If you sell on Amazon, FBA is the default answer — but it is not the only one, and for multi-channel brands it is often not the best one. Here is an honest comparison, including the case where the right answer is both.
Where FBA wins
FBA buys you the Prime badge, and the Prime badge sells. For pure-Amazon sellers competing in fast-moving categories, Prime eligibility and Amazon-handled customer service are hard to beat. If 90% of your revenue is Amazon and will stay that way, FBA deserves to be your default.
Where a 3PL wins
The moment you sell on more than one channel, FBA gets awkward: it fulfils Amazon brilliantly and everything else expensively (multi-channel fulfilment fees) or not at all. A 3PL ships every channel — TikTok Shop, eBay, Vinted, Etsy, Shopify and your own site — from one pool of stock.
- One inventory pool across all channels — no stock stranded in FBA when TikTok spikes
- Your packaging and brand, not an Amazon box
- No long-term storage surcharges or aged-inventory penalties
- Direct access to the people handling your stock
- Returns you can actually inspect and restock
The hybrid most scaling brands land on
A common setup: keep your fastest-selling Amazon lines in FBA for the Prime badge, and run everything else — all other channels, slower Amazon lines, and FBA top-up stock — through a 3PL. Your 3PL can also handle FBA prep, labelling cartons to Amazon spec so your FBA restocks are hands-off too.
How to decide
Work out your revenue split by channel. Mostly Amazon: FBA first. Meaningfully multi-channel, or heading that way: 3PL first, FBA for the Prime lines that earn it. Either way, avoid locking all your stock in one system — flexibility is what lets you follow demand where it goes.
Shiplo fulfils every channel from one UK warehouse — and preps FBA shipments when Amazon needs topping up.
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