How to Ship From Alibaba to Amazon FBA | Your Ultimate FAQ Guide

If you are a new Amazon seller, you may find the whole process of ordering the products from Alibaba and sending it to the Amazon FBA warehouse very complicated, so in this ultimate FAQ guide, you will get all the questions that a new Amazon seller may have.

So, whether you are from the same country as your desired Amazon marketplace or from any other country, this FAQ guide will help you ship your products from Alibaba to Amazon FBA.

1. What is Alibaba?

Alibaba is an online hub of manufacturers mainly from China and around the world, where wholesalers, retailers, and other businesses from around the world can get in touch with the manufacturers with just a few clicks.

So if you are a business owner looking for products from overseas, then Alibaba has made it convenient to contact manufacturers to get your desired products or even custom-made products according to your needs at a competitive price.

alibaba

2. How can I find a reliable supplier on Alibaba?

Trust is a significant factor when dealing with manufacturers from other countries because a large sum of money gets involved. To increase the trust among buyers and manufacturers, Alibaba has a program known as a verified supplier in which the manufacturer can get the verified seller badge.

A third-party inspection company inspects the manufacturing facility, and if the manufacturer fulfills all the criteria, then the manufacturer gets the verified supplier badge. So if you are a business owner looking to source products from Alibaba, the safest way is to look for verified suppliers.

Another thing you should pay attention to is reviews from previous customers, Alibaba gives the option to buyers to leave a review based on their experience with that manufacturer, so if you are careful about these two verification methods, then you can be sure that you are dealing with a reliable manufacturer on Alibaba.

3. How do I negotiate with suppliers on Alibaba?

Alibaba has hundreds, if not thousands, of suppliers for every product, so negotiating for a reasonable price is relatively easy. Still, the first thing you need to ensure is you are dealing with quality manufacturers, so shortlist 5-10 quality manufacturers with verified badges and good reviews from their previous clients.

Next, you should send all of your requirements to all the shortlisted manufacturers, and the manufacturer that is ready to fulfill all your needs and give you the best price; you should go with that manufacturer.

4. Can I ship directly from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

Yes! You can do it, you just need to opt for the DDP shipping method, and your products will be shipped directly from the manufacturer’s warehouse to the Amazon FBA warehouse.

However! You must be cautious if you are a new seller because new sellers get a minimal inventory limit to put their products in the Amazon FBA warehouse. Once your products start selling, your inventory limit is increased based on the sales you generate.

So, you should ensure that you fulfill all the criteria to ship your products to Amazon FBA warehouse; otherwise, Amazon may refuse to accept your products, and you may have to get through a lot of trouble.

5. What are the different shipping methods available for shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

There are primarily two methods of shipping your products from Alibaba to Amazon FBA these two methods are sea freight and Air freight; if you are sending your first lot and the weight of the total shipment is 100 to 200 Kgs, then you can go for air freight, even though it will cost you more, it will end up saving you a lot of time.

On the other hand, if you are sending a large shipment, you should go for ocean freight because sending a large shipment through air freight can be very costly, so these are the two shipping methods you can use per your requirements.

Shipping methods

6. What are the packaging requirements for shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

There are two main packaging requirements. First, you need the FNSKU or UPC or any similar compatible barcode to identify the products put on all the individual units.

The second one is FBA barcodes that are put on all the cartons. You need to generate both of these barcodes during the creation of the shipment and mail both of these barcodes to your manufacturer.

You should generate FNSKU/ UPC barcodes based on the total number of units you plan to send and the FBA barcodes based on the total number of cartons required to fit all those units.

You will also need the pallet labels if you send the palletized shipment; these labels should be put on all four sides of the pallet in addition to the FBA carton labels.

7. How long does it take to ship from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

If you are sending your shipment via ocean freight, then it depends upon the distance between China and the destination country; for example, if you are sending your shipment to Amazon FBA USA marketplace, it can take between 30-40 days and

On the other hand, If you plan to send your shipment via air freight from China to Amazon FBA USA marketplace, it can take between 8-10 days.

8. How much does it cost to ship from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

Ocean freight and air freight are two primary ways to ship your products from Alibaba to Amazon FBA; the cost to ship the products keeps changing because there are so many variables involved,

The several factors that affect the shipping costs are fuel prices, the size of your shipment (the bigger your shipment size is, the better rates you will be able to negotiate), time of the year you are shipping your products (for, e.g., In the last quarter of the year, the shipping cost gets much higher) international taxes and duties, etc.

Since so many factors are involved that keep changing, it is impossible to give the correct price estimate; you would need to get the current prices from the freight forwarder you selected to ship your products.

9. How do I ensure the quality of products when shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

The first thing you should do to ensure the quality of your products is to make sure that you are working with a reputable manufacturer who is a verified seller and has received good reviews from previous customers.

Another thing you should do before placing the bulk order is to make sure to place the order for a sample; this way, you can verify the quality of your product yourself.

One more thing you can do is hire an independent third-party products inspection service provider in China. These third-party inspection service providers physically visit the manufacturing facility and do a thorough inspection of the products, and they send a detailed report on all the parameters of your products.

10. What are the risks involved in shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

When you ship your products from Alibaba to Amazon FBA, several risks are involved; let’s look at some of them.

  1. Your products get lost or damaged during transit: Anytime you are shipping your products from one place to another, be it domestic shipping or international shipping, be it ocean shipping or air shipping, there is a degree of risk for the shipment to be lost or damaged.
  2. You receive bad quality products: You can take all the preventive measures like ordering the samples and getting your products inspected by a third-party inspection company; no matter what you do, you will receive some poor quality products.
  3. Another disadvantage of getting poor quality products is when your customer on Amazon receives a bad quality product; he/she may leave a negative review which may lead to a decrease in sales of your product on Amazon.
  4. Your products may cause damage or injury: If you are sourcing products that are related to kids or other potentially harmful products, then you need to be extra cautious because, in that case, you could be sued with liability insurance, and your simple Amazon product may cause you a lot of hassle, so you must be extra careful with these products.

11. Do I need to worry about customs clearance when shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

There are some terms you need to keep in mind to get a simple solution to this problem: FOB, DDU & DDP, and now let’s understand all of these in detail.

  1. FOB: This stands for “freight on board,” in this type of shipping method, the freight forwarder is responsible for delivering the products to the dock, and the buyer is responsible for picking up the goods from the port and dealing with import duties, taxes, and customs fees.
  2. DDU: This stands for “delivered duty unpaid” In this shipping method, the buyer gets the product to his/her desired location; however, the buyer is responsible for paying the import duties, taxes, and customs fees.
  3. DDP: This stands for “delivered duty paid” If you choose this shipping method, then you pay all the taxes and customs fees to the freight forwarder in advance, so you do not have to deal with customs clearance or any other taxes related to that, and your products get delivered directly to the selected Amazon FBA warehouse.

If you are a new Amazon seller or don’t live in the Amazon FBA marketplace country where you want to sell your products, you should always choose the DDP shipping method to avoid any customs clearance problems or other duties or taxes.

If you still choose DDU or FOB method of shipping, you can calculate your import duties, taxes and custom fees here

12. What are the steps involved in shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

If you are a new Amazon seller trying to figure out how to ship your products from Alibaba to Amazon, then let’s look at all the steps you need to take to successfully ship your products to Amazon FBA’s warehouse.

The first thing you need to do is create the shipment. You need to send all the barcodes to your manufacturer in China so they can paste them at the designated places. If you are working with an experienced manufacturer, they already know all the steps and will assist you with the steps required if you miss any.

Once the shipment is prepared, the second thing you need to do is find a reputable freight forwarder.

We at Winsky Freight are one of the most reputable freight forwarding companies, please take a  look at our site and see what our customers that have used our services in the past have to say about us.

If you have an EXW contract with your manufacturer in China, then your freight forwarder needs to pick up your shipment from your manufacturer, which the freight forwarder will charge you money for; however, if you have a FOB contract with your manufacturer, then your manufacturer will ship your products to your freight forwarder’s warehouse in China.

Do not be confused about this EXW and FOB contract that you will have with the manufacturer in China, with the FOB, DDU, and DDP shipping you will have with your freight forwarder. 

After your product reaches the freight forwarder’s warehouse, the freight forwarder measures the entire shipment and ensures that everything is fine and will be accepted at Amazon’s warehouse easily. After that, you may choose your preferred shipping method of FOB, DDU, or DDP according to your preference.

You can calculate the total chargeable weight yourself on our website as well.

Among these three shipping methods, the most convenient is DDP shipping, and that is what is recommended by us, “Winsky Freight,” after you pay the freight forwarder the shipping amount, your job is done. You need to wait for your shipment to reach Amazon’s warehouse and as soon as the product reaches Amazon’s warehouse, your listings will get life.

You can also check out this YouTube video below, if you missed any step or if you prefer to watch the video.

13. How do I track my shipment from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

When you hire a freight forwarder, they will provide you with a tracking number and tracking website once they create the shipment label for your products. When you get the tracking number, You can track your shipment from freight forwarder tracking website.

As soon as the shipment reaches the destination country and the courier company picks up the shipment, you can also using 17track to follow up the shipping status just like you track other local or international shipments.

14. What should I do if my products are damaged or lost during shipping?

Cargo Insurance

If you receive damaged products or in the worst case, no products at all, there is not much you can do because the compensation amount from the shipping carrier is very low, such as for UPS courier shipping, they can only compensate a maximum of US$100 per shipment if shipment was damaged or missing; however, the chances of your products getting damaged or lost is very low.

Even if the chances of this happening to you are negligible, you should still consider cargo insurance because the amount you’d need to pay for the cargo insurance is as low as 0.3% of the total value of the shipment, and the minimum cost is US$25 per shipment.

At Winsky Freight, we can help you get your cargo insured without any hassle, and the best way to avoid this situation is to get cargo insurance; this insurance will insure your shipment from Alibaba to Amazon FBA. In the event of lost or damaged cargo, you can claim it from your cargo insurance provider company.

15. How do I ensure that my products comply with Amazon’s guidelines when shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

Let’s look at the various guidelines in a simplified way to understand Amazon’s guidelines so that you can list your products on Amazon.

You need to make sure that all applicable local, state, and federal regulations are complied with before listing any products on the Amazon marketplace. You also need to go by Amazon’s own rules, which include providing the appropriate product safety and compliance documentation.

Everything from test results and product certifications to safety guidelines and label pictures can be included in this.

An Amazon compliance request can respond to a change in regulatory requirements, a customer complaint, or an internal Amazon audit. However, it often occurs when you’re launching a new product.

As a result, it’s important to be aware of any requests that Amazon may make.

  • Children’s Product Certificate (CPC)
  • General Certificate of Conformity (GCC)
  • Test Reports from an ISO 17025 Accredited Laboratory
  • Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) Compliance Documentation
  • Registration cards
  • Tracking labels
  • Compliance markings
  • Product instructions and manuals

If you don’t follow all the rules, Amazon might block or take down your listings.

Another thing you can do is try to create the listings on Amazon first, and if there are any certifications or guidelines required for that product category, then you won’t be able to create the listing.

So you can contact seller support and verify with them if the product category is gated (restricted) or not, and if that is the case, then you can have a detailed discussion with them about  all the certifications required?

You may have to do a lot of back and forth with seller support because you will find out that only a few seller support representatives are knowledgeable enough to answer all your queries.

16. How do I calculate the total landed cost of my products when shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

Calculating the total landed cost is fairly easy. Two main costs are  the total amount you pay for products and the amount you pay to ship your products from China to your selected Amazon FBA marketplace country.

Several other miscellaneous costs are involved, such as ordering the samples, getting your products inspected, insuring your shipment, etc., so after adding all these, you should be able to get your landed cost.

Calculate landed cost

17. How do I handle returns and refunds for products shipped from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

Once your products reach the Amazon FBA warehouse, all you need to worry about is getting more sales; Amazon handles refunds and returns on your behalf, so take advantage of this platform, where millions of buyers visit with the intent to buy the products.

18. What are some common mistakes to avoid when shipping from Alibaba to Amazon FBA?

Let’s look at some of the mistakes new Amazon sellers make, and you should avoid these from the beginning if you want to become a successful Amazon seller.

  • You should not work with an unverified supplier or a supplier that does not have a track record of delivering quality products just to save a few dollars per unit.
  • You should always order the samples before placing the bulk order for any product you plan to sell on Amazon.
  • You should never pay the full amount for your products in advance; the standard split is 30% advance and 70% after completion.
  • You should always get your products inspected by a third-party inspection company before making the final payment to the manufacturer; in that case, if the products lack quality or if there is any other problem, you can get it fixed because you have the leverage as you owe the manufacturer a major chunk of money.
  • In the same way, you should work with a verified and trustworthy manufacturer; similarly, you should only work with a trustworthy and reliable freight forwarder so if anything goes wrong in transit, you have someone you can trust.
  • The last thing you can do to safeguard your products is to get cargo insurance; some Amazon sellers take it, and some sellers don’t; if you take this insurance, you can have peace of mind.

Conclusion

Selling on Amazon is not difficult, but trying to figure out the whole process of getting your products manufactured and shipping them to Amazon may be daunting if you are a new Amazon seller; in this FAQ guide, you will get answers to all your questions that may be preventing you from taking the next step.

We at Winsky Freight have a long track record of shipping products from Alibaba to Amazon FBA warehouses in every corner of the world at a competitive price.

So if you are an Amazon seller trying to ship your products to the Amazon FBA warehouse in any corner of the world without any headache, then Winsky Freight is here for your help; get in touch with us to get the quotation and begin your journey of becoming a successful Amazon FBA seller.