Goods rejected or relabelled at an Amazon fulfilment centre cost more than the same problem caught in China. A carton that arrives with a missing FNSKU, a poly bag without a suffocation warning, or a unit that fails on function has already absorbed freight, duty and weeks of lead time before Amazon flags it. An amazon fba inspection is a pre-shipment inspection with Amazon's packaging and labelling requirements added to the checklist, carried out while the goods are still at the factory or at our consolidation warehouse in Yiwu, where correction is still cheap.
Mutual's Quality Inspection China service coordinates in-process and pre-shipment checks as part of a sourcing order, and coordinates buyer-designated third-party inspection agencies — such as SGS, Bureau Veritas, TÜV or Intertek — where your vendor programme requires one. We are a coordination service, not a laboratory; we do not issue certificates or test reports in our own name.
What an FBA inspection checks
An amazon product inspection uses the same quality backbone as any pre-shipment check: product quality sampled to AQL Major 2.5 / Minor 4.0 under ISO 2859-1 (ANSI/ASQ Z1.4), with stricter levels such as 0.65 or 1.0 available on request. Critical defects — safety hazards or regulatory violations — are not accepted at any AQL; the shipment stops. Sampling plans are agreed when the order is placed, so the AQL sampling level and checkpoints are written into the order terms rather than negotiated at the loading door.
On top of product quality, an FBA-specific inspection adds:
- Unit packaging condition — seals, bags, blister cards, poly bag thickness and suffocation warnings, and whether the retail packaging will survive transit and Amazon handling.
- Barcode and SKU labelling — presence, placement, print quality and scannability of UPC/EAN barcodes and FBA labels, where those labels are printed and applied as part of the sourcing order.
- Carton labelling and assortment accuracy — carton marks, FBA box labels, and whether each carton's contents match your packing plan.
- Quantities per carton against the packing list, including mixed-SKU cartons and inner-pack counts.
- Product function and appearance — dimensions and weight (critical dimensions typically within +/-1-5 mm by category; gross weight within +/-5%), plus category add-ons such as small-parts and EN71 checks for toys or colourfastness, pH and azo dyes for textiles.
Defects are handled by class rather than averaged away:
| Class | Typical examples | Action before release |
|---|---|---|
| Minor | Cosmetic marks, weak print | Fix on site, repack or relabel |
| Major | Function or label failure, shortfall | Rework, replacement of shortfalls, re-inspection |
| Critical | Safety hazard, regulatory violation | Shipment stopped, batch quarantined, root-cause review (8D, 5 Whys, CAPA); re-make or change supplier if needed |
How it runs
The inspection is booked as part of the sourcing order, before goods leave the factory or our consolidation warehouse. The standard control rhythm applies: pre-production sample confirmation, at least two in-production checks, then final inspection before shipment.
When defects are found, the 24-48-7 loop starts. Within 24 hours your team receives photos, video and a defect list. Containment and a correction plan follow; correction and re-inspection are targeted to complete within 48 hours to 7 days, subject to the factory's rework and the executing inspection party's re-inspection schedule, and a re-inspection report with before/after comparison closes the case. The final PDF report — high-resolution photos, video, defect list, corrective recommendations and re-inspection records — is sent for your confirmation at least 3 days before shipment, so your shipping plan can still change. You may also follow the inspection by live video. Samples and records for every batch are retained at least 12 months.
What it does not replace
An inspection in China does not guarantee Amazon's receiving outcome, and no inspection can. What it does is remove the defects and labelling errors that are visible and checkable before dispatch — the ones that otherwise become removals, relabels or disposal orders in a fulfilment centre you cannot visit.
Compliance documents for regulated products are a separate gate. Children's products, for example, may require EN71 or ASTM F963 testing, a CPC, and correct multilingual warnings, independent of whether every unit passes inspection. Those are arranged per product, per destination market, per batch through our compliance testing coordination, with reports issued by the laboratory and carrying its report number; testing fees are paid by you directly to the lab, and our coordination fee is CNY 500-2,000 per order. Certificates available upon request. To schedule an amazon fba inspection for an order, contact [email protected].