Most prep centers charge per unit, typically $0.50 to $1.50 all-in for a standard item, often with a $200 to $500 monthly minimum. Hermeslines charges $60 per hour instead, prorated to the minute, with no monthly minimum. A 20 minute job costs $20.
Amazon FBA prep is almost always quoted per unit: so many cents for an FNSKU label, so many for a polybag, so many for a bundle. We price it as labor instead, at one hourly rate billed to the minute. Below are both models with real published numbers, so you can work out which one is cheaper for your specific product rather than taking either side’s word for it.
What does FBA prep cost at Hermeslines?
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Prep labor (all tasks) | $60/hr, prorated to the minute |
| New pallet | $10 per pallet |
| Stretch wrap | $5 per pallet |
| Monthly minimum | None |
That’s the whole prep rate card. At $60 an hour prorated to the minute, labor works out to $1 per minute, so the cost of a job is the time it took:
| Time on the job | Labor cost |
|---|---|
| 4 minutes | $4.00 |
| 20 minutes | $20.00 |
| 45 minutes | $45.00 |
| 2 hours 10 minutes | $130.00 |
What the hourly rate covers
- Quality checks and FNSKU or SKU labeling
- Shipping label application, on cartons or pallets
- Carton building and pallet stacking
- Packing list creation and inclusion
- Stretch wrapping
- Any other processing your FBA or B2B shipment specifically requires
There’s no separate line item per task. One rate for the time spent, whatever the task is.
How does that compare to per-unit prep pricing?
Published industry ranges for per-unit prep, from two prep-industry sources listed at the bottom of this page:
← Swipe table to see all columns →
| Service | Typical per-unit range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| FNSKU labeling | $0.10 to $0.55 | PrepVia |
| FNSKU labeling | $0.20 to $0.30 | Simple Distribution |
| Poly bagging | $0.20 to $0.50 | Simple Distribution |
| Bubble wrap | $0.30 to $0.75 | Simple Distribution |
| Bundling or kitting | $0.50 to $2.50 | Both |
| Standard item, all-in | $0.50 to $1.50 | Simple Distribution |
| Oversized item, all-in | $1.50 to $3.50 | Simple Distribution |
Here’s the honest part: an hourly rate and a per-unit rate aren’t directly comparable, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise by publishing a units-per-hour figure. How long your inventory takes depends on the product and the prep required. A flat pack of identical items labels quickly. A fragile multi-piece bundle does not.
What you can do is compare them for your own SKU. Take a per-unit quote, multiply by your batch size, and ask us how long that batch realistically takes. If the answer is that 500 straightforward units take an hour, that’s $60 against $250 to $750 at $0.50 to $1.50 per unit. If your product is fiddly and takes six hours, per-unit may well win. The point is that you can run the comparison, because both numbers are visible.
The monthly minimum is the part worth checking
Simple Distribution reports that most prep centers impose a monthly minimum of $200 to $500 for sellers under roughly 1,000 units a month. If you ship 300 units and the minimum is $300, your effective rate is $1 a unit no matter what the price list says.
We don’t have a monthly minimum on prep or orders. The only floor anywhere in our pricing is storage, billed at a minimum of one pallet per month at $15.99.
What does a full FBA shipment cost?
Prep labor is one line. A shipment going out to an Amazon fulfillment center usually touches three or four:
If the stock sits with us before it ships, storage is billed separately at $15.99 per pallet per month, dropping to $13.01 at 15 or more pallets. For comparison, Simple Distribution puts typical short-term pallet storage at $15 to $25 a month. There’s also a platform fee from $14 a month, charged only in months you’re moving inventory. Freight to the fulfillment center is quoted on the shipment.
What you need to provide
Current, accurate prep guidelines for every shipment. Amazon’s requirements vary by category and change without much warning, and the destination decides what compliant looks like, so that piece has to come from you. We work to industry-standard prep otherwise, but a shipment rejected at the FC because it was prepped to last year’s rules is an expensive way to find out.
Send a packing list with inbound stock, and label master cartons with at least the SKU and brand name. Arriving without either means receiving gets billed as labor at $60/hr, because someone has to work out what turned up.
Sources
Every Hermeslines rate on this page comes from our own published rate card. The per-unit and monthly-minimum figures we’ve compared against are from prep-industry sources, each linked so you can check them:
- PrepVia, FBA Prep Pricing: What It Actually Costs (2026)
- Simple Distribution, How Much Does Amazon FBA Prep Cost in 2026
These are ranges published by companies in the prep business, not audited market data, and rates move. Treat them as a starting point for your own quotes rather than a fixed benchmark. You can see the rest of what we handle on the services page, or read the full cost breakdown in how much US fulfillment costs in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Amazon FBA prep cost per unit?
Across the prep industry, published ranges put a standard item at roughly $0.50 to $1.50 all-in, and an oversized item at $1.50 to $3.50, with FNSKU labeling alone from $0.10 to $0.55. Hermeslines doesn’t charge per unit at all. Prep is billed as labor at $60 per hour, prorated to the minute, plus $10 per new pallet and $5 per stretch wrap when a shipment needs them.
Do I pay for a full hour if the job takes ten minutes?
No. Prep labor is prorated to the minute, so ten minutes costs $10. There’s no minimum block and no rounding up to the nearest quarter hour or hour.
Is hourly or per-unit prep pricing cheaper?
It depends on your product, and anyone who answers without asking about your SKU is guessing. Per-unit wins when your items are slow to prep, because you’ve capped the cost. Hourly wins when they’re quick, because you aren’t paying an average built on harder products. To compare properly, multiply a per-unit quote by your batch size and ask how long that batch takes at $60 an hour.
Is there a monthly minimum for FBA prep?
Not at Hermeslines. Industry reporting suggests most prep centers set a $200 to $500 monthly minimum for sellers below roughly 1,000 units a month, which quietly raises the effective per-unit rate for small sellers. We have no monthly minimum on prep or orders. The only floor in our pricing is storage, at a minimum of one pallet per month at $15.99.
What is included in the FBA prep rate?
The hourly rate covers quality checks, FNSKU and SKU labeling, shipping label application on cartons or pallets, carton building, pallet stacking, packing list creation and inclusion, stretch wrapping, and any other processing your shipment requires. There’s no separate line item per task. Materials are the only extras: $10 for a new pallet, $5 for stretch wrap.
Who provides the Amazon prep guidelines?
You do, for every shipment. Amazon’s requirements vary by category and change over time, and the destination decides what counts as compliant. We prep to industry standard otherwise, but current guidelines have to come from the seller so the shipment isn’t rejected at the fulfillment center.
