FBA Prep Services: Flat $1/Unit, Same-Day Turnaround in Houston

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KAK Sourcing & Fulfillment is a Houston FBA prep center charging a flat $1.00 per unit, all-in, for Amazon FBA prep, with same-day turnaround on shipments received before 2pm CT at its 32,000 sq ft warehouse.

Most FBA prep services quote one number and invoice another. A receiving fee here. A label fee there. A polybag charge nobody mentioned on the sales call. Our FBA prep pricing works differently: $1.00 per unit covers the whole job, and that rate is locked through Q1 2027.

Here’s exactly what the dollar buys, how fast it moves, and what our Amazon FBA prep service does that keeps you off Amazon’s penalty list.

Why flat-rate FBA prep pricing beats the a-la-carte menu

The standard industry model works like a restaurant menu. Receiving billed per carton. Inspection per unit, FNSKU labels per label, polybags per bag, suffocation stickers per sticker, bubble wrap per wrap, kitting per kit.

The advertised per-unit rate usually covers one thing: applying a label. Everything else stacks on top. Sellers tell us the same story constantly: the quote said one number, the first invoice said another, and by then the inventory was already in the building.

We charge $1.00 per unit and that’s the whole prep bill. Receiving, counting, inspection, FNSKU labeling, polybagging with suffocation labels, bubble wrap, bundling, and cartonization all live inside that dollar. The rate is published and locked through Q1 2027.

One honest trade-off. Flat pricing means a label-only SKU pays the same as a fussy four-item bundle, so a seller with nothing but simple products might shave pennies at an a-la-carte shop. Most catalogs are a mix, and a landed cost you can actually plug into a spreadsheet is worth more than those pennies.

Credit where it’s due on the other side. ShipBob has built a genuinely strong national fulfillment network with excellent software, and MyFBAPrep runs prep at enterprise scale across a large partner-warehouse network. Both lean toward custom quotes, which makes sense at their size, and if you’re pushing heavy volume into five regions at once, a network like that fits you better than one Houston building does.

We’re built for small-to-mid sellers who want one number and one throat to choke. Check the full rate card, run your own volume through the fulfillment calculator, or read our 3PL pricing guide to see every fee type worth questioning before you sign with anyone, including us.

Same-day FBA prep when you’re in before 2pm CT

Slow prep is the quiet killer in FBA. A shipment that sits ten days in someone’s receiving queue means your ASIN goes out of stock, the listing loses momentum, and your restock limits tighten exactly when you need them loose.

Some prep warehouses hold your freight until they have enough volume to fill a truck. Good for their freight bill. Terrible for your sell-through.

Our standard is simple. Any shipment that lands on our dock before 2pm CT gets checked in, prepped, and moving the same day. Land after 2pm and it goes out the next business day, and we work Saturdays.

Geography does the rest. Our FBA prep warehouse sits 40 minutes from the Port of Houston for container arrivals, and ground shipping from Houston reaches most of the US in 2 days, which matters when Amazon routes your inbound to a fulfillment center three states away.

Amazon compliance: FNSKU, polybags, and the box rules that trigger penalties

Amazon doesn’t warn you twice. Units that arrive unprepped or mislabeled get hit with unplanned prep service fees, sit stranded in receiving for weeks, or get the whole shipment refused at the dock. Every one of those outcomes costs more than prep ever would.

Here’s what compliant prep actually means on our floor:

• FNSKU over the UPC. The Amazon barcode goes directly over the manufacturer barcode so only one code can scan. A stray scannable UPC is one of the most common reasons inventory gets received wrong.
• Polybags at 1.5 mil minimum. Any bag with an opening of 5 inches or more gets a suffocation warning, printed or stickered, and the bag is sealed so nothing falls out.
• Bubble wrap on fragile items. Glass, ceramics, and anything that fails a drop test gets wrapped and taped so it can’t shift.
• Sold-as-set labels on bundles. Multipacks get bundled, marked “Sold as set, do not separate,” and the FNSKU goes on the bundle, never the components.
• Expiration dates done right. MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY format, visible on the unit, with at least 90 days of shelf life remaining when it reaches Amazon.
• Boxes inside the limits. Under 50 lb per box, no side longer than 25 inches for standard-size product, packed so cartons survive Amazon’s conveyors.
• Box content information that matches the plan. What’s in each carton matches what your shipping plan says is in it, so receiving doesn’t stall your check-in.

None of this is exotic. It just has to be done right on every unit, every time, because Amazon audits by exception and bills by exception.

How it works

1. Request a quote. Tell us your SKUs, monthly units, and where inventory ships from. We answer within 24 hours, and onboarding takes 5-7 business days from signup to first shipment.
2. Route inventory to us. From your distributor, your overseas supplier, or your garage. You’ll get dock instructions and a receiving calendar during onboarding.
3. We check it in. Every carton gets counted against your PO or invoice, inspected, and photographed. You get a receiving report the same day, with a discrepancy report if anything’s short or damaged.
4. We prep to Amazon spec. FNSKU labeling, polybagging with suffocation labels, bubble wrap, bundling, and cartonization, all covered by the $1.00.
5. We ship to Amazon. Cartons are built to your shipping plan with correct box content information. In before 2pm CT, out the same day.

What’s included in the $1.00, and what costs extra

Included in the flat rate, no add-ons:

• Receiving and check-in against your PO
• Unit count and physical inspection
• FNSKU labeling over the manufacturer barcode
• Polybagging plus suffocation warning labels
• Bubble wrap for fragile units
• Bundling and multipack assembly
• Cartonization and box content information

Billed separately, and this is the complete list:

• Pallet storage: $25 per pallet billed biweekly, roughly $50 a month, climate and humidity controlled. New clients get 15 days free.
• Shipping to Amazon: billed at carrier cost. Most sellers use Amazon’s partnered carrier rates through their own shipping plan, which are usually the cheapest option anyway.
• FBM and multichannel orders: that’s a separate service at $2.75 per order pick-pack-ship for items up to 5 lb. If you’re unsure which side you need, our breakdown of prep centers vs fulfillment centers sorts it out in five minutes.

Anything outside those lists gets a written quote before we touch a single unit. No surprise fees without your written approval. That’s policy, not a slogan.

Receiving reports, photos, and discrepancy reports

The scariest phase of using any prep center is the black hole between “delivered” and “checked in.” You shouldn’t have to email twice to learn whether your pallets exist.

Every inbound shipment here gets counted against your invoice, inspected, and photographed at check-in. The receiving report lands the same day, and inventory syncs to our WMS in real time, so you see counts without asking.

When something’s wrong, you hear it from us first. Short count, crushed cartons, wrong item in the case pack: you get a discrepancy report with photos fast enough to file a claim with your distributor or carrier while the claim window is still open. That paper trail has recovered real money for sellers who’d otherwise have eaten the loss.

Wholesale FBA inbound, straight from your distributor

If you sell wholesale, the efficient move is skipping your garage entirely. Give your distributor our dock address and send us the invoice. We receive the pallets, verify carton counts against what you paid for, and flag shortages before you cut the next PO.

Case packs are handled either way: forwarded intact when your shipping plan allows it, or broken down and re-labeled per unit when it doesn’t. Mixed pallets from distributors are normal here, not a surcharge event.

Receiving is free on inbound shipments of 50 or more pallets. And if you import, our China-to-US bridge fulfillment consolidates freight in China, moves it by LCL ocean, and restocks it here in Houston without you touching a box.

Your FBA prep requirements checklist

Run any shipment against this list before it heads to Amazon. It’s the same list our floor team works from every morning.

• FNSKU label on every unit, placed over the manufacturer UPC or EAN
• No other scannable barcode visible anywhere on the unit
• Polybags at least 1.5 mil thick, sealed, transparent enough to see the product
• Suffocation warning on every polybag with an opening of 5 inches or more
• Bubble wrap on glass, ceramic, and liquid-adjacent items
• Bundles secured together and marked “Sold as set” with one FNSKU on the outside
• Expiration dates in MM-DD-YYYY or MM-YYYY with 90+ days of shelf life on arrival
• Boxes under 50 lb with no side over 25 inches for standard-size items
• Box contents matching the shipping plan exactly, carton by carton

Miss one item and you’re gambling on Amazon’s mood at receiving. We don’t gamble. Every unit gets checked against this list as part of the flat rate.

Frequently asked questions

Is the $1.00 per unit rate really all-in?

Yes, for FBA prep it covers receiving, counting, inspection, FNSKU labeling, polybagging with suffocation labels, bubble wrap, bundling, and cartonization. The only separate charges are pallet storage at $25 biweekly and outbound shipping at carrier cost. Anything unusual gets quoted in writing before we touch it.

How fast will my shipment go out?

Shipments that arrive before 2pm CT are checked in, prepped, and moving the same day. Arrivals after 2pm go out the next business day. We’re open Monday through Saturday, 9am to 6pm CT.

Can my distributor ship pallets directly to your warehouse?

Yes, and that’s most of our wholesale volume. Give your distributor our dock address, send us the invoice or PO, and we verify every carton against it at check-in. Receiving is free on shipments of 50 or more pallets.

Do you have order minimums or monthly fees?

No minimums and no monthly platform fee. Send 40 units this month and 4,000 next month, and you pay $1.00 per unit both months. There’s no setup fee to start, either.

Will I get photos and a receiving report?

Every inbound shipment is counted, inspected, and photographed at check-in, and you get a receiving report the same day. If anything is short, damaged, or mislabeled, a discrepancy report with photos follows so you can claim against your supplier or carrier while the window is open.

What happens if Amazon flags a shipment you prepped?

It’s rare, because we prep to Amazon’s published requirements: FNSKU over the UPC, 1.5 mil polybags with suffocation warnings, box weight and size limits, correct expiration formats. If a problem surfaces anyway, you have the check-in photos and receiving report as evidence, and our ops team replies within 4 business hours to work the case with you.

Do you store inventory between prep and shipping?

Yes. Pallet storage runs $25 per pallet billed biweekly, about $50 a month, in a climate and humidity controlled building. New clients get their first 15 days of storage free, and full 3PL warehouse service is available if you need more than prep.

How long does onboarding take?

Five to seven business days from signup to first shipment. That covers WMS access, label setup, and your receiving instructions. Quote requests themselves are answered within 24 hours.

One Houston warehouse, 300+ sellers, zero fee surprises

The building is 32,000 sq ft at 6003 Bellaire Blvd Ste K, Houston, TX 77081. Climate and humidity controlled, monitored 24/7, open Monday through Saturday. Close enough to the Port of Houston that a container cleared in the morning can be on our dock by lunch.

The guarantee is the one that matters in this industry: no fee ever hits your invoice without your written approval, and the published rates hold through Q1 2027. More than 300 ecommerce sellers run inventory through this building, most of them exactly the small-to-mid sellers we wrote our guide to picking a prep center as a small seller for.

If a flat $1.00 per unit with same-day turnaround beats what you’re paying now, request a quote and we’ll answer within 24 hours. Prefer to talk first? Call (832) 759-1368 or email sales@kaksourcing.com, Monday through Saturday, 9am-6pm CT.

Ready for exact numbers?

Send the form and we will price your products against our flat rate card. No setup fees, no minimums, no surprises.