unit inspected at check-in before it goes to Amazon.
2. You sell direct on Shopify or TikTok Shop only
No Amazon presence. You need pick-pack-ship, storage, and integrations that sync inventory in real time when a video hits and orders spike.
Verdict: fulfillment center. $2.00/order under 5 lb, packaging materials from $0.25, same-day dispatch if received before the 2pm CT cutoff.
3. You're launching new with ~500 units across multiple channels
This is the most common RFQ we get: a new brand with a first production run, planning to sell FBA and direct from day one. No minimums means you don't need to commit to volume you don't have yet.
Verdict: both, under one roof. One pool of inventory feeds Amazon replenishment and direct orders, so slow FBA sell-through doesn't strand stock that could be shipping DTC orders instead.
4. You ship 5,000+ direct orders a day, nationwide
At that volume you need inventory split across multiple warehouses so every order ships from the closest one — a network problem, not a single-warehouse problem.
Verdict: multi-warehouse network. Software-led networks are built for exactly that. A single Houston building, ours included, isn't the right tool at that scale. See our honest take on ShipBob vs a regional 3PL.
How it works when one warehouse does both
- Request a quote — tell us your channels, monthly units, and product type. We answer within 24 hours.
- Onboard — SKU setup, channel integrations, and receiving instructions go into KAK WMS.
- Ship inventory to our dock — from your supplier or your garage. Receiving runs $20/pallet ($5/carton).
- We split the flow — Amazon-bound units get prepped same-day if received before 2pm CT, then forwarded on your shipping plan. Everything else goes to climate-controlled racking for direct orders.
- Orders ship, inventory syncs — direct orders dispatch the same day if received before the 2pm CT cutoff, with tracking, and stock levels update across every connected channel in real time.
Walk-ins are welcome with 24 hours' notice, Monday–Saturday, 9am–6pm CT, at 6117 Long Dr, Houston, TX 77087. Insurance covers up to $500,000 per occurrence while it's in our building. Start with a quote, check the full rate card on pricing, or reach us through contact us at +1 832 759 1368.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a prep center if I already use FBA?
Can a fulfillment center also do FBA prep?
Is $0.75 per unit a normal rate for FBA prep?
What does fulfillment cost for a small seller doing 100 orders a month?
How is storage billed?
Do you charge setup fees or require a contract?
What happens to returns?
How fast do you turn around inventory and orders?
Can you handle kitting or subscription boxes?
What if I sell on multiple channels beyond Amazon?
Ready when you are
Get a fulfillment quote in 24 hours
Lean handling under 5 lb: FBA $0.50/unit or FBM $1.75/order for pre-packed goods. Full service: $0.75/FBA unit or $2.00/FBM order. Materials and postage are separate; storage is $25/pallet/month.