Amazon began rolling out significant changes to how Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) and Buy with Prime orders are packaged and shipped in the United States in April 2026, extending the Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP) program to channels that had previously operated outside it. The rollout ran from April 1 through April 30, 2026, and quietly restructured the cost mechanics for sellers managing off-Amazon fulfillment at scale.

The changes are not a new policy so much as a realignment. According to the official Amazon Seller Central help page, the SIPP program has been active for Amazon vendor and FBA orders for several years. Extending it to MCF and Buy with Prime closes a gap - one where sellers fulfilling orders through their own websites or third-party channels were still receiving Amazon overboxing that their FBA counterparts had long since moved past.

Three specific updates took effect during the rollout. Packing slips are no longer included by default with MCF and Buy with Prime shipments. ASINs already certified under the SIPP program will now ship without an Amazon overbox by default. And SIPP-certified MCF and Buy with Prime shipments will receive a fulfillment fee discount. Each of these changes carries distinct operational and financial implications.

What SIPP actually means for packaging

SIPP certification means Amazon has determined, through a formal evaluation process, that a product can travel through the carrier network using only its own packaging - without an additional outer Amazon box. The certification does not happen automatically. According to Amazon's documentation, sellers must go to the Ships in Product Packaging portal in Seller Central, review eligible products, and submit them for certification following Amazon packaging guidelines.

The eligibility criteria narrow the field considerably. Products must be standard-sized. They must meet Amazon's packaging durability and safety requirements. Dangerous goods are excluded. So are products smaller than 6 inches by 4 inches by 0.375 inches. Extra-large products are also ineligible for SIPP discounts - though for a different reason: they already ship in their own product packaging and do not receive separate SIPP discounts because the program's financial benefit is built differently for those size tiers.

Testing requirements depend on the product. Third-party ISTA-6A testing is not required if a product weighs less than 20 pounds, is not fragile, contains no liquids or sharp items, and contains no granules with diameters smaller than one inch. Fragile items - defined as anything that could easily leak or break during the fulfillment process, including glass, ceramic, and substances that liquefy above 70 degrees Fahrenheit - may require additional testing or may not qualify for SIPP discounts at all. When ISTA-6A testing is required, sellers can find approved labs through the Sustainability Service Provider Network, the Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network, or the ISTA Certified Labs directory.

There is no fee to enroll in SIPP. However, as Amazon's documentation notes, sellers may incur costs for packaging changes needed to meet certification standards or for required third-party lab testing. That distinction matters: the program's headline is free enrollment, but the operational path to certification can carry real costs depending on the product's existing packaging format.

The discount structure

The fulfillment fee discounts are fixed amounts, not percentages, and they scale by size tier and shipping weight. For small standard items weighing 4 ounces or less, the SIPP discount is $0.04 per unit. As weight increases within that tier, the discount rises: $0.05 for 4 to 8 ounces, $0.06 for 8 to 12 ounces, and $0.07 for 12 to 16 ounces.

Large standard items carry similar incremental discounts. At 4 ounces or less the saving is $0.04. At 4 to 8 ounces it is $0.04. At 8 to 12 ounces, $0.07. At 12 to 16 ounces, $0.08. Between 1 and 2 pounds the discount reaches $0.11. Between 2 and 3 pounds, $0.14. For large standard items between 3 and 20 pounds, the discount is $0.23 per unit.

The largest discounts apply to the bulky tier. Both Small Bulky and Large Bulky products receive a $1.32 per unit discount for shipments weighing 0 to 50 pounds. At volume, that number adds up quickly. A seller shipping 5,000 bulky units per month through MCF would see $6,600 in monthly fee reductions if all qualifying units carry SIPP certification.

Shipping weight for the purposes of determining the applicable tier is the greater of unit weight or dimensional weight - a standard logistics calculation that Amazon uses across its fee structure.

The discounts apply only to units where SIPP certification is active. According to the documentation, the discount also applies only to inventory received after the certification date entered in the SIPP portal. Inventory already in Amazon fulfillment centers before that date does not qualify. That sequencing matters for sellers who have large existing stock: certification today does not retroactively discount units already warehoused.

Automatic enrollment and how sellers can modify it

For sellers who took no action before April, the changes were activated automatically. Items already SIPP-certified for FBA orders became automatically enrolled in SIPP for MCF and Buy with Prime without any additional steps required from the seller. No new certification process was needed for those ASINs.

Sellers who want to opt out have multiple pathways. At the ASIN level, a seller can decertify an item from SIPP in the SIPP portal, which applies the change across FBA, MCF, and Buy with Prime orders simultaneously. At the account level, the option sits in Settings under Fulfillment by Amazon, inside Multi-Channel Fulfillment Settings, where selecting "Require Overbox" forces all MCF and Buy with Prime orders to include an overbox - and forfeits the SIPP discount for those shipments. At the order level, sellers creating MCF orders can select "Require overbox packaging" during the order creation process.

There is also an API-level option. According to the documentation, sellers using the Fulfillment Outbound API for MCF order creation can configure overbox and packing slip settings at the order level. This allows integration service vendors to implement the capability and give merchants channel-specific options - for example, requiring overboxing for orders identified as gifts or for those coming from specific sales channels that warrant different packaging presentation.

The Fulfillment Outbound API change requires no new API calls to use SIPP. The new option is additive: sellers who want order-level overbox control can update their API integration to include it, but those who take no action will simply receive SIPP behavior by default for certified ASINs.

The removal of packing slips is distinct from the SIPP certification question. According to Amazon's announcement on Seller Central, MCF and Buy with Prime shipments will no longer include packing slips by default as of April 2026. This applies regardless of SIPP certification status. The stated reason is reducing unnecessary packaging waste.

Sellers who want packing slips included can enable them at the account level - through Settings, Fulfillment by Amazon, Multi-Channel Fulfillment Settings, then selecting "Include Packing Slip." For individual orders where a packing slip is needed, the option appears on the MCF Order Creation page or through the Fulfillment Outbound API.

One technical wrinkle: if a seller has opted into packing slips for a SIPP-certified order, the packing slip arrives in an envelope attached to the outside of the box. Because SIPP removes the overbox, there is no inner layer to tuck the slip into.

Eligible Supply Chain Portal listings are also part of this rollout. According to Amazon's documentation, such listings will begin shipping without a packing slip as part of this launch. However, ASINs created in the Supply Chain Portal that do not appear in Seller Central are not currently eligible for SIPP.

The broader context: Amazon's fulfillment network tightening

The SIPP extension to MCF and Buy with Prime arrives within a broader pattern of Amazon standardizing its fulfillment policies across channels. The MCF 2026 Preferred Pricing program launched on January 15, 2026, offering sellers discounts on outbound fulfillment fees alongside FBA credits per unit shipped - a structure that already introduced financial mechanics requiring careful tracking for high-volume operators.

Then, on March 31, 2026, Amazon ended FBA commingling, separating inventory by seller and requiring resellers to apply FNSKU barcodes on all new inbound units. That change restructured inventory accountability inside Amazon's warehouse network, drawing a clear line between brand owners enrolled in Brand Registry and third-party resellers.

The packaging change fits the same pattern. Amazon is bringing MCF and Buy with Prime into alignment with how standard FBA already operates - not introducing a new policy framework, but closing off the inconsistency that had MCF orders behaving differently from FBA shipments of the same certified product.

Vanessa Hung, CEO of Online Seller Solutions and an e-commerce ecosystem strategist, shared analysis of the change on LinkedIn. According to her post, the update means that "SIPP certification now affects your cost structure across all channels." She framed the removal of the overbox not as a cost-cutting measure passed on to sellers, but as "some sort of validation" - Amazon confirming through the carrier network test that the product packaging is sufficient on its own. The discount, in her framing, is Amazon rewarding packaging efficiency.

Her post also identified the practical priority for operators: checking ASIN certification status in Seller Central. "If you have not checked which of your ASINs are SIPP-certified in Seller Central," she wrote, "you are either leaving discounts unclaimed or shipping in boxes you no longer need."

Community reaction from Amazon's Seller Central forums reflected a measured skepticism. One seller raised the packaging damage concern directly, asking how to prevent Amazon from placing labels directly on product packaging - noting that returned items with label residue on their boxes require repackaging even when the product itself is undamaged. That specific friction point - Amazon's fulfillment process making branded packaging less reusable after returns - is a practical constraint that SIPP-certified brands with high return rates may encounter.

The fuel and logistics surcharge announced around the same period adds a complicating layer. Amazon announced a 3.5% surcharge on FBA, MCF, and Buy with Prime fulfillment fees, with the MCF and Buy with Prime component taking effect on May 2, 2026 - roughly two weeks after the FBA surcharge began on April 17. For sellers calculating whether SIPP discounts offset their overall fulfillment costs, the surcharge applies on top of base fees, meaning the net savings from SIPP must be evaluated against a cost base that has itself increased.

For brands operating across MCF and Buy with Prime simultaneously - including those using the Buy with Prime and TikTok integration launched in August 2025 - packaging consistency across channels becomes a real operational question. When the same ASIN ships through FBA, MCF, and Buy with Prime under a single SIPP certification, the packaging presentation is unified. That reduces the risk of a customer receiving the same product in visibly different boxes depending on where they placed the order.

Amazon's MCF network has expanded considerably since 2024, reaching over 300,000 selling partners worldwide by early 2026. The SIPP extension effectively means that any of those sellers with certified products can now receive packaging discounts on the full volume of their MCF and Buy with Prime shipments - not just their Amazon marketplace orders.

Timeline

  • Several years prior to April 2026: SIPP program operates for Amazon vendor and FBA orders, helping reduce packaging waste and shipping costs
  • January 15, 2026: Amazon launches MCF 2026 Preferred Pricing program, offering tiered discounts and FBA credits for MCF operators
  • February 8, 2026: Amazon mandatory prepaid return label policy takes effect for all US seller-fulfilled orders
  • March 31, 2026: Amazon ends FBA commingling, separating inventory by seller and requiring FNSKU barcodes from resellers on new inbound shipments
  • April 1-30, 2026: Amazon rolls out SIPP extension to MCF and Buy with Prime orders in the United States; packing slips removed by default; SIPP-certified ASINs begin shipping without Amazon overbox; SIPP discounts apply as soon as certified items start shipping
  • April 17, 2026: 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge takes effect for FBA shipments in the US and Canada
  • May 2, 2026: 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge takes effect for MCF and Buy with Prime in the US and Canada

Summary

Who: Amazon, operating through its Seller Central platform and fulfillment network. Third-party sellers in the United States using Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) and Buy with Prime are directly affected. Sellers already enrolled in SIPP for FBA were automatically included in the extension. Vanessa Hung, CEO of Online Seller Solutions, provided public analysis of the change on LinkedIn.

What: Amazon extended the Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP) program to cover MCF and Buy with Prime orders in the United States. The changes include removal of packing slips by default, elimination of Amazon overboxing by default for SIPP-certified ASINs, and new per-unit fulfillment fee discounts ranging from $0.04 for small standard items to $1.32 for Small and Large Bulky products. Sellers can opt out at the ASIN, account, or order level. API-level configuration is available through the Fulfillment Outbound API without requiring new API calls.

When: The rollout began April 1, 2026, and ran through April 30, 2026. SIPP discounts began applying as soon as SIPP-certified items started shipping. Sellers who took no action before April had the changes activated automatically.

Where: United States. The changes apply to MCF and Buy with Prime orders shipped domestically. Sellers manage certification and opt-out settings through Seller Central.

Why: Amazon stated the goal is to reduce packaging waste and align MCF and Buy with Prime more closely with existing FBA packaging practices. The SIPP program had been available for FBA and vendor orders for years; the extension closes a consistency gap across Amazon's fulfillment channels. For sellers, the practical effect is a direct change to fulfillment cost structure for any ASIN that holds SIPP certification.

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