Updates
Update 6/1/20 re: Tracking & Account Suspension
Starting June 1 Amazon will restart tracking and suspending selling accounts with high cancellation rate, late shipment rate or order defect rate per their established performance standards. This was paused in April due to supply chain and fulfillment difficulties with the onset of COVID-19.
In order to keep your account for incurring order defects and to help create a more reliable experience for customers, Amazon recommends the following:
- Closely monitor inventory levels and make sure your listings accurately reflect available inventory.
- Ensure your default ship settings match your current fulfillment capabilities.
- Monitor customer inquiries received via Buyer-Seller Messaging and respond quickly - at most within 48 hours.
Update 4/1/20 re: Amazon PO's
When you receive an Amazon purchase order, please fulfill the quantity that you have available to ship. Amazon has waived specific purchase order chargebacks at this time.
Update 3/30/20 re: Fulfillment by Amazon
Amazon stated today they will continue to focus on the highest priority products and be extending that date beyond the original April 5 deadline. However, they are now able to broaden the list of prioritized products.
Update 3/30/20 re: Inventory Storage Fees
Amazon will waive two weeks of inventory storage fees for products stored in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic. This is in addition to previously announced updates.
Update 3/30/20 re: Amazon Lending
Sellers with direct loans from Amazon Lending can pause repayments and interest until April 30.
Update 3/26/20 re: UPS
Effective immediately and until further notice, UPS Service Guarantee (also referred to as the UPS Money Back Guarantee) is suspended.
Update 3/25/20 re: Coupons
Amazon is not accepting new coupons through April 5, 2020. All previously submitted coupons that are in 'running' or 'submitted' states will run for inventory already in place.
Update 3/25/20 re: Vine
Vine enrollments and shipments are disabled until further notice.
Update 3/24/20 re: Fulfillment by Amazon:
- There is a temporary pause on removal operations at some fulfillment centers so Amazon can focus on high-priority products like medical supplies and household staples at this time. You can continue to create removal orders but there will be a delay.
- Amazon is waiving the April 15 long-term storage fees for inventory stored in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic.
As you are aware, many businesses, including ours and Amazon, are closely monitoring the developments of the COVID-19 situation. Amazon released information on March 17, 2020 that will impact and change the way you do business from today until April 5, 2020 - at least.
Seller Central Sellers in US and EU Marketplaces
FBA Information and Restrictions
- All items currently in or inbound to Amazon's fulfillment centers will still be available to shoppers.
- Any shipments created before March 17, 2020, even with items not in the below categories, can still be shipped to Amazon, however you may experience delays.
- If you DO NOT have items that fit on their high-demand list (see list below) then you are NOT allowed to ship to their fulfillment centers at this time. Amazon has disabled shipment creation for items not included in these categories.
- At this time Amazon will NOT accept any cases or requests about this at all.
- SUPER IMPORTANT: Please do not try to work around these restrictions as Amazon has been quick to suspend accounts trying to circumnavigate their new policies noted above.
- Please remember to keep a close eye on customer messages, the pandemic is affecting people in strange ways, expect buyers to be a bit more needy and short-tempered than usual.
- This could affect IPI scores, but Amazon has at least announced that they are trying to account for this impact.
Most Items From These Product Categories are Allowed for FBA Right Now
Each item needs to be checked individually to see if it’s permitted to be shipped into FBA.
- Baby Products
- Health and Household
- Beauty and Personal Care (including personal care appliances)
- Grocery
- Industrial and Scientific
- Pet Supplies
IMPORTANT
Listing products in an inaccurate category is a violation of Amazon’s policies and may result in account suspension. This means that purposefully listing a product in the wrong category to circumnavigate these restrictions is considered a policy violation, and with Amazon seeming to be very quick to suspend accounts recently, we recommend you not try to work around this at all.
Vendor Central Sellers
- At this time, it seems to not be affecting drop ship or direct fulfillment.
- Amazon is reducing the number of purchase orders at this time and will be prioritizing household staples, medical supplies and other high demand products. They are temporarily pausing orders for products that do not fit into these categories.
- Amazon will be extending the delivery window for any existing POs.
- Please ship towards the END of the extended delivery window. Amazon is in the process of hiring additional employees to meet the increasing demand.
What Can We Do?
We respect what Amazon is doing at this time but know that small businesses need to keep working. If you are a Seller Central/FBA seller, you can still sell on Amazon using Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM). In order to do this we will need to create temporary FBM listings.
For more details from Amazon please follow this link and sign in to your Seller Central account to view: Amazon COVID-19 Seller News. Vendor Central sellers can find more information on their homepage. Per Amazon, all Sellers and Vendors will be notified by Amazon when regular operations resume.
Maintaining your business during this uncertain time period may be a financial challenge. Our friends at Payability broke down some things Amazon sellers should know about obtaining outside financing. Read their article, When Amazon Sellers Should Take Outside Financing.
Do you need further assistance with your Seller Central or Vendor Central account?
Our team is here to help.
