To choose a 3PL for Amazon FBA prep on the East Coast, rank candidates on five things, in this order: whether they can split one inbound container across the multiple fulfillment centers Amazon designates (this alone can be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year in avoided inbound placement fees), how far they sit from your port of entry, whether they can perform physical re-work and not just apply labels, how quickly they tell you a shipment arrived short or damaged, and whether their price list can be modeled before you sign. Everything else is secondary.
We run a warehouse in Carlstadt, New Jersey, so our interest here is obvious. This guide is written so it still works if you hire someone else.
1. Can they split a container across multiple FCs? This is the most expensive difference between providers
Amazon’s inbound placement service fees changed on 15 January 2026. When you create a shipment, the per-unit fee depends on how many destinations you are willing to send to.
| Placement option | Standard size | Large bulky | Extra-large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon-Optimized Splits | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Partial Splits | $0.27 | $0.68 | $1.15 |
| Minimal Splits | $0.40 | $1.10 | $2.30 |
Rates per Nova Analytics (novadata.io). Read the table as a tax on convenience: Minimal Splits means you ship to one or two destinations and Amazon absorbs the redistribution, then bills you for it. Amazon-Optimized Splits means shipping to the fulfillment centers Amazon picks, at zero. Their worked example: 5,000 standard-size units a month on Minimal Splits costs roughly $2,000 a month, about $24,000 a year. The same volume Amazon-Optimized is $0.
Here is what turns a fee schedule into a selection criterion. Amazon-Optimized Splits means physically building four, five, sometimes six shipments out of one inbound container. That is a warehouse capability, not a software setting. A partner that can devan a 40-foot container, sort it to Amazon’s designated FC list, palletize each destination separately and tender several LTL loads the same day turns that fee into zero. One that ships only to a single destination leaves you paying it every month.
Ask it directly and early: “If Amazon splits my shipment across five FCs, do you build five outbound shipments, or push me toward Minimal Splits?” A vague answer identifies your most expensive vendor, whatever their per-unit prep rate says.
2. Distance to your actual port of entry
For most East Coast importers this means the Port of New York and New Jersey, which handled 8.89 million TEUs in 2025, the second-busiest US gateway (Port Authority of NY & NJ). Drayage is billed by the trip, not the mile, but distance drives how many turns a driver gets in a day, and whether you can still unload same-day when the terminal releases your box at 2 PM.
A yardstick, not an endorsement: our facility at 99 Kero Rd is about 15 miles from Port Newark, and there are other capable warehouses in the Meadowlands corridor. Measure the drive from your terminal to their door, then ask what happens to a container released late in the day — a 9 PM cutoff and a 5 PM dock close are different promises. Ours are 8 AM to 5 PM, seven days, with a 9 PM cutoff; the service list covers port and rail pickup.
3. Re-work, not just labeling
Most prep quotes cover labeling, poly bagging, bundling and case-pack verification. Those are the easy days. The expensive days: the container is floor-loaded and must be palletized from scratch, the pallets are 68 inches tall and the carrier refuses them, or the trailer is overweight and needs rework before it can legally move.
Ask whether they own the equipment and floor space to restack, consolidate and re-palletize, or subcontract it — subcontracting adds a day and a margin. Confirm in writing:
- Floor-loaded container devanning and palletization
- Restacking to height and weight limits
- Overweight trailer rework
- Freight consolidation across suppliers into one outbound
- Transloading from ocean container to domestic trailer
4. Receiving transparency: how fast do you learn a shipment is short?
This separates providers once you are three months in. When a container arrives short 40 cartons, the question is whether you hear in four hours or in nine days, after the reimbursement window closes.
Ask: when is a receiving report issued relative to unload? Are discrepancies photographed at the dock? Named contact or shared inbox? Counts at carton or pallet level? Then ask for a redacted sample report from a real job — a provider that cannot produce one probably does not generate them consistently.
5. Pricing you can model before you sign
You should be able to predict your monthly bill within about 10 percent before the first container lands. If you cannot, the quote is incomplete. Force these into the open: inbound and outbound handling, storage and how it is measured, the free-time window on arrival, accessorials for floor-loaded containers, and minimums.
Flat published numbers make this easy. Ours are $10 per standard pallet in and $10 per standard pallet out, first two hours of storage on arrival free; the full rate structure is posted. Per-unit prep rates depend on the work involved and are quoted against your actual SKU list. The test is not whether a provider is cheap, but whether the structure goes in writing before you commit volume.
One last signal: public feedback you can verify. Ours sits at 4.8 stars across 94 Google reviews. Read the one- and two-star reviews at every provider — they describe the failure mode you will eventually meet. For drayage math, see our breakdown of FBA prep near Port Newark.
This article is one part of a wider picture. For the full sequence — what happens to a container after discharge at Port Newark, what every handling step costs at published rates, and which clock is running against you at each stage — see Importing Through Port Newark: the complete warehouse and 3PL guide.
Common questions
Does a New Jersey 3PL make sense if I sell nationwide?
Yes, if your goods arrive through the Port of New York and New Jersey. The prep warehouse should sit near your port of entry, not your customers — once inventory is inside the FBA network, Amazon handles national distribution.
How much can a prep partner actually save me on placement fees?
At 5,000 standard-size units a month, the gap between Minimal Splits and Amazon-Optimized Splits is roughly $2,000 a month, about $24,000 a year, per Nova Analytics’ example. A partner able to build multiple destination shipments from one container captures that entire difference — usually more than the prep fee itself.
What should I ask for on a first call with a prep 3PL?
Ask for inbound and outbound handling rates, the free-time window on arrival, the daily cutoff, a sample receiving report, and a plain answer on multi-FC splits. Five questions, ten minutes, and most of the field eliminates itself. Reach us at 877-456-4113 or via our contact page.