Packaging liquids, pastes, gels, and creams

Properly preparing products that are or contain liquids, pastes, gels, and creams can help ensure they are protected from breaking or leaking throughout the fulfilment process.

Liquids can cause damage during shipping and when stored. Securely pack liquids — including viscous products such as pastes, gels, and creams — to protect buyers, Amazon associates, and other products.

Before reading further, determine the following details about the liquid, paste, gel, or cream product you want to sell:

• Is your product classified as a dangerous good? See the Dangerous goods identification guide.
• Is the container fragile (glass) or non-fragile?
• If the container is glass, does it hold 118.29 mL or more, or less than 118.29 mL?
• Is your product sold as a set or individually?
• Is your product expiration-dated? See Expiry-dated FBA inventory for more information.

All liquid, paste, gel, and cream products must be able to withstand a 1-metre drop test without the contents of the container leaking or spilling. A drop test consists of five 1-metre drops onto a hard surface:

• Flat on base
• Flat on top
• Flat on longest side
• Flat on shortest side
• On a corner

Dangerous goods (also known as hazardous materials or hazmat) are substances or materials that may pose a risk to health, safety, property, or the environment during storage, handling, or transportation because they contain flammable, pressurised, corrosive, or otherwise harmful substances. To find out if your product is a dangerous good, see the Dangerous goods identification guide . See also Examples of products that might be regulated as dangerous goods for a non-exhaustive list of common dangerous goods per product category.

If your product is a liquid, paste, gel, or cream and is regulated as dangerous good — such as perfume, certain bathroom cleaners, polish removers, and permanent ink — the following prep is required. For more information, visit Packaging and prep requirements.

Container type	Container size	Prep requirements
Non-fragile	Any	Poly-bag
Fragile	118.29 mL or more	Poly-bag, bubble wrap, or box
Fragile	Less than 118.29 mL	Poly-bag or bubble wrap

For liquid, paste, gel, and cream products that are not regulated as dangerous goods, the following prep is required. For more information, visit Packaging and prep requirements.

Container type	Container size	Prep requirements	Exceptions
Non-fragile	Any	Poly-bag	If the liquid is double sealed and passes a drop test, no bagging is required. (See the table below for examples of double seals.)
Fragile	118.29 ml or more	Bubble wrap
Fragile	Less than 118.29 ml	No prep required

If your product is bundled to be sold as a set or is expiration-dated, be sure follow the prep requirements listed below in addition to the ones outlined above.

• Sold as a set: Regardless of container type, products sold as a set must be packed together to prevent separation. Additionally, if you are selling a bundled set (for example, a pack of three bottles of the same shampoo), you must provide a unique ASIN for the set that is different from the ASIN for individual bottles. For bundled sets, the barcodes on the individual items must not face outward, to help make sure the Amazon warehouse associate scans the barcode for the pack, not the barcode for the individual items inside. Multi-unit bundled products must meet the following criteria:
  • Packaging should not give way when pressure is applied to any of the sides.
  • Products are securely held in place inside the packaging.
  • Packaging is sealed with tape, glue, or staples.
  To learn more, see the “Sold as set” section of the Packaging and prep requirements help page.
• Expiry-dated products: Expiry-dated products must have labels with the expiry date in 36-point font or larger applied to the outside of the packaging to ensure that the date is accessible for Amazon associates during the receive process. For more information, refer to the help page Date and temperature-sensitive products.

To learn more, see Expiry-dated FBA inventory.

Volume and container restrictions

Packaging requirements
Container type	Sellable unit	Size	Volume	Double-sealed screw cap	Corrugated box
Glass	Single	Standard-size*	118.29 ml or less	Yes	No
			118.29 ml to 1005.5 ml Note: Ensure that your packaged units can pass a 3-foot (91.44 cm) drop test.	Yes	Yes
			More than 1005.5 ml	Not eligible for FBA
		Oversize*	Not eligible for FBA
	Bundled	Not eligible for FBA
Non-glass	Single	Standard-Size*	18.92 l or less (9.07 kg maximum)	Yes	No
			More than 18.92 l	Not eligible for FBA
		Oversized*	18.92 l or less (Over 9.07 kg)	Yes	Yes
			More than 18.92 l	Not eligible for FBA
	Bundled	Standard-Size*	18.92 l or less (9.07 kg maximum)	Yes	Yes
			More than 18.92 l	Not eligible for FBA
		Oversized*	18.92 l or less (Over 9.07 kg)	Yes	Yes
			More than 18.92 l	Not eligible for FBA

* Standard-size includes any packaged unit weighing 9.07 kg. or less or with dimensions of 45.72 cm or less on its longest side, 35.56 cm or less on its median side or 20.32 cm or less on its shortest side. A unit exceeding any of these dimensions is oversized.

Bundled units: Liquids in non-glass containers that are bundled to be sold as a set must adhere to the sold as set requirements found in the Packaging and prep requirements help page. Also, the entire bundle must collectively adhere to the 18.92 l volume requirement. 5 units of 3.78 l ASINs bundled together as one sellable unit is acceptable, but 5 units of 18.92 l ASINs bundled together as one sellable unit is not permitted.

A double seal is defined as a tightened lid that cannot be easily opened and one of the following:

• A "safety seal" which is a peel-off seal underneath the lid of a product, like you would find on a new ketchup bottle.
• A manufactured seal around the outside of the neck of the product.

Products that do not have a manufactured double seal in one of the ways above must be individually bagged in transparent sealed bags or shrink wrap (minimum of 1.5 mil.) and clearly marked with a suffocation warning label.

Examples of double seals
Manufactured seals
Other types of double seal	Example
Induction seal: Thermoplastic material sealed to the opening of a container through induction heating.
Safety ring: A plastic band sealing the cap of a product to the container
Clips: Metal clips sealing the lid to the can. Applicable to liquid, paste, gel, and cream products that are in cans and are not regulated as dangerous goods. A minimum of two clips are required.
Plastic wrap band: Tight plastic film around the opening of the product.

Examples of Prepped Units
Not permitted: Container needs a double seal.	Permitted: Non-breakable and double-sealed container of less than 1.47 l.
Not permitted: Container needs a double seal.	Permitted: Non-breakable and double-sealed container of less than 1.47 l.
Not permitted: Container needs a double seal.	Permitted: Non-breakable and double-sealed container of less than 1.47 l.

Watch this brief video (in English) for examples of how to prep your products for shipment to and storage in Amazon fulfilment centres.