Amazon seller guide
Amazon FBA vs Easy Ship vs Self Ship: Which Fulfilment Is Right for You?
How you fulfil orders affects your fees, delivery speed, Prime eligibility, returns handling and how much time your team spends packing. Many successful sellers use more than one method. Here is how to choose.
Easy Ship
You keep stock at your premises and pack each order; Amazon's delivery network picks up and delivers. You keep full control of inventory and packaging, and stock is never locked in a warehouse. The trade-off: you need daily packing discipline, and late dispatch hits your account health. In 2026 Amazon reduced Easy Ship fees by over 20% on products priced under ₹300.
Best for: new sellers, wide catalogs with many sizes, products with uncertain demand.
Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)
You send stock to Amazon fulfilment centres. Amazon stores, picks, packs, ships, handles customer service and returns. Products are generally Prime-eligible, which helps clicks and conversion. You pay pick-and-pack and storage fees, and you must plan inbound shipments, FNSKU labels and box labels carefully.
Best for: proven best sellers with steady demand, small and light products, sellers who want to scale without a large packing team. Use the FBA sticker generator and box label tool to prepare shipments.
Self Ship
You use your own courier and handle delivery tracking yourself. It gives the most control but the most work, and delivery promises are usually slower. Best for: bulky, fragile or special products, or locations with limited Amazon pickup coverage.
Side-by-side comparison
- Inventory location – Easy Ship & Self Ship: your warehouse. FBA: Amazon's.
- Who packs – Easy Ship & Self Ship: you. FBA: Amazon.
- Prime badge – usually FBA.
- Cash locked in stock – highest with FBA.
- Returns – FBA returns go to Amazon's centre and are evaluated there; Easy Ship returns come back to you.
A practical hybrid
List everything on Easy Ship first. After 30–60 days, move the top 20% of SKUs (by units sold) to FBA, keeping Easy Ship as a backup offer so you never go out of stock. Review every month.
Making Easy Ship efficient
Set a fixed daily cut-off, print labels in one batch, and use a picklist sorted by SKU. The Amazon label crop stamps the SKU on each 4×6 label and builds a picklist, so packers never need to open invoices.
Preparing an FBA shipment
- Create the shipment in Seller Central and choose the products and quantities.
- Label every unit with its FNSKU barcode unless it is eligible for stickerless commingling – the FBA sticker generator prints them on thermal rolls or A4 sheets.
- Pack units in boxes within Amazon's weight and size limits and print the box labels; split them into 4×6 thermal labels with the FBA box label tool.
- Book the carrier and send before the appointment date.
- Track receiving and raise a case if quantities are received short.
Cost thinking
FBA charges look higher than Easy Ship at first glance, but include the costs you avoid: packing staff time, packing material, space, and some customer service. Compare total cost per order, not just Amazon fees. For fast-moving small items FBA is often cheaper overall; for slow, bulky or seasonal items Easy Ship usually is.
Returns under each model
With FBA, Amazon receives returns and decides whether they can be resold; unsellable units can be returned to you or disposed of on request. With Easy Ship and Self Ship, returns come back to your address, so you inspect them yourself and file claims for wrong or damaged returns. Either way, track returns by SKU – they reveal product and listing problems.
Seller Flex and regional options
Amazon has also offered programs where a seller's own warehouse operates under Amazon's fulfilment standards, giving Prime-like delivery promises. Availability and eligibility change, so check Seller Central for current programs in your location.
Checklist
- Fulfilment chosen per SKU
- Easy Ship daily cut-off fixed
- FBA candidates identified from sales data
- FNSKU and box label process tested
- Returns process documented
Free tools for Amazon sellers
The Amazon label crop with SKU stamping on LabelCroppers crops Easy Ship and Self Ship labels to 4×6, reads the SKU and quantity from each invoice and prints them on the label, sorts orders by SKU and builds a picklist. Pair it with the FBA FNSKU sticker generator and the FBA box label tool for FBA shipments. Everything runs in your browser – your orders and customer data are never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use FBA and Easy Ship for the same product?
Yes, sellers often keep an Easy Ship offer as backup for an FBA product.
Is FBA worth it for fashion?
For steady-selling sizes and colours, often yes. For long-tail sizes with uncertain demand, Easy Ship avoids storage costs.
Does FBA improve ranking?
Indirectly – faster delivery and the Prime badge tend to improve click-through and conversion, which supports ranking.
Sources and official links
Marketplace fees and policies change often. Always confirm current rules in your seller panel.