Prep Center Western Bid in Miami, Florida — this is a specialized logistics hub created to assist Ukrainian entrepreneurs in preparing goods for sale on Amazon and other US marketplaces. We take on the most labor-intensive processes: from receiving shipments from manufacturers to final inspection, labeling, and shipping to Amazon FBA warehouses in accordance with all the platform’s strict requirements.
Who this article is for
- Amazon FBA sellers: who need professional product prep (Prep) according to Amazon’s guidelines.
- Ukrainian manufacturers: who plan to enter the US market with wholesale lots of products.
- Private Label brands: who need to check the quality of a batch before it is shipped to customers.
- Entrepreneurs working with bundles: for forming sets made up of several individual units of product.
Western Bid offers Prep Center services in the USA. This service significantly expands sellers’ capabilities in preparing goods for sale on global marketplaces. You can manage the warehouse from your personal account.
The staff of the Prep Center will help you purchase goods on selected wholesale supplier sites, correctly label and repack them, and then ship them to the required address, for example, to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or to your customers. The shipping cost can be calculated on our shipping calculator.
The Prep Center service will help you purchase goods from wholesale bases and expand the number of marketplaces for your sales; for this you can use not only your marketplaces, and our American stores on eBay (everything allowed by the marketplace for selling), Mercari (mobile apps for selling used items), and also list the product in our free store on Lavky.com.
How to buy goods from wholesale warehouses
Using the Prep Center’s services includes the ability to purchase goods from wholesale bases. You can place orders both on U.S. sites and on other international platforms, provided that the site supports payment with US-issued cards and offers delivery to the United States. After receiving a payment request for the goods, the final decision regarding the possibility of paying on foreign sites is made by our staff.
How to create a buyback request for goods
You need to go to the wholesale base website, assemble a shopping cart of items, and send us a link to it (must be accompanied by the login and password under which you are registered on the base’s website).
The data must be sent in the Western Bid client account: the menu section “Orders” – “Place a new order”. Please, in the product description indicate that this product is specifically for the Prep Center, leave the sender’s name blank, in the comment provide access to the site where the order is placed.
Our company’s employees will perform the final calculation of the amount, pay for the order, and specify the delivery address as the address of our Prep Center in Miami. The cost of one order (color and size variations possible) $5.
Storage, management and dispatch of goods from the warehouse
Important: the Prep Center accepts only goods paid for by our staff.
When sending to our warehouse, in the Personal Account you need to select “Manual shipment of a batch to the warehouse”. Here you need to specify the order number from the Personal Account and the shipment number from the site on which the goods were purchased. If the goods need to be sent to FBA, then in your request to ship the goods to the customer you need to create a ticket, attaching the necessary labels to this ticket.
If you place an order with the Prep Center, and the package arrives without batch labeling, then upon its receipt our employee will perform additional work on labeling the goods. Therefore, payment for his work will be charged at $50 per hour (minimum half an hour).
Storage of goods in the warehouse: on one American pallet (40 × 48 × 70 in or 1016 × 1219 × 1778 mm)
The quantity of product units is taken at the time of withdrawal every 30 days.
For example, 50 units of goods were received in a batch on January 1. After 30 days, on January 31, this batch had 20 units left; the rest were sold and shipped to customers, so the subscription fee is calculated based on 20 units. If 30 units of goods arrived and all of them were sold within 30 days, storage will be free.
| Weight range, kg | Storage cost, USD |
|---|---|
| up to 0.050 | $0.04 |
| 0.051 – 0.100 | $0.08 |
| 0.101 – 0.200 | $0.10 |
| 0.201 – 0.300 | $0.13 |
| 0.301 – 0.500 | $0.16 |
| 0.501 – 0.750 | $0.18 |
| 0.751 – 1.000 | $0.26 |
| 1.001 – 1.500 | $0.39 |
| 1.501 – 2.000 | $0.50 |
| 2.001 – 3.000 | $0.60 |
| 3.001 – 4.000 | $1.00 |
| 4.001 – 5.000 | $2.00 |
| 5.001 – 6.000 | $2.40 |
| 6.001 – 7.000 | $2.80 |
| 7.001 – 8.000 | $3.20 |
| 8.001 – 9.000 | $3.60 |
| 9.001 – 10.000 | $4.00 |
| 10.001 – 12.000 | $5.00 |
| 12.001 – 15.000 | $6.00 |
| 15.001 – 17.000 | $7.00 |
| 17.001 – 20.000 | $8.00 |
| 20.001 – 23.000 | $10.00 |
| 23.001 – 26.000 | $12.00 |
| 26.001 – 30.000 | $14.00 |
| 30.001 – 35.000 | $16.00 |
| 35.001 – 45.000 | $20.00 |
| over 45.001 | $45.00 |
Warehouse handling fee for dispatched parcels
Charged at the moment the shipment is created for dispatch.
For orders with up to 2 items (+$0.25 for each additional unit):
up to 0.453 kg – $2.00;
from 0.453 kg to 0.907 kg – $2.50;
from 0.908 kg to 1.81 kg – $3.00;
from 1.82 kg to 4.53 kg – $4.00;
over 4.54 kg – $5.00
Prices are shown per shipment excluding boxes and shipping costs (volumetric or actual weight – calculation is based on the greater value).
You can calculate the cost of shipping from the Prep Center using a convenient calculator. Go to calculator.
Attention! We inform about price increases for sending certain parcels via SurePost from our Prep Center. Today, 29.03.2023, it was announced that, starting from March 25, 2023, UPS SurePost has introduced additional surcharges on bulky shipments.
- Additional charge for non-standard cube:
Any parcel with dimensions D x W x H exceeding 2 cubic feet (3456 cubic inches).
Note: 1 cubic foot equals approximately 0.0283 cubic meters. –$15.00 per box.
- Additional charge for non-standard length:
Any parcel with the largest side more than 76 cm and not exceeding 122 cm. –$5.00 per box
- Additional charge for non-machinable handling.
The following conditions apply to the additional charge per parcel:
– Any parcel with one dimension measuring more than 27 inches (68.58 cm) and not exceeding 30 inches (76.2 cm).
– Any parcel with two dimensions, each measuring more than 17 inches (43.18 cm) and not exceeding 30 inches (76.2 cm).
– Any parcel weighing over 35 pounds (approximately 15.88 kg). – $4.20 per box
- Additional charge for non-standard length:
Any parcel with the largest side measured more than 22 inches (55.88 cm) and not exceeding 27 inches (68.58 cm). – $2.00 per box
Attention! We inform about price increases for sending certain parcels via Mail Innovations from our Prep Center.
- Additional charge for non-standard cube:
Any parcel with dimensions D x W x H exceeding 56.6 cm³. – $4.00 per box.
- Additional charge for non-standard length:
Any parcel with the largest side greater than 55.88 cm. – $4.00 per box
How to manage warehouse stock
After connecting the Prep Center service in your Personal Account, we will provide a detailed instruction on how to work with this service.
Product returns
In online commerce there is a certain percentage of returns for various reasons. It is necessary to take this aspect into account in your work as well. If, for example, a complaint about a product is filed, the product did not fit, or for some other reason the buyer requests a refund, then the funds are debited from the seller’s account. The procedure takes place within the framework of the refunds process.
Returns of goods are accepted at the address of our warehouse in the United States. Storage of goods for 30 days is free of charge. Learn more about handling returns here.
Gift packaging
If desired, we offer additional services that the customer may request. One of these services is free gift wrapping – a polyethylene bag with a themed design.
It can also be a letter with a grateful message to the customer. You provide the text for the message yourself. We can print such text or the phrase “Thank you for your purchase!” for free.
If desired, a greeting card can be arranged, at a cost of $0.50 per piece. It can also bear either the text you send, or the phrase “Thank you!” or “Thank you for your purchase!”.
Product display
We can list your product from our US accounts on the world’s most famous marketplaces:
- Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, Walmart, Amazon, Mercari, Bonanza (everything allowed by marketplaces for selling),
- Poshmark (exclusively for branded clothing, footwear, and accessories).
Listing is possible if you have manufactured or purchased (yourself or through our buyout service) and have already shipped your product to our fulfillment warehouse in the USA. From this moment the option to list the product from our accounts becomes available.
Payments for the sale of goods are made to your Western Bid account, from which the funds can be withdrawn in a way that is convenient for you. The payout terms depend on the rules of the marketplaces where the goods were sold.
If you sell this same product in your other stores, please note that when listing the product on the same marketplace, the description and photos must differ. Also, if the product has sold out from you, please inform us that the product is no longer available for sale or specify the remaining quantity.
You can learn more about our service by watching the video:
Cost of listing a product
The cost of a standard product listing, i.e., the price of a single listing, is:
Ebay -10 $
Mercari -10 $
Walmart -15 $
Amazon -15 $
A listing is an advertisement for your product (photos, description, shipping terms, etc.). 10$ – this is the fee for listing one listing (from 1 to 100 identical units) on all of the listed marketplaces (eBay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, Mercari, Bonanza) that are suitable for your product.
For example, you are selling branded clothing. You have 1 unit. We can create a listing on 8 marketplaces at once, because they fit this product category. This will cost 10$.
Another example: you have cat houses – 10 identical pieces. We can list them on only 6 marketplaces, because Poshmark can only sell clothing. This will cost 10$.
If you want to sell products in different colors or styles, then listing each variant of the product must be paid separately.
If you want to advertise this listing, an additional advertising budget is charged for it. To do this, in your account you need to create a ticket and indicate which exact listing you want to advertise and what budget you have planned for it.
Requirements for product photos and description
The photo must be created by you, or manufacturer photos are allowed, provided that such photos are not subject to copyright. If manufacturer photos cannot be used, you can take the photos yourself or order this service.
The price of this service will be $5.00 for 3 product photos, each additional photo $2.00.
Product description can be provided in Ukrainian (we will translate it ourselves) or in English (optional). In the product description, be sure to indicate its key characteristics (for example, size, material, etc.) and features (whether the item is new or used, handmade or mass-produced, etc.).
Product description. Headings in the product description must be no more than 80 characters, and the product description must be no more than 1000 characters.
Photo. The minimum allowed photo size is 500 pixels, but we strongly recommend taking photos with a resolution of 2000 pixels on the longest side, and a file size of up to 7 MB.
Since the photo frame for displaying in the product gallery is square in shape – it is advisable to compose the products in the frame with proportions 1:1 (i.e., square).
Marketplace platforms allow 10 – 12 photos to be posted for free. Take the maximum number of photos allowed, but not less than 3 photos. Show the product from different angles and sides, take close-up photos of details. Do not leave too much space around the object, the product should occupy 80-90% of the frame. Take not one, but several close-up photos. Use the macro mode for photographing important details.
Save files in one of the acceptable file formats JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, WEBP, HEIC.
Marketplace commissions for listing and selling goods from our accounts
The listing and sale commission is deducted from the total cost of goods. The amount of these commissions depends on marketplaces and categories.
PayPal fee for receiving payments in US dollars:
| Source of payment | Payment system fee |
|---|---|
| USA | 1.9% + $0.30 |
| Other countries | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Western Bid | 4% of the amount received after deducting the payment system fee |
Funds withdrawal can be made immediately by any method convenient for you. You can review the money withdrawal options, as well as the marketplace fees, in the Prices section at Prices.
Price for the displayed item
When listing an item on our accounts, you can name the price at which you want to sell your item. To form a correct price you need to perform market analysis and check that the price of the item is competitive. Read more about how to perform market analysis here.
On our eBay account we offer the option to list an item in two types of auctions: Auctions – the regular auction where buyers place bids, and Buy It Now – a fixed price.
When listing the item, you should discuss with our representative the possibility of offering discounts to buyers and the amount of those discounts.
When submitting a listing request, together with the desired price, also indicate the possibility of offering discounts to buyers. Sometimes buyers may bargain. So, if you have a minimum price that you are willing to accept, please indicate it as well.
How to apply to list a product
If you want us to list your item on our American accounts on Ebay, Mercari, Facebook Marketplace, Bonanza, Poshmark, Walmart, Amazon you need to select the item for sale.
Sale requests can only be created for items that are already at FC Miami.
In the Menu, in the Personal Account, in the “Sell via Western Bid” section, select the item for sale and indicate how many units of the item you want to list.
To list for sale several items from different batches, you need to place several orders.
Service price for listing one item (up to 100 identical units):
Standard Package – $10
The Standard Package includes listing your product (the listing) on Ebay, Mercari, Bonanza, Facebook MP, Poshmark. We will immediately list the product on all of the listed marketplaces that fit your niche.
Walmart – $15
Amazon – $15
The item will be listed within two business days from the moment the request is submitted on all marketplaces suitable for the specific item.
The decision on the possibility of listing the product on a specific marketplace, taking into account the category and restrictions of the marketplace, is made by Western Bid. Links to the listings will be available in the “Sales Requests” section.
Product returns
Online commerce has a certain percentage of returns for various reasons. This moment also needs to be taken into account in your work. If, for example, a complaint is filed about a product, the product did not fit or for another reason the buyer requests a refund, the funds are debited from the seller’s account.
In case of returning packages sent via FedEx, a fee is charged by the carrier for return delivery. The funds will be debited from your account. Storage at the warehouse for returned packages for 30 days is free. The commission for shipments from the returns warehouse is 2$ per package. In case of combined shipment (several packages in one) – the warehouse fee remains 2$, and for each additional package 0.20$. (the fee will be deducted after August 20, 2023) For example: you need to ship 3 items in one package. In this case the commission will be 2.40$. 2$ – the warehouse fee for dispatch, 0.40$ – the fee for two additional packages. More about how returns work here.
How to top up your account to pay for the Prep Center's services
If you have insufficient funds on your Western Bid client account, when submitting an application to connect to the Prep Center, please indicate this information – we will enable the ability to top up the account via PayPal (a corresponding button will appear in your Personal Cabinet). The funds on the account are required to pay for Prep Center services, including purchases of goods. When topping up the account, be sure to indicate your client number at Western Bid and add a comment that the account is being topped up for Prep Center services.
Details about how the Prep Center works are also in our video:
What services does the Western Bid prep center offer in Miami?
The standard product processing cycle includes receiving shipments, a visual inspection of the packaging, and quantity verification. However, for successful sales on Amazon this is not enough, so we offer an expanded service.
What does the basic preparation for Amazon FBA include?
This primarily involves applying FNSKU labels that identify your product in Amazon’s system, as well as adding warning labels (Suffocation Warning) and packaging in clear polybags or shrink wrap.
Why is it important to check product quality specifically in the United States?
We act as an independent auditor of your shipments.
“Detecting defects at the prep center stage is far cheaper than receiving a negative review from a customer on Amazon. We check the product in Florida so you can be confident in your rating and the stability of your account.”
Comparison: Working with a prep center or Direct fulfillment to FBA
| Function | Direct fulfillment from the manufacturer | Via Western Bid Prep Center |
|---|---|---|
| Quality control | Absent (defect risk) | Full inspection of every unit |
| FNSKU labeling | Done by the manufacturer (frequent errors) | Professional labeling according to standards |
| Bundling | Not possible | Creation of any kits |
| Removal of price tags | Often forgotten | Guaranteed removal of extraneous information |
How to get started with the prep center (How-To)
- Creating a request: In the Western Bid portal, create an inbound shipment, specifying the quantity and type of goods.
- Shipping the goods: Direct the shipment from the supplier to the address of our Miami warehouse.
- Task assignment: Upload the FNSKU label files and describe the packaging requirements in the order comments.
- Processing: Our staff will perform prep (packaging, labeling) and provide the weight and dimensions of the final boxes.
- Shipping to Amazon: Create a Shipping Plan in your Seller Central, send us the shipping labels, and we will ship the goods to the Amazon warehouse.
Frequently Asked Questions about Prep Center
What is the cost of preparing one unit of a product?
The price depends on the scope of work (for example, only a label or bundling). Current rates are always available in your Western Bid account in the “Pre-press Center Services” section.
How long does delivery processing take?
Usually processing takes 2 to 5 business days from the moment we receive all instructions and labels from the seller.
Do you work with fragile items?
Yes, we offer additional packaging services in bubble wrap (Bubble Wrap) to ensure the integrity of glass, ceramics, or electronics.
Is it possible to store goods in the warehouse for a long time?
Yes, we offer short-term and long-term storage services. This is more cost-effective than paying high storage rates at Amazon warehouses, especially in the off-season.
How does a prep center help with returns from Amazon?
You can set up a Removal Order for unsold or returned goods to be sent to our warehouse for inspection, repacking, and resale.
Expert Perspective
Prep center is not just a warehouse—it’s your quality control department. Using professional prep in the USA is an investment in the “health” of your Amazon account, which pays off thanks to the absence of customer complaints and savings on internal logistics.