If you're selling on Amazon FBA, you may want to consider creating bundles and multipacks to help diversify and expand your business.

This article will cover:

What are bundles and multipacks
Which is better: bundles or multipacks?
How to prep bundles and multipacks

Firstly, bundles and multipacks are two different terms, although often confused.

Bundles are two or more different complementary items that would be convenient for buyers to purchase.

For example, if you were selling an electric toothbrush, you might also include extra toothbrush heads.

Multipacks are two or more of the same item which are convenient for customers who want to buy multiples of the same product.

For example, if you were selling individual packs of salt and vinegar crisps, you could create a multipack of 12 packets for customers to purchase (who's going to just want to buy one packet anyway?)

Which is better: Bundles or Multipacks?

There are advantages to both bundles and multipacks. You can create your own bundle or multipack and start a new listing on Amazon, or you can join an existing listing and source the same products in the bundle / multipack.

One of the big advantages of creating your own bundles, is you don't have to worry about immediate competition.

You will be able to create a brand new listing, which, assuming you're eligible for the Buy Box, you will win straight away - and stay in that Buy Box.

Note: other sellers can join your unique listing, but they would need to source the exact same products in your bundle, which can be tricky, especially if your bundle contains something quite special e.g. a special type of wicker basket.

The difference with multipacks is they are much easier to copy - all sellers need to do is source the one product at a good price and make sure they are selling the same number of units as your own listing.

So whilst both can be profitable, bundles are more unique and you're less likely to see high levels of competition.

How to Prep Bundles and Multipacks

When you send your bundles and multipacks to an Amazon fulfilment centre, it's important they are packaged correctly and together.

If you send in individual products, Amazon will not know they are for a specific bundle or multipack and will treat them as individual items - we don't want that!

The two main ways you will likely package your bundle or multipack are:

Poly bags
Shrink wrap

If you're already selling on Amazon, you should be familiar with both options.

When you create your shipment plan in Seller Central, under the 'Prepare Products' tab, you will see a box which says 'Prep Required' and 'Preparation may be required'.

Take note of these - if Amazon has specific prep guidance for a particular product, it will be listed under Prep Required. Make sure you adhere to these requirements; if Amazon states a product must be poly-bagged, then make sure you use one!

If your products comes in a box and Amazon states the product must be in a poly bag, you would need to put the box in the poly bag (It does not mean take out the product from the box, wrap it in a poly bag and then place it back in the box!). Basically, whatever prep Amazon states, it must be visible to Amazon staff when the product arrives at a fulfilment centre.

Sometimes Amazon will not state what prep is required, but you should still ensure you package your items in a safe and responsible way. After all, it's the customer who will be receiving your bundle / multipack, and if the product is poorly packaged, you may receive customer complaints.

Top Tip: if the products you are bundling have expiry dates, note these down before packaging your products!

Amazon will ask for the expiry date if applicable; if you've already packaged your products, you will have to unwrap them which can be really annoying and inconvenient!

Let's take this multipack as an example:

As this is a liquid product, you should tape the lid shut, just to prevent any potential leaks with the product.

If you were prepping the above products, there would be a product barcode on the back which would need covering. You can do this by simply rotating the products in the poly bag so that the barcodes face the middle and are not visible (you only want Amazon to scan your FNSKU label, otherwise the products may end up in commingled inventory).

Alternatively, you can place white labels over the visible product barcodes.

Once the items are in the poly bag, you need to tape it shut so the items are tightly packed - it should look something like this:

Some sellers may use a heat sealer for this, but tape is perfectly acceptable.

Place your FNSKU label* on the outside of this packaging.

*Fulfilment Network Stock Keeping Unit (FNSKU) is your unique Amazon barcode which links your product to your seller account. Amazon will generate these codes for you to print off and affix to the outside of your product packaging for each item you send to a fulfilment centre (not applicable for FBM sellers).

Before sending your product to Amazon, take a moment and think: would I be happy receiving this product as a customer? If the answer is yes, great! If the answer is no and the packaging is very poor (or even worse, dirty!), the customer is within their rights to return the product.

If you're creating bespoke bundles, for example a Valentine's Day hamper, think carefully about the presentation of your product and how you will wrap it - you'll probably choose to avoid aggressive shrink wrap in this situation! Always keep the customer in mind.

To summarize, check your shipment plan to see if Amazon has outlined any specific prep requirements. It is highly likely you will want to poly bag or shrink wrap your items, and if there are any liquids or contents which could potentially spill in transit, be sure to tape the lid shut!

How To Prep Bundles and Multipacks for Amazon FBA