If you’re an Amazon seller looking to expand your business by selling books, understanding the ins and outs of how to label books is crucial. To maximize your success as an Amazon seller, we’ll discuss the necessity of meeting labeling requirements when selling books using FBA and explain how to do so.
Properly labeled books can significantly impact your profits and improve your seller experience with Amazon. We’ll explore the benefits that come with accurately labeled products and discuss step-by-step instructions on preparing your inventory for FBA shipments.
Additionally, it’s essential to be aware of common mistakes sellers make when labeling their books – so we’ll cover those as well. Lastly, we’ll provide valuable tips that will help streamline your book labeling process and ensure a successful experience selling through Amazon FBA.
Table of Contents:
- Understanding Amazon FBA Labeling Requirements
- Benefits of Properly Labeled Books
- Steps to Label Books for Amazon FBA
- 4 Common Mistakes When Labeling Books
- 5 Tips for Successful Book Labeling
- FAQs in Relation to Amazon FBA Why and How to Label Books
- Conclusion
Understanding Amazon FBA Labeling Requirements
Before May of 2019, Amazon allowed books in new condition to be commingled, and they were tracked with the manufacturer ISBN or UPC barcode. However, that all changed on May 8th, 2019, when Amazon sent a communication to sellers explaining all books sent to Amazon now required Amazon barcodes.
However, don’t let Amazon FBA labeling requirements for books stress you out – just follow these simple guidelines.
A. Barcode Labels
Make sure your book has a scannable barcode label that meets Amazon’s standards, which is a barcode label of the product’s FNSKU, as shown above.
B. Condition
The condition of the book will appear automatically when you create a FNSKU label. It will appropriately indicate whether the book is new, like new, very good, good or acceptable according to Amazon’s book condition guidelines.
C. Additional Labeling Considerations
- Polybag With Suffocation Warning: It’s rare, but sometimes Amazon requires books to be put in a polybag. If the opening of the bag is five inches or more, the bag must also include a suffocation warning label.
- Amazon’s Help Pages: You can find Amazon’s help page about FBA barcode requirements here, and Amazon’s overview of labeling products if you’re using their Send/Replenish workflow here. *Note: these links require having a Seller Central account.
By following these labeling requirements, you can avoid delays in processing shipments or having inventory removed from fulfillment centers.
Benefits of Properly Labeled Books
Labeling your books correctly for Amazon FBA is crucial to avoid unnecessary fees and maximize profits.
Avoid Additional Fees
The biggest benefit to labeling your own books is to avoid Amazon’s $0.55 label fee. This may not seem like much, but if you sell books in volume like I do, the $0.55 label fee adds up quickly. Incorrect labeling can also result in additional fees for relabeling or returning items, but following Amazon’s labeling requirements can help you avoid these costs.
Faster Processing Time
Properly labeled books are processed faster, allowing you to capitalize on sales opportunities and keep up with customer demand. This is important because if you have lots of competing sellers selling the same book, the price often goes down over time, so the faster your books are received at Amazon’s fulfillment centers, the more books you can sell at higher margins.
Better Inventory Management
- Easier Tracking: Accurate labels make it easier to track inventory levels in real-time, minimizing stock-outs or overstock situations.
- Mix-ups Prevention: Correct labeling helps prevent mix-ups in shipping or storage that could lead to lost sales or negative customer reviews.
- Simplified Returns Process: Proper labels make it simpler for Amazon’s system to identify returned products and process refunds without delays.
Increase Customer Satisfaction & Reviews
Correct labeling can avoid shipping errors and delays, resulting in a better customer experience, positive reviews, and higher seller ratings on Amazon.
Compliance with Amazon’s Policies
Ultimately, following Amazon’s labeling guidelines ensures compliance with their rules, reducing the risk of account suspension or penalties that could negatively impact your business.
Properly labeling your books is essential for avoiding fees, faster processing, better inventory management, increased customer satisfaction & reviews, and compliance with Amazon’s policies. Make sure to follow best practices when labeling your products to reap these benefits.
Steps to Label Books for Amazon FBA
Properly labeling books is key for a seamless experience with Amazon FBA – follow these steps to ensure your books are labeled correctly:
- Determine if your book needs a label: Nearly all books require labels, so check the book’s FNSKU to be sure. If the FNSKU begins with the letter X like the example above, your book needs a label. *This is also true for non-book products.
- Add product listings in Seller Central: If you haven’t done so already, make sure you’ve added product listings for each book in your Seller Central account.
- Print Amazon barcodes: Once you have ASINs assigned, print out the corresponding barcode labels from Seller Central.
- Affix labels onto each book: Carefully attach the printed barcode labels onto each book, making sure they cover any existing ISBN or UPC barcodes.
- Verify label accuracy: Double-check that each book’s label matches its corresponding FNSKU in your Seller Central account.
- Package books for shipment: Follow Amazon’s packaging guidelines to securely package the books for transit.
- Create a shipping plan: In Seller Central, create a new shipping plan and enter the required information about your shipment.
Proper labeling ensures accurate inventory tracking throughout the book’s journey with Amazon FBA.
Common Mistakes When Labeling Books
Labeling books for Amazon FBA can be daunting, so avoid these common mistakes to ensure a smoother process.
Mistake 1: Incorrect Labels
Using labels that don’t meet Amazon’s requirements can lead to delays or rejection of your inventory or unplanned service fees.
- Use the correct size and type of label to avoid issues.
Mistake 2: Poor Print Quality
Low-quality labels can cause scanning problems, so I recommend using a high-quality thermal printer.
Mistake 3: Covering Important Information
Ensure FBA labels cover ISBNs or UPC barcodes, which are usually located on the back cover.
- Cover any existing barcode with the FNSKU label.
- Sometimes a book has both an ISBN and UPC barcode. If that’s the case, put a blank label over one of the barcodes and put the FNSKU label over the other.
Mistake 4: Not Labeling All Items
Always double-check you’ve labeled every single book in your shipment. It can be easy to miss a book if you’re sending lots of them to Amazon.
Mistake 5: Skipping the Poly Bagging Process
If a book is deemed “collectible” or Amazon requires the use of a polybag for whatever reason, poly bag the book before labeling.
By avoiding these common mistakes, you can ensure a smoother process and minimize potential issues with receiving and processing your inventory. Always remember to follow Amazon’s guidelines closely for successful selling.
Tips for Successful Book Labeling
Properly labeling books for Amazon FBA is crucial to avoid processing issues – here’s how:
Create High-Quality Labels
Use clear and legible barcodes on high-quality labels, either printed yourself or ordered from a reputable supplier. I buy these labels in bulk on Amazon.
Choose the Right Label Size
Select a label size that fits well on the book without covering important information. I personally use 2.25” x 1.25” thermal labels.
Avoid Covering Important Information
- Title & Author Name: Don’t cover the title or author’s name.
- Existing Barcode: Place your FBA label next over any existing ISBN or UPC barcodes.
Clean Surface Before Applying Labels
If necessary, thoroughly clean book surfaces before applying labels to ensure proper adhesion. This is most likely an issue if you’re selling used books.
Label Placement
Position the label ideally on its back cover over the ISBN or UPC barcode.
By following these tips, you’ll be well-prepared to streamline your selling process while avoiding common pitfalls associated with improper labeling. Use Amazon’s FBA tools to manage your inventory effectively.
FAQs in Relation to Amazon FBA Why and How to Label Books
Do All Books Being Sent to Amazon FBA Need to Be Labeled?
Yes. Make sure to cover existing ISBN or UPC barcodes with FNSKU barcode labels. I recommend using a thermal label printer for printing these labels.
What if I Don’t Want to Label Books Myself?
You can pay Amazon a fee of $0.55 per book to label them for you. Be aware that if you sell a large volume of books, this is a considerable expense. For example, if you sell 1,000 books per month, it will cost you $550 to have Amazon apply labels for you.
Conclusion
Amazon FBA sellers must label their books correctly to avoid issues selling them on Amazon.
Labeling books is straightforward, but sellers should avoid mistakes like using incorrect labels or not covering up existing barcodes. Also, investing in a good quality printer will help sellers successfully label their books.
Ultimately, understanding Amazon book labeling requirements, like any of Amazon’s requirements, is crucial knowledge for all sellers on Amazon.
If you want to learn how to evaluate book conditions for selling on Amazon, see this post.
For my list of books that can help your Amazon business, see this post.
You can find Amazon’s packaging and prep requirements help page here.