What are the Best Alternatives to Amazon FBA in the UK?

Abstrakt, Huboo, Green Fulfilment and Sprint Logistics are the best alternatives to Amazon FBA, according to our thorough research of the best fulfilment companies.

You’re likely here because your inventory has finally outgrown the size of your front room and you are preparing to invest in full fulfilment services to scale up your ecommerce business. You’ll need to consider costs and other features when finding the right fulfilment service for your business.

With 89% of Amazon’s sellers using Amazon FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) to fulfil their orders, it’s certainly a popular choice.

But is it the right choice for your business? 

If you’re short on time, try our shortcut to finding the best third party logistics (3PL) solution for your business: 🎁our free fulfilment service quote request tool. Simply answer a few questions about your business, and we’ll send you free quotes tailored to where you sell, how you deliver your parcels, and how many of those you deliver daily.

Or you can read on to explore our recommendations for the best alternatives to Amazon FBA.

What are the best alternatives to Amazon FBA?

We’ve put together our list of the top four ecommerce fulfilment alternatives to FBA. The following 3PL providers, between them, offer fewer fees, less hassle, and more personalised service. 

So, let’s get straight to it. Our best alternatives to Amazon FBA are:

Read on to find out why.

Here’s a very quick guide checklist to see if you need order fulfilment or dropshipping:

If more of the right-hand column applies to you, then check out our dropshipping guide. Otherwise, read on for our recommended alternatives to Amazon’s order fulfilment…

What is Amazon FBA?

Amazon FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) is Amazon’s own order fulfilment solution. It allows growing ecommerce businesses to outsource storage, packaging, and shipping, directly to Amazon. This is known as 3PL, third party logistics.

If you choose this option, your inventory will be stored in a fulfilment centre (basically a big warehouse) operated by Amazon, who’ll also take care of the customer service involved in the delivery and returns process.

Basically, what it comes down to is this: you sell it, Amazon does the rest.

Here are FBA’s key benefits:

Customer care

Amazon is renowned for putting the customer first – and it shows. After sending the product, Amazon follows up with the buyer, handling any questions and collecting feedback. And, in the event of any consumer dissatisfaction with your product, FBA also takes care of returns, logging products back in and getting them ready for resale.

Quick delivery

Amazon FBA draws upon an extensive network of fulfilment centres across the UK and beyond. This means your products won’t ever be too far from your customer’s shipping address, and is what allows Amazon to offer next (or even same!) day delivery.

Versatility

Just because FBA is Amazon’s own channel, that doesn’t mean you’re restricted to selling through Amazon alone. Amazon’s multi-channel fulfilment (MCF) lets you sell through a wide variety of ecommerce platforms and channels, while still having Amazon shoulder the storage, packaging, and shipping duties.

What are our issues with Amazon FBA?

Amazon FBA isn’t for everyone. And, somewhat paradoxically, the things that make FBA great are also some of the biggest issues that we have with it. 

Because, as we mentioned before, FBA puts the customer first. Sure, this is a plus when it comes to Amazon handling questions and aftercare – but it also means that you, as the seller, come second. 

Here are a few things you should consider before jumping into a deal with Amazon:

You may see more returns

FBA makes it very easy for customers to return goods – it’s all part of the service, after all. But (let’s face it) when it’s that simple to send stuff back, people will exploit the system. Consider that 30% of goods purchased online are returned anyway… do you really need to be making it any easier?

Your stock may get mixed up with that of other sellers

It’s not just your business’ inventory being stored in Amazon’s UK-wide fulfilment centres. There are plenty of other sellers also using FBA, and selling similar (if not identical) products. 

Here’s where the issue arises. For organisational reasons, products of a similar nature are stored close together in these warehouses. And all it takes is one individual mistake to have a product from another seller shipped to your buyer.

At its worst, this could mean products of a lower quality (or even counterfeit goods) are sent to your buyers; impacting on your brand’s reputation, and leading to bad reviews. Amazon has suspended seller accounts as a result of these mixups, so be wary. 

FBA is expensive…

Amazon’s storage fees are among the highest. Unlike Huboo and others, FBA offers no period of free storage – rather, you’ll pay from the word go. Worse still, FBA hikes prices from October to December, cashing in on sellers at the most cruel and inconvenient time – the leadup to Christmas.

…and complicated

Amazon’s guidelines for having your products shipped to its fulfilment centres are notoriously strict. Each product has to be labelled and packaged individually then sent to a multitude of different FBA warehouses. 

All this can be a head-scratching experience, particularly if you’re just starting out in business – and when it comes to shipping costs, all it does is shrink your bottom line.

Amazon FBA: is it really all smiles?

Is Amazon FBA right for your business?

So, let’s recap. Amazon FBA excels when it comes to quick delivery and simple returns, and its multi-channel options are fantastic. However, its customer-focussed approach hamstrings sellers with more returns, more fees, and more paperwork.

Also, what you’ve got to remember is that Amazon is in the business of selling… not storing. So, while FBA offers cost benefits for ecommerce businesses that make regular sales, its hefty storage fees make FBA less ideal if you trade in items that take up more space (and those that don’t exactly fly off the shelves).

Essentially, FBA works best when you’re dealing in high volumes of low value goods. Think books, batteries, cheap electronic stuff (chargers, cables, phone accessories, etc.)… basically, whatever can be bought at scale.

Alternatives to FBA work best if you’d like a solution that values your ecommerce business as much as it does your customers. Amazon FBA alternatives also offer an inherently more customisable, personalisable way to outsource your fulfilment – and smaller storage fees give you more leeway when it comes to both inventory and total spend.

Take a look at the table below to decide whether FBA or a 3PL alternative is the right selection for your business.

Choose FBA if you…	Choose one of our alternatives if you…
Sell at high volume	Want to pay lower fees
Deal in smaller, lower value goods	Need the flexibility to house inventory of varied size, value, and volume
Prioritise the security of working with a big name	Prioritise personalised customer service
Want Amazon branding on the products you ship	Would prefer to develop your own brand image and presence
Are excited to draw on Amazon’s fast shipping promises	Require a highly customisable solution, or one tailored to your industry
Would like to make it super easy for your customers to send back purchases	Desire ultimate control over your channels and integrations

Got your heart set on an alternative? Great – simply complete our 🎁free webform to receive tailored quotes, and start comparing top ecommerce fulfilment providers in the UK. Otherwise, read on to choose an FBA alternative from one of our top four selections.

Abstrakt

Best FBA alternative for returns handling

Abstrakt can streamline your order fulfilment hand-in-hand with FBA, applying Amazon barcodes to your goods, packing them to the necessary standards and dispatching them to the correct fulfilment centre within the specified time slot.

Huboo

Best FBA alternative for the low volumes

Huboo also does away with the stress of integrating it with your ecommerce platform. Its extensive array of multi-channel integration options rival FBA, and here’s the kicker; if it can’t currently work with the channel you sell through, it’ll build that integration from scratch – for free.

Account management fees start at £50 per month for businesses that dispatch a maximum of 300 units per month, and cap at £450 per month for dispatching up to 5,000 units. Larger businesses can get in touch to bag a corporate rate.

Standard rates for individual items start from £1.36 (a small letter processed within 48 hours) and go up to £6.20 (a medium parcel – up to 2kg – processed within 24 hours). This fee includes all receiving, picking and packing, and postage/courier costs.

Huboo delivers through DPD, Royal Mail or Evri (formerly Hermes) and you’ll receive a dispatch notification when an item is on its way to your customer. 

However, if you’d prefer to pay a bit more for that extra peace of mind, we’d recommend plumping for Huboo’s fully end-to-end tracking service. This starts from £4.78 (for a small parcel processed within 48 hours), and reaches up to £9.56 (for an extra-large parcel processed within 24 hours).

Want detailed quotes for your budget planning? Remember you can use our 🎁free, contact request form to get quotes from a range of hand-picked 3PL providers including Huboo.

Green Fulfilment

Best FBA alternative for the environmentally-conscious business

Green Fulfilment also offers a live, online dashboard to help you track sales, stock, and shipment. Pulling together data from across multiple channels and locations, you’ll have access to everything you need to dominate your ecommerce business’ orders and inventory – 24/7, from wherever in the world you are.

Sprint Logistics

Best FBA alternative for online stock control

Sprint also offers logistics tailored to the needs and pain points of specific industries. Fashion, retail, marketing, travel, and cosmetics are among the sectors Sprint caters to with bespoke solutions. 

Next steps

To FBA, or not to FBA; that is the question. Hopefully, though, it’s one we’ve gone a fair way to addressing. If low fees are on your mind, call Huboo. Try Abstrakt for hassle-free returns handling, and Green Fulfilment for a logistics solution that cares for the planet.

And, while all of these providers offer online dashboards for managing stock levels and deliveries, Sprint Logistics’ interface is the most intuitive and feature-rich of the lot. So, which one’s right for you?

If it still seems like there are too many ecommerce fulfilment providers to get to grips with, why not let us help break it down?

Simply take a moment to answer a few quick questions about where you sell, and how many parcels you ship daily. We’ll match you with 3PL suppliers tailored to your business’ size, sales volume, and location, who’ll then provide quotes made just for you. 

It’s free, easy, and designed to help you scale. Hit one of the buttons below to get started.