Pros & Cons of Using a Prep Center for Amazon + List of Canadian Prep Centers
Prep centers are a hot topic and one of the most common things I get asked about on a daily basis.
They can be a great resource in this business. They allow you to leverage others time, space, staff, resources etc. and can allow you to focus on more revenue producing tasks, such as sourcing, or to simply have more free time to do the things you enjoy.
Many people opt for using a prep center in the Amazon business because they do not have the time (or simply don’t want) to prep themselves, they live out of country or they do not have or want the additional stress of managing staff and a warehouse.
The allure of running your business without ever having to touch your products is real, but using a prep center is not without its cons.
In this post, we will go over some of the common potential pros and cons that I have personally seen when it comes to prep centers as well as provide a comprehensive list of many, if not most, of the active prep centers in Canada.
Lets get right into it!
Potential pros of using a prep center
Time savings; this is an obvious one. Delegating your prep & pack work to someone else frees up that time to do other things. Depending on your processes and workflows, delegating even 1,000 units per month could save you upwards of 20+ hours each month.
Space; if you’ve ever prepped & packed out of your home, you will be very familiar with this one. Amazon prep, especially doing it efficiently, can take up A LOT of space. If you have a small home or do not have lots of free space, this can be a big consideration in whether or not a prep center would be right for you.
Quality control; if you do not have proper processes and workflows in place or if you are a relatively new seller, experienced prep centers can help ensure that your items are prepped and packed as per Amazon’s requirements and help you avoid making mistakes.
Cost savings; this is one thing a lot of people don’t talk about when it comes to prep centers as its seen as an additional (and sometimes relatively high) cost. Some prep centers are able to leverage their economies of scale and get better pricing on things such as LTL shipping, packing supplies etc. and as such, pass those savings onto you.
One thing that is often discussed by our neighbours in the US when it comes to prep centers is tax savings when the prep center is in a tax free state. Technically speaking we do have something similar for provinces that do not have a provincial sales tax (such as Alberta). However, if you are registered for HST/GST/PST, this is an expense you should be able to claim back, making it a net zero expense. Considering that, this is something that can be considered for additional short term cashflow for some arbitrage sellers.
Potential cons of using a prep center
Cost; cost is one of the biggest cons when it comes to using prep centers. In Canada, you are typically looking at a minimum cost of $1 per unit (and often much higher) for prep services. At small scale, this can be a very manageable expense. Once you start sending in thousands or tens of thousands of units a month, this cost can add up very quickly and at a certain point, you should be able to produce units at a much lower cost in house, even after factoring in additional overhead such as warehouse space, labour etc.
Quality control; even though QC is listed under the pros, it also needs to be mentioned here. Not every prep center, or their staff, will be as diligent with Amazon’s requirements as you may want them to be. Some may also not prep items to the standard that you personally have. Prepping in house gives you much more control and ensures your QC meets your standards.
Trust; trust & privacy is a real concern when it comes to our business and especially when it comes to prep centers. Many sellers are very private about sharing their storefront and the products in their catalog (for good reason) and when you use a prep center, you need to be able to trust that they will do the right thing and not disclose your information to others or use your information for their own personal gain. This is one of the main reasons why I would always recommend only using widely known and trusted prep centers who have something to lose if they do shady things.
Turn around time; the speed at which a prep center can receive your units and get them out the door is a large factor in whether or not you should use a prep center being that the sooner you can get your products to Amazon, the sooner you can sell them and turn around your cashflow. Many prep centers only ship out once per week (or less) and shipping times can get impacted greatly in Q4 so ensure you have this conversation with your prep and understand what kind of turn around times you can expect.
List of Canadian Amazon Prep Centers
Below you will find a fairly comprehensive list of currently active Canadian prep centers.
You can navigate to each prep center’s website by clicking on their name. You will also find some additional details about each prep center indicating whether or not they support arbitrage & wholesale sellers as well as if they offer services to get products to FBA centers in the US.
Please note that we have done our best to vet each one of the prep centers listed however we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or that the listed prep centers are 100% legit. Always do your own due diligence before working with any prep center.
If you are the owner of one of these prep centers and would like to update the information listed or if you own a prep center in Canada that is not currently listed, please contact me directly at: support@serendipityoa.ca
Last updated: May 24, 2023
Alberta
| Prep Center | Provinces(s) | Arbitrage? | Wholesale? | Ship to US? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Prep And Ship | Alberta | Unknown | Unknown | Yes |
| FBA Prep AB | Alberta | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inprepetuity | Alberta | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| National Fulfillment Services | Alberta, Ontario, Quebec | Unknown | Unknown | Yes |
| Western Amz Logistics | Alberta | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
British Columbia
| Prep Center | Provinces(s) | Arbitrage? | Wholesale? | Ship to US? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Prep & Fulfillment | British Columbia, Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Evolution Fulfillment | British Columbia | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| North Prep | British Columbia | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| SC Integrators | British Columbia | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
Manitoba
| Prep Center | Provinces(s) | Arbitrage? | Wholesale? | Ship to US? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runnin' Red | Manitoba | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Ontario
| Prep Center | Provinces(s) | Arbitrage? | Wholesale? | Ship to US? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZ Prep | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Amzon Prep | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avastro Prep | Ontario | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Canada Prep & Fulfillment | British Columbia, Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DCL Logistics | Ontario | Unknown | Yes | Unknown |
| Ebb & Flow Logistics | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| eShipper | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fwd to Amazin Logistics | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| National Fulfillment Services | Alberta, Ontario, Quebec | Unknown | Unknown | Yes |
| Prep Buddies | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Prep It | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Red Hat Prep | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| SCM Fulfill | Ontario | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Ship Hype | Ontario | No | Yes | Yes |
| United Prep | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| YYZ Prep | Ontario | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Quebec
| Prep Center | Provinces(s) | Arbitrage? | Wholesale? | Ship to US? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBA2GO | Quebec | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| National Fulfillment Services | Alberta, Ontario, Quebec | Unknown | Unknown | Yes |
