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USA index · Geography · Updated 2026-05-14

FBA prep USA: the 2026 landscape.

Verified US FBA prep centers grouped by coast, port proximity, and tax-free state strategy. With Amazon's in-house FBA prep service ended (Supply Chain Dive, 2026), the entire third-party network is now load-bearing. This page is the canonical map.

Honest scope: 3 verified centers as of 2026-05-14 (San Marcos CA, Santa Ana CA, Ortonville MI). California is the only state with more than one published center today. UK, Germany, and Canada are now open for applications; international centers publish only after the same 5-check verification clears in each region.

Sister pages: Search by city or ZIP · Ranked shortlist · Tax-free states.

Regional grouping

The US prep landscape by coast.

Pick your prep center by what is closest to the right Amazon fulfillment center, not what is closest to you. Amazon's Inbound Placement Service Fee (IPSF) charges sellers when their shipments need redistribution across FCs. A prep center near the East Coast FC cluster reduces IPSF for East Coast demand; West Coast for West Coast demand. The IPSF delta on a national shipment can exceed $0.30 per unit.

East Coast

Highest Amazon FC density in the US. Atlanta is the Southeast routing anchor. Savannah is the port-of-entry for China inbound destined east of the Mississippi. NJ/PA cluster serves the Northeast metro.

Metros
Atlanta, Savannah, New York, Miami
Ports
Savannah (SAV), New York / New Jersey, Charleston
Amazon FC clusters
ATL (Atlanta), EWR (Newark), PHL (Philadelphia), JFK8 (Staten Island)

Central

Dallas and Houston serve south-central FCs. Tennessee is a sleeper play for east-of-Rockies distribution. Michigan is a smaller hub but has working FBA prep capacity.

Metros
Houston, Dallas, Memphis, Chicago
Ports
Houston (HOU)
Amazon FC clusters
DFW (Dallas), MEM (Memphis), ORD (Chicago)

West Coast

Highest concentration of mid-tier prep centers in the US. LA / Long Beach is the port-of-entry for the bulk of China-origin inbound. Ontario CA is the inland routing hub. Phoenix is hazmat-friendly.

Metros
Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Reno
Ports
Long Beach (LGB), Los Angeles (LAX)
Amazon FC clusters
ONT (Ontario), LGB (Long Beach), PHX (Phoenix)

Tax strategy

The five tax-free states.

New Hampshire, Oregon, Delaware, Montana, and Alaska have no statewide sales tax. Storing inventory in any of them avoids triggering sales-tax nexus in that specific state. Oregon and Delaware are the practically useful options given proximity to West Coast and East Coast Amazon FCs respectively.

Why US prep matters in 2026

Section 321 changes shifted demand to US prep.

In 2025, US Customs ended the Section 321 de minimis exemption for direct China imports. Shipments under $800 that previously cleared customs duty-free now require formal entry. The shift removed the structural advantage of China-direct fulfillment models.

Two consequences: first, China-origin inventory now benefits from consolidation at the container level (single customs entry vs many) instead of per-order imports. A US prep center is the natural consolidation point. Second, with Amazon's in-house FBA prep service ended on January 1, 2026 (Supply Chain Dive), every seller who previously relied on Amazon for prep now needs a US-based third-party prep center.

Net result: a US prep center is no longer optional for most FBA sellers operating in the US market. The question is which US prep center, not whether to use one.

Featured US centers

6 recently verified.

Ordered by recency of last verification check. Stale and flagged listings appear on profile pages; archived listings keep their URL but are marked.

Featured operator

Urva Prep Center

Newark, DE

Featured since July 2026. Paid placement; editorial verification unchanged.

Reviewed · 2026-08-17

Urva Prep Center is a multi-service Amazon FBA and Walmart WFS prep operation in tax-free Newark, Delaware, running a primary 25,000 sq ft facility at 301 Ruthar Drive plus a 10,000 sq ft site in Bear. FBA and WFS prep is the productized core, with wholesale prep from $1.00 down to $0.55/unit by volume and online-arbitrage prep from $1.50 down to $1.00/unit. Alongside prep it offers FBM and DTC order fulfillment (same-day before the 7am EST cutoff), two-step dropshipping, FTL inbound consolidation at $0.20 to $0.50/lb, shrink-wrap, and a software dashboard. Storage is free for 14 days then $0.01/unit/day. Hazmat is accepted. Because it runs fulfillment alongside prep, confirm scope directly if you want a prep-only relationship.

Multi-service8,998 SKUs/day$ pricingHazmat

Delta Prep Solutions

Reviewed · 2026-08-17

Delta Prep Solutions is a family-operated, home-based FBA prep service in Northern California. Prep runs in a dedicated climate-controlled structure of about 1,200 sq ft on the operators' residential property, with locked access and security cameras (operator-confirmed by email, 2026-08-15). The rate card is one of the more transparent we have reviewed: a flat $1.50 per unit covering FNSKU labeling, standard polybagging, expiration-date labeling, 2-3 item bundling, and a final quality check, with no order minimums and a stated 1-2 day turnaround. The stated specialty is online-arbitrage sellers shipping roughly 1,000-1,500 units per month, which fits the operation's scale. What a buyer should weigh: the business is young (operating since mid-2025 by domain evidence), we could not find customer reviews or any third-party footprint for it, and contact runs through a Gmail inbox and a single phone line. The website's warehouse imagery is stock photography, not the facility itself.

$$ pricing

FBA Champs

Reviewed · 2026-08-17

FBA Champs is a New Jersey prep center handling Amazon FBA inspection, FNSKU labeling, polybagging, bundling, bubble wrap, and box packing, located about 35 minutes from Amazon's ABE8 warehouse in Florence, NJ. Per-unit prep runs $0.45 to $1.00 by volume with no contract, no sign-up fee, and no minimums, and they accept new sellers with low quantities. They also offer FBM multi-channel pick-and-pack, FBA returns processing, box and pallet forwarding, and monthly storage; FBA prep is the core service and these are add-ons. Turnaround is stated at 24 to 72 hours.

$ pricingHazmat

Express Prep and Ship

Columbus, MT

Reviewed · 2026-08-17

Express Prep and Ship is a family-scale FBA prep operation in Columbus, Montana, a sales-tax-free state, operating since late 2022 (domain and site history) and registered as Express Prep And Ship LLC (Montana SoS C1405820, Active-Good Standing, agent Sandra June Croft, registered December 2023). The card is published and per-unit: $1.25 per unit received, including inspection, label removal, damage photos, and FNSKU, fragile, and suffocation labeling; books $2.00 with poly bag; shoes $2.50; oversize $4.00; bundles $1.25 per item for the first two items, $1.00 at three or more. A $50 one-time registration fee applies, with billing on the 1st and 15th. Onboarding runs through Seller Central user permissions (Inventory and Shipments). Cautions, plainly: the ship-to address sellers are given is a residential property with no outbuildings on record, and the state registry lists no principal business address at all (mailing address only), so where the work physically happens is unconfirmed (the common Montana cottage-operator pattern), the published phone is a personal mobile line, the signup page shows two different Gmail addresses (the homepage address is canonical), and third-party reviews are absent beyond one dated on-site testimonial.

$ pricing

Express Prep Center

Pennsauken, NJ

Reviewed · 2026-08-17

Express Prep Center is a New Jersey Amazon FBA prep service in Pennsauken. Per-unit prep runs $0.65 to $0.85 per unit by volume and covers receiving, exterior inspection, FNSKU labeling, poly bagging, dunnage, barcode removal, and ship-to-Amazon in 24 to 48 hours, with 14 days of free storage included. It also offers FBA returns processing, longer-term storage ($15/box or $50/pallet per month), and freight forwarding with optional inspection. Domain registered May 2024; listed as accepting new clients.

$ pricing

WestFBA

San Marcos, CA

Reviewed · 2026-08-17

California-based FBA prep service specializing in West Coast port intake from China-origin container freight. 12+ years operating an e-commerce warehouse, 5+ years FBA-specific. Self-described positioning: importer-friendly prep for sellers landing inventory at LA / Long Beach or San Diego. No minimum-volume requirements per their stated terms, which is rare for the category. Published per-unit pricing on the site (also rare). Photography service available. Offers WhatsApp contact at +1-858-527-8197 in addition to phone and email.

$ pricing

Questions, answered

Common questions on US FBA prep.

What is an FBA prep center in the USA?
A US-based facility that receives your inbound inventory, applies Amazon's required prep (FNSKU labels, polybag, bubble wrap, expiration scans, hazmat docs), and forwards the shipment to a US Amazon fulfillment center. With Amazon's in-house FBA Prep service discontinued for shipments after January 1, 2026 (source: Supply Chain Dive), third-party US prep centers are the default path.
Do I need a US-based prep center if I sell on Amazon US?
Strongly recommended above 500 units per month. Domestic prep reduces customs friction, eliminates international shipping risk on prep, and shortens inbound time to the right Amazon fulfillment center. Sellers shipping from China to a Chinese prep center and then to Amazon US incur extra customs, freight, and IPSF cost.
Which US states have no sales tax on inventory?
Five states have no statewide sales tax: New Hampshire, Oregon, Delaware, Montana, and Alaska. Storing inventory in a tax-free state can reduce sales-tax nexus exposure in that state. See our tax-free-states pillar for the actual nexus argument and state-by-state prep center listings.
Where are the largest Amazon fulfillment centers in the US?
The biggest clusters: Atlanta (ATL FC cluster, southeast routing), Ontario CA / Long Beach (ONT / LGB, west coast), Dallas (DFW, south-central), and Newark NJ / Staten Island NY (EWR / JFK8, northeast). Prep-center proximity to the right FC drives Amazon's Inbound Placement Service Fee (IPSF).
How much does FBA prep cost per unit in the US?
Across the 44 verified US centers publishing per-unit rates in our FBA Prep Pricing Index 2026 (snapshot 2026-06-12), the median entry rate is $1.30 per unit, with the middle 50 percent of published cards between $0.99 and $1.66. Rates fall with volume on most cards, and add-ons (storage, returns, onboarding) stack on top. Every figure traces to a named, dated rate card; the comparator on our pricing page shows which centers will take you at your volume and the exact tier of their card you land in.
Is it cheaper to use a Chinese prep center or a US one?
Chinese-origin prep is cheaper per unit ($0.05 to $0.50) but adds customs broker fees, international freight, longer inbound time, and IPSF when the shipment lands at a US FC outside the right cluster. After totaling, US-based prep is typically cheaper per landed unit above 500 units per month. Below that volume, supplier-applied FNSKU at source plus direct-to-Amazon is the cheapest path.
What changed with Section 321 and de minimis in 2025?
In 2025, US Customs ended the Section 321 de minimis exemption for direct China imports. Shipments under $800 that previously cleared customs duty-free now require formal entry. The change shifted demand from China-direct fulfillment to US-based prep, since US prep centers can consolidate inbound and clear customs once at the container level instead of per-order.
Which port is best for FBA imports: LA / Long Beach, Savannah, or NY / NJ?
Depends on demand geography. LA / Long Beach is the default for China-origin volume and west-of-Rockies distribution. Savannah is the cheapest east-coast port for China-origin volume routed east. NY / NJ serves northeast metros and is the best port for Europe-origin volume. Pair your port choice with the prep center that sits closest to it.