How to Prepare Products for Amazon, TikTok Shop and Shopify Before They Leave China

Online channels reject or relabel stock for reasons that have nothing to do with product quality: a missing barcode, an oversized carton, a poly bag without a warning. Fixing that in China costs cents per unit. Fixing it at the destination costs dollars per unit and weeks of lost sales.

It matters more now. From 1 January 2026, Amazon no longer offers prep and item-labelling services for FBA shipments in its US store, and unprepared shipments lose eligibility for reimbursement if damaged or lost (Packaging Insights). Your stock has to arrive ready.

Decide the channel before production

• Amazon FBA has the strictest unit and carton rules.
• TikTok Shop depends on the market and on whether you fulfil yourself or use TikTok's fulfilment service. Check the current inbound guide in Seller Center.
• Shopify never receives stock itself. Your 3PL does, and each 3PL publishes its own inbound guide. Ask for it before you finalise packaging.
• Retail and wholesale customers send routing guides with their own carton and label rules.

If one production run feeds several channels, prepare it for the strictest one.

Barcodes: get them right once

• Every sellable unit needs a product barcode (a GTIN, printed as UPC or EAN). Buy GTINs from GS1 in your country; Amazon checks product IDs against the GS1 database.
• Amazon may also need its own barcode (FNSKU) on each unit, covering any other scannable code, unless your product is eligible to sell under the manufacturer barcode. Decide this before the packaging is printed.
• Each variant gets its own barcode, colour by colour and size by size. Sets sold as one unit need their own barcode and a "Sold as set, do not separate" label.
• Scan every barcode at inspection, not just look at it.

Unit packaging

• Poly bags for Amazon must be at least 1.5 mil thick and carry a suffocation warning if the opening is 5 inches or more. The barcode must scan without opening the bag.
• Boxes should be six-sided and able to survive handling; loose sets get bundled or shrink-wrapped.
• Glass and ceramics must survive a drop without breaking; agree a drop test for the unit pack, not only the carton.
• Inserts: for Amazon, no inserts that ask for reviews or send customers off Amazon.

Cartons

• Amazon US limits: no side longer than 25 inches and no carton heavier than 50 lb, unless it holds a single oversize item, which then needs team-lift labels.
• One box label per carton, printed from Seller Central once the shipment is created, placed so it is not cut by the seam.
• 3PLs usually ask for one SKU per carton, the SKU and quantity on the carton label, and pallet height limits. Follow their guide exactly.

Labels the law requires, whatever the platform

• EU: General Product Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/988), applying since 13 December 2024. The product or its packaging must show a type, batch or serial number, the manufacturer's name and postal and electronic address, and, for manufacturers outside the EU, a responsible economic operator in the EU. Safety information must be in the local language, and online listings must show the same details.
• EU packaging registration: Germany requires registration in the LUCID register under its Packaging Act before you sell packaged goods; France has its own producer-responsibility rules and sorting label. The wider EU packaging rules are in our PPWR guide.
• United States: country-of-origin marking ("Made in China") on the product or its packaging; Proposition 65 warnings for California where they apply; children's products need a Children's Product Certificate and tracking labels.
• United Kingdom: separate rules from the EU, including a UK address for the manufacturer or importer.

Batteries, liquids and other restricted goods

Lithium batteries need a UN38.3 test summary, a safety data sheet and the right dangerous-goods marks, and Amazon reviews them before they can be sold. Aerosols, liquids and some magnets follow similar routes. Start this paperwork before production, not after.

Details your listing needs from the factory

• Exact packed dimensions and weight of the unit, because FBA fees depend on size tier.
• An early production sample for your photographer, so photos are ready on launch day.
• Photos of every label and carton before loading, so you can check them against your shipment plan.

Channel readiness check before loading

• Every barcode scans to the right SKU.
• FNSKU or manufacturer barcode used as decided, with no stray second code visible.
• Poly bag warning and thickness correct.
• Carton size and weight within the channel's limits; box labels applied.
• EU safety information printed on the pack, if selling in the EU.
• Units per carton match the shipment plan.
• Label and carton photos received and approved.

Ship straight from China, or via your own warehouse?

Shipping straight to Amazon saves a handling step, but any labelling error lands inside Amazon's network where it is slow and expensive to fix. A sensible rule: send the first order of a new product through your own warehouse or 3PL. Once the packaging is proven, ship direct.

FAQ

Who applies FNSKU labels, the factory or the agent? Either. The factory can print the code on the packaging if the listing is stable; otherwise labels are applied at the factory or during consolidation.

Do I need GS1 barcodes for a Shopify store? Shopify itself doesn't require them, but 3PLs, retailers and marketplaces scan them. Buying GTINs once avoids relabelling when you add a channel.

I sell in the EU and the US. One packaging or two? Usually one, designed to carry both sets of information.

Launching on Amazon, TikTok Shop or your own store? Our e-commerce launch readiness service checks labels, barcodes and cartons against your channel before the goods leave China.