NEXTSMARTSHIP, Your Dependable

FBM Fulfillment Partner

Selling on Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace, puts your brand in front of millions of potential customers. NextSmartShip helps Amazon sellers succeed with FBM by handling fulfillment from storage to shipping—so you keep the benefits of FBM without the headaches.

Fast onboarding

Lower Costs than FBA

Amazon-ready Support

Fast
onboarding

Lower Costs
than FBA

Amazon-ready
Support

What is Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM)?

Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) is a fulfillment method where the seller is responsible for storing inventory, packing, and shipping products purchased on Amazon. Sellers can handle these tasks themselves or work with a third-party logistics provider to manage the process.

Many sellers choose FBM as their business grows—diversifying fulfillment methods can help balance costs, maintain control, and reduce reliance on a single channel.

FBM vs FBA

FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant)

The seller receives the order notification.

The seller (or their 3PL partner) fulfills the order.

Shipping and tracking details are sent back to Amazon.

FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon)

The seller sends inventory to Amazon’s fulfillment centers.

Amazon stores, picks, packs, ships, and provides customer service on behalf of the seller.

Important Labeling Guidelines

Choose FBM if:

Your products are bulky, heavy, or expensive to store and ship through FBA.

You want full control over packaging, branding, and compliance instead of adapting to Amazon’s strict rules.

You prefer to keep tighter control of your own inventory and avoid commingling.

You need flexible warehousing or handling solutions that can scale with your business

Choose FBA if:

You offer small, lightweight, or high-value items that ship economically through Amazon.

You’re comfortable with Amazon’s inventory management practices, including commingling.

You want to leverage Amazon’s Prime badge and brand reputation to build customer trust.

You can accept Amazon’s higher storage and fulfillment fees as part of the trade-off.

Benefits of Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM)

Lower Fees

FBM sellers avoid Amazon’s storage and fulfillment fees. Instead, you only pay a subscription, referral fees, and per-order charges.

Fewer Restrictions

FBM offers greater flexibility with fewer compliance hurdles. Ideal during peak seasons

Branding & Customer Experienc

FBM allows you to maintain your own branding and manage the customer relationship directly.

Multi-Channel Fulfillment

You can manage orders from Amazon and other platforms—like Walmart, Etsy, eBay, or Shopify—using the same inventory,

Full Control of Inventory

Your products sit in Amazon warehouses, and if your account is suspended, access can be restricted.

Prime Potential

With strong performance, FBM sellers can still qualify for Seller-Fulfilled Prime.

Lower Fees

FBM sellers avoid Amazon’s storage and fulfillment fees. Instead, you only pay a subscription, referral fees, and per-order charges.

Fewer Restrictions

FBM offers greater flexibility with fewer compliance hurdles. Ideal during peak seasons

Branding & Customer Experience

FBM allows you to maintain your own branding and manage the customer relationship directly.

Multi-Channel Fulfillment

You can manage orders from Amazon and other platforms—like Walmart, Etsy, eBay, or Shopify—using the same inventory,

Full Control of Inventory

Your products sit in Amazon warehouses, and if your account is suspended, access can be restricted.

Prime Potential

With strong performance, FBM sellers can still qualify for Seller-Fulfilled Prime.

That being said, alongside these benefits, there are real challenges sellers should be prepared for.

Challenges of FBM

FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant)

Buy Box impact: Amazon favors FBA listings for the Buy Box.

Overheads: orage, staffing, and packaging costs fall directly on you.

Responsibility: More orders = more complexity, risk of mistakes, and delivery delays.

That’s why many growing sellers turn to a trusted 3PL partner. A fulfillment partner like NextSmartShip helps you keep the benefits of FBM—control, flexibility, and branding—without getting buried in logistics.

NextSmartShip — Your Global FBM Fulfillment Partner

NextSmartShip is a DTC specialist in fulfillment, helping you bridge the gap between Amazon’s marketplace and your customers, and making FBM simple, scalable, and stress-free.

Fulfill from China

If your supplier is based in China, our Shenzhen fulfillment center is made for you. Benefit from low handling fees, 30 days of free warehousing, and multiple shipping options, with global delivery in as fast as 3 days.

Fulfill Globally

Expand your reach with NextSmartShip’s worldwide network. Our fulfillment centers deliver FBA-level speed at lower costs, helping you serve customers in 200+ countries efficiently and affordably.

Dedicated Support

Work with a fulfillment team that knows your products and your business, providing personalized, hands-on service at every stage.

Your Brand, Front and Center

Go beyond plain packaging. With customized boxes, mailers, inserts, kitting, and assembly, every order carries your brand identity and creates a memorable customer experience.

Smart Inventory Control

Track stock in real time across fulfillment centers, set reorder points, and get insights that help you avoid stockouts and cut excess storage costs.

Great First Experience

We’re excited to start sending out our Amazon subscription boxes with NextSmartShip’s FBM solution. We’ve already processed thousands of orders and the volume keeps growing every month, so having everything managed through one reliable partner makes a huge difference. Our customers mean the world to us, so we’re glad to have this option.

———— Darcy Sullivan