Amazon FBA Supplier Payments and Shipping Plans

In Amazon FBA, your biggest sourcing risks often show up in two places: paying suppliers and getting inventory into Amazon on time.

Building on these risks, this chapter guides you through a simple, repeatable workflow to protect payments, define document production requirements, select the best shipping terms, and create an Amazon shipping plan, ensuring you move from risk awareness to reliable execution.

Background and definitions

A smooth Amazon launch is a chain of events. If one link breaks, your listing can go out of stock, your costs can spike, and your timeline can slip.

This chapter focuses on three practical definitions: trade terms (who is responsible for each shipping leg), shipping modes (air v.s. sea), and shipping plan setup (how Amazon receives your cartons and labels).

Step 1: Create a purchase order agreement before you pay

The purchase order agreement is your clarity tool. It documents product specs, timelines, inspection rights, shipping terms, confidentiality, and payment milestones in one place.

What to include

• Production details: materials, dimensions, colors, bundle contents, packaging, and labels.
• Timeline: agreed production days, notice requirement for delays, and a discount rule if delays exceed your threshold.
• Inspection: third-party inspection rights and required photos or videos during production and packing.
• Shipping: delivery address rules, tracking requirement, carton label rules, and trade terms.
• Confidentiality: no reuse of your images or designs, no sharing of pricing or product details with other buyers.
• Payment: deposit percentage, balance trigger, and the protected payment method you require.

Step 2: Protect yourself when paying suppliers

The goal is simple: keep dispute options. Avoid payment methods that leave you with no leverage if quality fails, timelines slip, or terms change.

Recommended payment structure

1. Deposit: Pay 30 percent to start production. Do not pay 100 percent upfront.
2. Milestone photos: Require production photos or short videos as work progresses.
3. Inspection: Schedule third-party inspection for first orders and high-risk products.
4. Balance: Pay the remaining balance after the inspection passes and the final packing proof is provided.

Common payment mistakes to avoid

• Unprotected wire transfer directly to a supplier account.
• Paying 100 percent before production is complete.
• Skipping inspection on a first order, then discovering defects after the shipment lands.

Step 3: Choose the right trade terms for Amazon delivery

Trade terms define who handles each shipping leg and who pays duties and import fees. Choosing the wrong term can cause delays or failed deliveries at Amazon warehouses.

Quick definitions

• EXW: You are responsible from the factory door onward.
• FOB: Supplier handles delivery to the export port; you handle the rest.
• DAP: Delivered to your place, but duties are not paid. This can fail at Amazon receiving if fees are collected on delivery.
• DDP: Delivered duties paid. Most stress-free for Amazon warehouse delivery.

Step 4: Pick air v.s. sea shipping and a split strategy

Air is faster and more expensive. Sea is slower and cheaper. A split strategy can balance speed, cash flow, and storage costs.

A simple strategy that works well

1. First batch by air: Get initial inventory live quickly to validate sales velocity.
2. Second batch by sea: Refill inventory at a lower cost once you see demand.
3. Adjust with data: Use SellerSprite for demand and seasonality insights to refine reorder timing and quantities.

Risk notes

• If your air batch sells out faster than expected, you may go out of stock while the sea inventory is still in transit.
• Long transit times increase exposure to port delays and damage risk.

Step 5: Do you need a freight forwarder

Freight forwarders coordinate transport, customs paperwork, and delivery. They can reduce mistakes, especially as shipment size grows.

Rule of thumb

• For larger shipments, forwarders can be worth it because their fixed service fee spreads across more units.
• For smaller shipments, express carriers can be simpler, but confirm duty handling and delivery terms.

Step 6: Bonds, duties, tariffs, and customs delays

Import costs can change your unit economics. Duties and tariffs depend on your product classification, and customs inspections can add time.

What to do before you ship

1. Ask your supplier for the HS code or product classification used for export.
2. Estimate your duty rate and include it in your landed cost calculation.
3. Add a timeline buffer for possible customs inspection, especially for higher-risk categories.
4. Keep documentation consistent across the invoice, packing list, and shipping labels.

Step 7: Create your Amazon shipping plan

Your shipping plan tells Amazon what is coming, how it is packed, and where cartons should go. A small data mismatch can cause delays in receiving.

Step-by-step checklist

1. Open Seller Central, go to Inventory, then start a shipment using Send to Amazon.
2. Enter the ship from address. Use your supplier address unless you have a compelling reason to do otherwise.
3. Choose case packed if each carton contains the same SKU.
4. Enter units per carton and number of cartons. Make sure every carton has the same unit count.
5. Enter the carton weight and dimensions in the units Amazon requests.
6. Confirm who preps and labels. In most cases, you or your supplier handles labels to reduce costs.
7. Download shipping labels and send them to your supplier for carton labeling.

Comparison and decision guide

Copyable templates

Copy and edit this template for your next order. Keep it simple and make it easy for the supplier to confirm.

FAQs

About the author

References

• Amazon Seller Central: Send to Amazon (shipping plan workflow)
• Amazon Seller Central: Box content information and shipment details
• International Chamber of Commerce: Incoterms overview (EXW, FOB, DAP, DDP)
• USITC: Harmonized Tariff Schedule search (duty rate lookup)
• PayPal: Buyer Protection policy (eligible purchases)
• Alibaba: Trade Assurance buyer protection overview