Seller Fulfilled Prime 3PL: Keep the Prime Badge Without FBA
AMZ Prep runs Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime for brands that want the Prime badge on orders they don't send to FBA. We place your stock across several US regions, buy every label through Amazon Buy Shipping, and hand orders to carriers the same day, six days a week at our SFP sites.
Updated for Amazon's July 2026 SFP speed targets
On this page
Key Takeaways
- Seller Fulfilled Prime puts the Prime badge on orders you ship yourself or through a 3PL; you prequalify, then pass a 30-day trial.
- Amazon scores SFP weekly: 93.5%+ on-time delivery, 99%+ valid tracking and under 0.5% cancellations, plus one-day and two-day speed targets by size tier.
- The July 2026 update raised those speed targets, so most catalogs now need stock in more than one region.
- AMZ Prep runs SFP with Buy Shipping labels, Saturday pickups at SFP sites, trial monitoring, oversized and temperature-controlled fulfillment.
What is Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime?
Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) is Amazon's program for showing the Prime badge on products you fulfill outside FBA, from your own warehouse or through a Seller Fulfilled Prime 3PL. Shoppers see the same Prime promise. You keep control of inventory, packaging and carriers, and in return you meet Amazon's delivery standards every week.
Prequalify
A Professional selling account, a US default shipping address and a record of on-time, tracked self-fulfilled orders.
Pass the trial
Ship Prime orders for 30 days without the badge showing, meeting every performance requirement.
Stay enrolled
Keep the weekly metrics and speed targets. Amazon lets you cap daily Prime orders so you never promise more than you can ship.
What are the Seller Fulfilled Prime requirements in 2026?
Amazon measures SFP every week, Sunday to Saturday. The three performance metrics did not change in 2026. The speed targets did: Amazon now expects a larger share of Prime shoppers to see one-day and two-day delivery dates for each size tier.
| Metric (measured weekly) | Amazon's requirement | How we protect it |
|---|---|---|
| On-time delivery rate | 93.5% or higher | Labels bought through Buy Shipping; stock placed so carriers can make the promised date |
| Valid tracking rate | 99% or higher | Every label comes from Buy Shipping, so tracking uploads to the order automatically |
| Seller-initiated cancellations | Under 0.5% | Inventory synced to Amazon so you don't sell stock that isn't on the shelf |
SFP speed targets by size tier (share of Prime page views, from July 6, 2026)
| Size tier | One-day coverage | Two-day coverage | Five-day coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard size | 40% (was 30%) | 75% (was 70%) | 90% (unchanged) |
| Oversize | 15% (was 10%) | – | 80% |
| Extra large | – | 25% (was 15%) | 60% |
Amazon can block offers, pause Prime eligibility or revoke Prime status for products placed in the wrong size tier, so check every SKU's tier in your SFP dashboard. Late deliveries on eligible Buy Shipping labels are protected and don't count against your on-time rate. Not sure where you stand? Try our SFP eligibility calculator.
Seller Fulfilled Prime vs FBA vs FBM: which fits your catalog?
| FBA | Seller Fulfilled Prime (with AMZ Prep) | FBM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime badge | Yes | Yes | No |
| Who stores and ships | Amazon | AMZ Prep, under your Prime templates | You or your 3PL |
| Inventory control | Inside Amazon's network | Yours, in one pool for every channel | Yours |
| Branded packaging and inserts | No | Yes | Yes |
| Storage and placement fees | Amazon storage, aged inventory and inbound placement fees | Warehouse rates, no Amazon placement fee | Your own costs |
| Oversized and extra-large | Highest FBA fee tiers | Shipped from several regions on your account | No Prime badge |
| Meltables in hot months | Restricted by Amazon's meltable rules | Temperature-controlled, Prime stays on | No Prime badge |
| Customer service and returns | Amazon | Amazon handles post-order service; returns come back to us | You |
| What you must hit | Amazon's inbound rules | Weekly SFP metrics and speed targets | Seller-fulfilled metrics |
A common split: FBA for small, fast-moving items; SFP for oversized, meltable or slow-moving SKUs and for stock that also sells on Shopify or Walmart. Our full guide to SFP vs FBA works through the costs.
How does an SFP 3PL fulfill a Prime order?
- 1Prime order placedA shopper buys from your listing with the Prime badge
- 2Label boughtThrough Amazon Buy Shipping, tracking attached
- 3Picked and packedAt the AMZ Prep site holding that stock
- 4Handed to the carrierSame day when the order makes the daily cutoff
- 5Delivered on timeCounted toward your on-time delivery rate
Check eligibility and coverage Before day 1
We review your catalog's size tiers and where your Prime customers are, then show how many regions you need to meet Amazon's speed targets.
Onboard and place inventory 6 days
We connect Seller Central and your other channels and receive your stock within 24 to 48 hours of delivery. Onboarding takes 6 days.
Set Prime shipping templates Seller Central
Your Prime templates and handling times match the sites holding your stock. Labels are bought through Amazon Buy Shipping.
Run the 30-day trial 30 days
You register for the trial in Seller Central. We watch on-time delivery, tracking and cancellations daily and fix issues inside the week.
Keep the badge Every week
After enrollment we keep stock positioned for the speed targets and adjust coverage before peak season.
Why does Seller Fulfilled Prime need more than one warehouse?
Two-day ground delivery from a single site reaches only part of the country. To show one-day and two-day dates to enough Prime shoppers, your stock has to sit in several regions. Switch between the two networks below to see the difference.
Illustration on a state tile map: delivery days are estimated by distance from each region, not carrier transit data. Alaska and Hawaii are shown as 3+ days.
AMZ Prep has 50+ centers in 6 countries, including hubs in 10+ US states. We model your Prime coverage from your own order history, then decide how many regions you actually need, because every extra node adds inventory to manage.
How do you pass the 30-day SFP trial?
Illustration of how the trial is scored. Targets are Amazon's; the bars are illustrative.
What we do during your trial
- Confirm size tiers and Prime templates before you register
- Place inventory so the promised dates are reachable
- Buy every label through Buy Shipping
- Check on-time delivery, tracking and cancellations every day
- Fix a carrier or stock issue inside the trial week, not after it
Seller Fulfilled Prime for oversized and extra-large products
Highest FBA fees
Oversized and extra-large items sit in Amazon's most expensive fee tiers. Through SFP they ship from our warehouses at warehouse rates instead.
The steepest 2026 jump
Extra-large two-day coverage rose from 15% to 25%. From one warehouse that is a structural gap, so we ship big and bulky SFP from more than one region.
Built for heavy freight
Big and bulky is one of our core categories: pallet receiving, oversized storage and carriers chosen for large parcels.
See our oversized fulfillment service for furniture, fitness equipment, mattresses and other large items.
How do meltable products keep the Prime badge in summer?
Amazon's meltable rules restrict chocolate, gummies, soft gels and similar products in FBA during hot months. Through Seller Fulfilled Prime, those SKUs ship from our temperature-controlled space instead, with seasonal packing, and keep their Prime badge.
- Temperature-controlled and frozen storage, plus ambient
- Temperature logged continuously and filed with proof of delivery
- Seasonal insulated packing for heat-sensitive orders
- FDA-registered facilities for supplements and food
More on our cold storage 3PL service.
Can SFP inventory also ship Shopify, Walmart and FBA orders?
SFP stock at AMZ Prep isn't locked inside Amazon. The same inventory ships Prime orders, Shopify and DTC orders, and Walmart orders, and we can send replenishment to FBA for the SKUs you keep there. You see every channel's stock and orders in The Hub, our customer portal.
AMZ Prep is Shopify Plus certified and a Walmart WFS partner. For DTC orders see DTC fulfillment; for FBA stock see FBA prep services.
How much does Seller Fulfilled Prime cost with a 3PL?
Fulfillment, quoted to your catalog
- Receiving and storage at warehouse rates
- Pick and pack per order
- Postage on labels bought through Buy Shipping
- No setup fees, month-to-month terms
Amazon fees on SFP SKUs
- FBA fulfillment fees
- FBA storage and aged inventory fees
- Inbound placement fees
- Prep and transport into Amazon's network
Your total depends on size, weight, order volume and how many regions you need. We start from 300 orders a month across channels. See our published 3PL pricing, or ask for a side-by-side SFP vs FBA comparison on your own SKUs.
Watch: Seller Fulfilled Prime explained
15:18Master Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime: Complete Strategy Guide
Blair Forrest, founder of AMZ Prep, walks through launching Seller Fulfilled Prime at scale: eligibility, warehouse coverage, carriers, weekend operations and the metrics that keep the badge on.
3:47Amazon's New SFP Rules 2026: The Speed Test
Joel den Boer, Head of Partnerships at AMZ Prep, explains the July 2026 SFP speed thresholds for standard, oversize and extra-large products and how to audit your SFP dashboard.
19:56FBA vs SFP vs FBM: Which Amazon Fulfillment Method Fits?
Blair Forrest compares the three Amazon fulfillment models: eligibility, cost structure, trial enrollment and Prime delivery metrics, with real brand examples.
5:56Best 3PLs for Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime
How to choose a 3PL for SFP without risking your Prime badge or your account: coverage, weekend operations, carriers and the questions to ask.
5:56SFP 3PL Selection: Avoid Account Suspension and Keep the Prime Badge
Blair Forrest on how Amazon's strike system works in SFP and what a 3PL must do every week to keep your metrics inside Amazon's limits.
9:01Meltable Season on Amazon: Your Options Including SFP
Blair Forrest on Amazon's meltable restrictions, the cost model for running Seller Fulfilled Prime on cold-chain products and when FBM is the only realistic option.
Quick answers on SFP
Short clips on the trial, strikes, big and bulky and cold products. Swipe for more.
0:57
1:04
0:57
1:18
1:07
2:09
0:54
3:12What do brands say about AMZ Prep for SFP?
"We partnered with AMZ Prep because they bring fulfillment control directly to our fingertips. As a premium bed company, delivery experience is critical and they have delivered that while saving us 32 percent on shipping costs."
Preston Walker, Head of Supply Chain, Eight Sleep
Brands including Eight Sleep and GNC run Seller Fulfilled Prime with AMZ Prep. Across all services we're rated 4.9 on Clutch from 100+ reviews and 4.8 on G2 from 40+ reviews.
SFP 3PL checklist: what to ask before you choose (US and Canada)
Use these questions to compare Amazon SFP 3PL fulfillment services side by side. Ask every provider to answer per warehouse and per country, and to show the evidence.
- Do we stay the seller of record on our own Amazon account?
- Yes. SFP runs on your account, templates and metrics. We fulfill under it.
- Who manages Prime shipping templates and daily Prime order limits?
- You own them. We set them up with you and size the daily limits to the stock at each site.
- Which SKUs should go SFP, FBM or FBA?
- We model the split from your order history by size tier, sales velocity and margin.
- How do you protect on-time delivery, valid tracking and cancellations?
- Labels through Buy Shipping, stock placed for the promised dates, and daily checks during the trial.
- Do you meet Amazon's minimum order cutoffs?
- Amazon's weekday minimum is 2:00 PM local time. Our SFP sites ship orders in by 3 PM local time the same day.
- Do you ship on Saturdays?
- Yes, at our SFP sites, with Saturday carrier pickups.
- Who watches the speed metric for each size tier?
- Our team, daily during the trial and weekly once you are enrolled.
- What share of our demand can your sites reach within the Prime promise?
- We model it by ZIP code from your order history before you send stock.
- Can you run SFP on Amazon.ca?
- Yes, for enrolled or approved sellers. Amazon.ca lists new enrollment as closed but approves some sellers by category and eligibility. If you're not approved, we quote Canadian merchant fulfillment and FBA prep.
- Where would Canadian stock sit?
- Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver or Calgary, with our own customs team for cross-border moves.
- How fast is received stock ready to sell?
- Put away within 24 to 48 hours of delivery.
- How accurate are your orders?
- 99.8% order accuracy.
- Which carriers can you use?
- 35+ carriers, with Prime labels bought through Amazon Buy Shipping.
- Who handles customer service and returns?
- Amazon handles post-order service. Returns come back to our center, are inspected and sellable units are restocked.
- Can we see orders and stock in real time?
- Yes, in The Hub, our customer portal, by site and channel.
- Who is our contact?
- A named account manager, reachable by phone and email during working hours.
- Do you publish rates?
- Yes, on our pricing page. SFP is quoted on receiving, storage, pick and pack and postage.
- What are the minimums and contract terms?
- 300 orders a month across channels, no setup fees, month-to-month.
- Supplements and meltables?
- Temperature-controlled and frozen storage, continuous temperature logs and FDA-registered facilities.
- Oversized and extra-large?
- A core category, shipped from more than one region for SFP.
- Hazmat?
- Our Las Vegas facility handles hazmat. Ask us which SKUs qualify for SFP.
Seller Fulfilled Prime FAQs
Seller Fulfilled Prime is Amazon's program that lets you show the Prime badge on orders you ship yourself or through a 3PL, instead of storing the stock in Amazon's fulfillment centers.
Yes. Amazon lets you ship SFP orders from your own warehouse, a 3PL or several locations. The account, the Prime templates and the metrics stay yours; the 3PL picks, packs and hands orders to carriers.
Each week you need at least 93.5% on-time delivery, 99% valid tracking and under 0.5% seller cancellations. Since July 6, 2026 Amazon also sets higher one-day and two-day speed targets for each size tier.
Speed targets rose for all three size tiers. Standard-size one-day coverage went from 30% to 40% of Prime page views, and extra-large two-day coverage from 15% to 25%. The 93.5% on-time rule did not change.
The trial runs 30 days. You ship real Prime orders without the badge showing and must meet every performance requirement. Pass it and Prime branding switches on for the products you enrolled.
We check your size tiers and coverage before you register, place inventory across our network, buy every label through Buy Shipping and watch your trial metrics daily so problems are fixed within the trial week.
Yes. Our SFP sites run six days a week with Saturday carrier pickups, because Amazon expects Prime orders to keep moving at the weekend. Not every AMZ Prep center is an SFP site.
Amazon's published minimum is 2:00 PM local time on weekdays and 10:30 AM on weekend operating days. Our SFP sites run later on weekdays: orders in by 3 PM local time ship the same day.
From one site, two-day ground delivery reaches only part of the country. The 2026 targets need stock placed in several regions so more Prime shoppers see one-day and two-day dates. That is a location gap, not a carrier gap.
Often, yes. Oversized and extra-large items carry the highest FBA fees and the lowest Amazon speed targets. We fulfill big and bulky SFP orders from multiple regions to keep the Prime badge on them.
Yes, through SFP. When Amazon's meltable rules pull products from FBA, we ship them from temperature-controlled space with seasonal packing, so supplements, gummies and chocolate keep the Prime badge.
Amazon handles post-order customer service for SFP and authorizes returns within the return window. We receive and inspect the returns at our center and restock what is sellable.
Yes. One pool of stock at AMZ Prep ships Prime orders for Amazon and orders from Shopify, Walmart and other channels, so you don't split inventory or forecast each channel separately.
Many brands use both: FBA for small, fast-moving items and SFP for oversized, meltable or slow-moving SKUs, or for stock that also sells on other channels. We model the split from your order data.
The right SFP 3PL has sites in several regions, Saturday pickups, Buy Shipping labels and daily trial monitoring. AMZ Prep fits brands shipping 300+ orders a month that want SFP, FBA and other channels from one inventory.
Yes. SFP runs on your own Amazon seller account, Prime shipping templates and performance metrics. We pick, pack and ship under your account; your listings and Prime status stay yours.
Yes, if your account is enrolled or approved. Amazon.ca's guidance lists new enrollment as closed, but some sellers are approved by category and eligibility. Otherwise we ship Amazon.ca merchant orders and prep FBA stock in Canada.
Received stock is put away within 24 to 48 hours of delivery, and one inventory pool feeds Amazon and your other channels, so the same unit isn't sold twice. Seller cancellations stay under Amazon's limit.
Receiving, storage, pick and pack per order, packaging, postage, returns processing and any account or software fees. Ask how postage is billed through Buy Shipping and what monthly minimum applies.
Share your catalog and order history. We confirm size tiers and coverage, onboard you in 6 days, place inventory, and you register for the trial in Seller Central once the stock is live.
Keep the Prime badge on the orders you ship.
Send us your catalog and order history. We'll check your size tiers against the 2026 speed targets and show how many regions you need.
