The whole universe, the working pipeline, and the receipts.

How we add new centers.

1. Source. Public business directories, operator websites, Google Places (via the official Places API), referrals from sellers in the match form. We do not buy lead lists.
2. Typed, not filtered. Every listing carries an operator type: prep specialist, multi-service, or full 3PL. A full 3PL with a real FBA prep line is listed with that type label (see FBA prep 3PLs) and never ranks on the prep-specialist editorial pages.
3. 4-point operator standard. Every listing is checked against all four, from primary sources, before it is published: operating for more than 12 months (state registry, LinkedIn, and domain age); FDA registration, when claimed, confirmed from the registration document FDA issued to the operator (a claim we cannot confirm stays the operator's own statement); a website that returns HTTP 200 and whose own visible text names its Amazon FBA prep service; and a manual editor review. Automated liveness checks keep running after that: a listing that later fails a check, or whose last verification is more than 90 days old, carries a visible warning until it is re-verified. See the methodology for the detail.
4. Listing. Cleared centers move to published. Pending centers stay in queue with a visible counter above; nothing thin gets shipped to make the directory look bigger.

The moat narrative, in plain English.

Prep-center directories go stale because operators close mid-shipment and most directories don't notice. Ours has an automated liveness check, shows staleness rather than hiding it, and keeps a visible exclusion list. We re-verify on user reports and maintain a public pipeline so what we know about the universe is auditable.

Read the full editorial methodology at /methodology/.