Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant and Courier’s
Fulfilled by Merchant:
A method of selling on Amazon in which a seller lists their products on Amazon, but manages all storage, shipping, and customer support themselves (or through another third party). This is also referred to as a Merchant Fulfilled Network or MFN.
Advantages of FBM:
- Seller maintains control over every aspect of the business.
- Margins are greater since the seller does not need to pay additional fees to Amazon.
- Brand building is more attainable.
- There is no need to worry about any unavoidable losses due to policy changes at Amazon.
- The seller has less paperwork to deal with when working directly with the buyer.
- The seller has the freedom to run the business as desired.
- The seller has a greater grasp of inventory in stock, what sells, and what changes may need to be made for greater success.
- There are no unexpected costs; the seller is aware of all finances every step of the way.
When an order comes through, you will get a number listed under ‘Pending.’ After the order is confirmed by Amazon and the sale goes through, the pending order moves to ‘Premium unshipped’, ‘Prime unshipped’, or ‘Unshipped.’
Premium shipping is if you offer fast shipping options to Amazon shoppers such as overnight or express delivery.
Prime shipping is for orders shipped via Seller Fulfilled Prime.
Unshipped encompasses all other methods of shipping such as USPS Media Mail or First Class.
How to ship a product
After Amazon notifies you that an order is ready to ship, you have 24 hours to confirm that the order went out.
If you aren’t sure how to ship your order, first, choose a carrier. In the US you have multiple options, including:
- USPS
- FedEx
- UPS
- DHL
USPS: The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, including its insular areas and associated states.
FedEx: FedEx Corporation is an American multinational delivery Services Company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The name “FedEx” is a syllabic abbreviation of the name of the company’s original air division, Federal Express (now FedEx Express), which was used from 1973 until 2000. The company is known for its overnight shipping service and pioneering a system that could track packages and provide real-time updates on package location, a feature that has now been implemented by most other carrier services.
UPS: United Parcel Service (shortened in initials as UPS; stylized in lowercase) is an American multinational package delivery and supply chain management company.
DHL: DHL (Dalsey, Hillblom, and Lynn) International GmbH is a German courier, parcel, and expresses mail service which is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL. The company delivers over 1.3 billion parcels per year. 
What shipping supplies do FBM sellers need?
The carrier and method in which you ship also helps determine the shipping supplies you will need to ship your goods.
Some methods of shipping such as USPS Flat Rate use specific boxes that you can get for free from the nearest post office. Or, you can have them delivered directly to your door.
Other methods require you to supply your own shipping supplies. Recommended Supplies are:
- Boxes, envelopes. etc.
- Packing material (airbags, brown paper, etc.)
- Peel & stick mailing labels
- Printer
- Packing tape and Scotch tape
Where can I purchase shipping supplies?
While there is a myriad of shipping supply businesses where you can purchase bulk shipping goods, here are a few that we recommend:
- Uline
- Fastpack.net
- Amazon.com
