The question our testing laboratory receives most often before an ISTA 6-AMAZON.COM SIOC test is simple: what do we need to prepare. This is Amazon’s own programme for goods shipped in the product’s own carton, with no over-box. So the information needed is not only dimensions and weight, but evidence that the carton is fit to be a retail box. The short answer is the five groups below.
1. Information about the package
- Outer dimensions of the product carton: length, width and height.
- Total weight with the product inside.
- Girth, meaning the perimeter plus the length, since several Amazon programmes use this measure to classify the package.
- Material and construction: how many wall layers, whether it is printed, whether there is a tamper seal.
- Whether the carton has a window, a handle, or protruding parts.
- Whether the product inside stands on its own when the carton carries load, or needs blocking.
2. Information about the sales channel and the journey
- How the goods are sold on Amazon: shipped by the seller, or sent into an Amazon fulfilment centre.
- Which sortation centres the goods pass through, and whether they move between fulfilment centres.
- How long the goods sit in an Amazon warehouse before delivery to the buyer.
- Whether the route includes hot and humid phases or large temperature swings.
- Whether the product has ever been returned because the box was crushed or torn.
3. Information about samples
- Number of cartons submitted. The programme asks for more samples than ordinary procedures, so this needs to be settled early.
- Whether the cartons submitted are the ones that will actually be sold, or trial prints.
- Whether labels, barcodes and instructions are printed on the carton.
- Whether samples have to be kept after the test.
4. Pass and fail criteria
- The acceptable level of product damage.
- The acceptable level of carton damage, since the carton is both packaging and the product on sale.
- Whether crushed corners, adhesive failure, or scuffed print are acceptable.
- How the carton is examined after the test: visual inspection, photographs of each face, or a check that it still opens and closes.
5. Report and timing
- Report in the format the programme requires, in English.
- Photos of each face of the carton before and after the test.
- Whether the carton design file and material specification have to be submitted.
- The date the results are needed, allowing for shipping samples abroad if the lab is not in the same country.
6. Why SIOC and over-boxing must be settled first
SIOC means the goods travel in the retail carton itself. If that carton is not stiff enough to survive the whole journey, the right move is to switch to an over-box, the Over Boxing programme, rather than forcing a weak carton into SIOC. Choosing the wrong programme leads to one of two outcomes: the result is not accepted, or the carton passes but still arrives crushed in the market because the tested sample did not represent mass production. Test engineers usually ask how the trial print differs from the production carton before they accept samples.
Three links worth reading before you send samples: what ISTA 6-AMAZON.COM SIOC is, how SIOC and over-boxing differ, and what ISTA 6-AMAZON.COM Over Boxing is.
You can send the five groups above through the form below, together with photos of all six faces of the carton and of the label. The lab will reply with the test items and the number of samples required.
This article reflects our testing laboratory’s experience in collecting information. It does not quote the content of the ISTA standard and does not replace reading the original standard before implementation.
