Amazon FBA
Amazon's FNSKU Commingling Update (March 31, 2026): What Actually Changes
On September 17, 2025, Amazon announced at the Accelerate conference that commingling would end on March 31, 2026. That date is two weeks away. If you sell on Amazon FBA, this change affects how your inventory is tracked, whether you need FNSKU labels, and potentially how much your prep costs from here.
The impact depends entirely on your seller type. For brand owners, this is good news. For resellers, it creates a new mandatory cost. This article explains what commingling was, what virtual tracking replaces it with, and what each type of seller needs to do before March 31.
Commingling, formally called "stickerless commingled inventory," allowed Amazon to pool identical products from different sellers under the same manufacturer barcode. If you and three other sellers all sent the same product to FBA, Amazon stored all those units together. When a customer ordered from you, Amazon might ship a unit that a different seller had sent in, simply because that unit was physically closer to the customer.
The system existed for speed. Pooling inventory meant Amazon could pull from the nearest unit regardless of seller, which shortened delivery times. For sellers, it also eliminated the need to apply FNSKU labels. You could ship products with their existing manufacturer barcodes (UPC, EAN, ISBN) and Amazon would handle the rest.
The problem was authenticity. When inventory from multiple sellers was mixed in the same bin, a counterfeit or damaged product from one seller could be shipped to a customer who ordered from a completely different seller. The seller with the legitimate product would receive the complaint, the negative review, and the account health hit for something that was not their fault.
Brand owners spent years trying to protect themselves from this. The workaround was applying FNSKU labels to every unit, which forced Amazon to track your specific inventory separately. According to Amazon, brand owners collectively spent an estimated $600 million per year on re-stickering products purely to opt out of commingling.
Amazon is ending commingling entirely. No more pooled inventory. Every unit in every fulfillment centre will be attributed to a specific seller. But the rules for how that attribution works differ depending on whether you are a brand owner or a reseller.
| Seller Type | FNSKU Required? | Manufacturer Barcode? | Virtual Tracking? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand Owner (Brand Representative in Brand Registry) | No (if product has manufacturer barcode) | Yes — UPC, EAN, ISBN accepted | Yes — Amazon tracks your units digitally |
| Reseller (not Brand Representative) | Yes — mandatory on every unit | No — manufacturer barcode alone is not sufficient | No — physical FNSKU required for tracking |
| Any seller (product has no manufacturer barcode) | Yes — FNSKU required | N/A — no barcode exists | No — physical label needed |
If you are enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry with the Brand Representative selling role, and your products carry manufacturer barcodes (UPC, EAN, or ISBN), this update is a clear win.
After March 31, you no longer need to apply FNSKU labels to those products. Amazon's new virtual tracking system attributes your inventory to your account using the manufacturer barcode. Your inventory stays separate from other sellers. Orders ship from your stock. Returns trace back to your stock. The tracking is digital rather than physical.
The practical benefits are significant:
Cost savings on labelling: If you were applying FNSKU labels at $0.15-$0.50 per unit to avoid commingling, that cost drops to zero for products with manufacturer barcodes. On 10,000 units per month at $0.20 per label, that is $24,000 per year you stop spending.
Multi-channel flexibility: The same inventory with a standard UPC barcode can ship to Amazon, Shopify customers, retail stores, or any other channel. You no longer need to pre-allocate units with Amazon-specific FNSKU labels. One barcode, multiple destinations.
Simpler manufacturing: Your factory can print the UPC directly on the packaging. No more relabelling after production. No more coordinating label shipments to your 3PL or prep centre.
The manufacturer barcode option is only available to sellers with the Brand Representative role in Brand Registry. General Brand Registry enrolment alone is not sufficient. A Reseller role within Brand Registry does not qualify. Check your Brand Registry dashboard in Seller Central to confirm your role before changing your barcode settings.
If you are a reseller and not enrolled as a Brand Representative in Brand Registry, this change introduces a new mandatory cost.
After March 31, 2026, FNSKU labels are required on every single unit you send to FBA. Even if the product already has a manufacturer barcode printed on the packaging. Even if you previously shipped that same product under the stickerless commingling option. That option no longer exists.
Any inventory from a reseller that arrives at an Amazon fulfillment centre after March 31 without FNSKU labels will be flagged as defective. This means delayed check-in, potential disposal fees, and possible account health impact. There is no grace period for shipments created before the deadline if they arrive after March 31.
The cost of FNSKU labelling depends on how you handle it. If you apply labels in-house, the cost is your labour time plus the labels themselves (typically $0.03-$0.05 per label for materials). If you use a US prep centre, expect to pay $0.30-$0.50 per unit. If you prep in China before shipping to Amazon, the cost at our Shenzhen warehouse is $0.15 per unit.
For resellers moving high volumes of product through FBA, this is a meaningful new line item. A seller moving 20,000 units per month at $0.15 per label pays $36,000 per year in labelling costs that did not exist before this change.
Some products do not have a UPC, EAN, or ISBN printed on the packaging. Custom-manufactured products, white-label goods, and products from factories that do not assign GS1 barcodes fall into this category.
For these products, FNSKU labels are required regardless of seller type. Brand owner or reseller, it does not matter. If there is no scannable manufacturer barcode on the product, Amazon needs a physical FNSKU label to track it. This rule does not change on March 31. It has always been the case and continues to apply.
If you sell private-label products manufactured to your specification, check whether your packaging includes a printed UPC. If it does, and you have Brand Representative status, you can drop the FNSKU. If it does not, you still need to apply one.
You can. It is no longer required, but it is not prohibited either. There are situations where continuing to apply FNSKU labels makes sense even if you qualify for the manufacturer barcode option.
Products in categories with high counterfeiting risk: Electronics accessories, supplements, beauty products, and branded goods are frequent counterfeiting targets. FNSKU labels provide an additional layer of traceability that goes beyond manufacturer barcode tracking. If a counterfeit unit appears in your product listing, the FNSKU label makes it easier to trace exactly which seller is responsible.
Products sold through both Amazon and DTC: If you use the same inventory for Amazon and Shopify orders, manufacturer barcodes give you more flexibility. But if you have dedicated Amazon stock, keeping FNSKU labels on that stock provides clearer separation in your own operations.
Sellers who want maximum traceability: Virtual tracking is new. It has not been tested at scale across the entire FBA network. Some sellers prefer the certainty of a physical label on every unit until the virtual system proves itself over several months. At $0.15 per unit, the cost of caution is low.
This commingling update does not exist in isolation. It sits alongside the FBA prep discontinuation that took effect on January 1, 2026. Amazon used to apply FNSKU labels as part of its prep service. That service no longer exists. Now, the commingling change means some sellers no longer need FNSKU labels at all, while other sellers need them more than ever but have no Amazon service to apply them.
The combined effect: if you are a reseller, you now need to apply FNSKU labels yourself or through a 3PL. If you are a brand owner with manufacturer barcodes, you may be able to skip FNSKU entirely and save the cost. Either way, the labelling responsibility sits with you or your prep partner, not with Amazon.
For a detailed breakdown of the FBA prep discontinuation and your three prep options (in-house, US prep centre, China prep), see our article on the January 2026 FBA prep changes.
Log into Seller Central. Go to Settings, then Fulfillment by Amazon. Confirm your Brand Registry enrolment and verify you have the Brand Representative role. Review your barcode preference setting. If you want to switch to manufacturer barcodes, update the setting now. Note that the preference change applies to new offers created after the switch. Existing shipments and offers cannot be updated retroactively.
Every shipment you create from March 31 onward must include FNSKU labels on every unit. If you do not already have a labelling process in place, set one up now. Options include printing and applying labels yourself, using a US-based prep centre ($0.30-$0.50/unit), or having your China 3PL apply them before shipping ($0.15/unit at China Fulfillment). Do not wait until March 30 to figure this out. The first shipment you send after the deadline without labels will be flagged as defective.
Check your Seller Central account under Brand Registry. If you do not see a Brand Representative designation, treat yourself as a reseller for the purposes of this change. Apply FNSKU labels to everything. The cost of labelling is small compared to the cost of a defective shipment.
We handle both configurations from our Shenzhen warehouse. Brand owners who want manufacturer barcodes get their inventory shipped without FNSKU. Resellers who need FNSKU get every unit labelled at $0.15 each, barcode-verified with a scanner before sealing. See our FBA prep service page for full pricing, or contact us to discuss your specific setup before the deadline.
Whether you need FNSKU on every unit or want to switch to manufacturer barcodes, we handle the prep. Every label barcode-verified before dispatch. Zero receiving fees.
See FBA Prep Pricing →Amazon ends commingling on March 31, 2026. The change applies to all inventory shipped on or after that date to U.S. FBA fulfillment centres. Amazon announced this at the Accelerate conference on September 17, 2025.
Commingling pooled identical products from different sellers under the same manufacturer barcode. Amazon would ship the closest matching unit regardless of which seller sent it. This caused authenticity problems: counterfeit or damaged goods from one seller were shipped to customers of another seller. Amazon ended it because their logistics network now places inventory close enough to customers that pooling is no longer needed for delivery speed.
Brand owners enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry with the Brand Representative role no longer need FNSKU labels on products that have manufacturer barcodes (UPC, EAN, ISBN). Amazon uses virtual tracking to attribute inventory to the seller's account. Products without manufacturer barcodes still require FNSKU labels regardless of seller type.
Yes. All resellers who are not enrolled as Brand Representatives in Brand Registry must apply FNSKU labels to every unit sent to FBA, even if the product already has a manufacturer barcode. Inventory arriving without FNSKU after March 31 will be classified as defective by Amazon. There are no exceptions.
Virtual tracking is Amazon's system for attributing inventory to specific sellers using manufacturer barcodes. When a brand owner ships inventory with a UPC or EAN, Amazon tracks which units belong to which seller digitally rather than through a physical FNSKU sticker. Orders ship from the seller's own inventory and returns trace back to that seller's stock.
Amazon stated that brand owners collectively spent an estimated $600 million per year on re-stickering products with FNSKU labels to opt out of commingling. That cost is now eliminated for brand owners who qualify for the manufacturer barcode option under the new virtual tracking system.
Existing commingled inventory at Amazon fulfillment centres will be transitioned under the new system. The March 31 deadline applies to new inbound shipments. Amazon has not announced a separate process for reclassifying inventory already in storage, but sellers should update their barcode preferences in Seller Central before the deadline.
If you are a brand owner with Brand Representative status and your products have manufacturer barcodes, you can stop applying FNSKU labels after March 31. However, if you sell in categories with high counterfeiting risk or want maximum traceability, continuing to use FNSKU labels is a reasonable precaution at $0.15 per unit.