amazon seller central updates Archives

Amazon FBA Inventory Management: FBA Restock Limits

Effective April 22, 2021, FBA restock limits are now set at the storage-type level. Instead of at the ASIN-level. Your Amazon FBA inventory management strategy may need to change in lieu of this update.

You may remember in July 2020, Amazon introduced ASIN-level quantity limits on FBA products amidst supply chain issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In that announcement, Amazon notes changes in preparation for the peak towards the end of the year.

According to the official announcement, the change is a result of seller feedback and designed to allow more inventory flexibility. “We’ve heard your feedback and are continuously improving our policies and programs to better receive and store your products.”

As always, we’re here to help make sense of the change, help you navigate through the important questions, and monitor the situation. For more personalized information, be sure to review your restock limits and maximum shipment quantity within Inventory performance or Shipping Queue.

How are restock limits any different from storage limits?

Storage limits are based on volume, measured in cubic feet, and determine the fulfillment center capacity you can use. Restock limits are based on units and determine how much inventory you can send to fulfillment centers. Restock limits apply regardless of your IPI score.
Amazon limits by storage type FAQ

To sum up, your inventory limits is based on space, not units.

Amazon FBA Inventory Management: What You Need to Know

Letting your products go out of stock can spell disaster for your listing. And on the other hand, overstocking can lead to costly storage fees that damage your bottom line. How do tiptoe the line of optimal inventory management? We look at into what to consider and what it takes to find the balance for FBA storage.

How restock limits are decided.

Restock limits are determined based on past and forecasted sales. Subsequently, this would mean your restock limitations are never too little or too much, which should be a sigh of relief for sellers.

The maximum shipment quantity is calculated by maximum inventory level allowed minus utilization. To avoid confusion, utilization counts include the inventory and all incoming shipments, including shipments with a Working, In transit, or Receiving status.

Therefore, as you grow your business or encounter seasonality, the changes should be reflected in some sort to your personalized limits.

Are my restock limits going to remain the same?

No. Amazon claims they will continually assess its network capacity to adjust restock limits to best support your business. You can view your restock limits by storage type and maximum shipment quantity from Inventory performance or Shipping Queue, by expanding your restock limits monitor at the bottom of the page.

Especially early on, you may consider monitoring your restock limits over time to gain a better understanding of how frequently it updates and how volatile the limits change with each update.

If you believe your restock and inventory information isn’t correct at any point, reach out to Seller Central support to solve or better understand the issue.

Will pending shipments be affected?

According to Amazon moderators, there should be no issue as long the shipment was created before the change went into effect.

“Shipments created under the previous ASIN Quantity Limits policy, including shipments which are already on the way, will continue to be received as normal and will not be canceled.”
Amazon Forums Moderator

Wrapping Things Up

Based on the early reaction in the seller community, there are certainly mixed feelings about the recent change.

For many sellers unsatisfied with the July update, the change comes as a breath of fresh air and appears to suit their needs better.

To all sellers, try not to panic. As longtime sellers know, Amazon continually tweaks policies in attempts to optimize the seller and customer experience. Although change can be scary and impact your success, flexibility remains essential for successful sellers.

Unquestionably, those who optimize their business with the evolution of Amazon are best served to come out on top.

Whether or not this positively or negatively impacts your business, it’s undoubtedly a change worth monitoring. Since the changes were made due to seller feedback, be sure to make your voice heard regarding the new FBA storage limits.

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Amazon News: GTIN Policy Update

On Thursday, Amazon Seller Central shared a reminder regarding GTINs that could result in products becoming invalid.

In a recent Seller Central update, Amazon reminded sellers that a unique GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is a requirement for its marketplace in most categories. Amazon warned that listed products without an acceptable GTIN would be removed if corrective actions aren’t taken in time.

As the update states, “GTINs are considered invalid if they are not GS1-vended or not recognized by the brand owner.”

The reminder arrives as Amazon continues to ensure its marketplace is up-to-code and worthy of consumer trust. Above all, GS1 provides standards for industries to allow products, services, and information to move efficiently and securely to benefit of businesses and consumers.

What You Can Do

Sellers can check to see if their products are in danger of being considered invalid due to the GTIN policy by visiting the Fix Your Product tool in Seller Central.

Affected listings will be displayed in the At Risk listings section.

If you don’t have any at-risk listings, no further actions are needed.

To fix any affected ASINs, you can submit a letter of authorization or a licensing agreement that meets the following criteria:

Includes the name and address of the brand’s rights owner
Legible: it is not too blurry and not too light or dark
Displays the manufacturer name and contact information
Includes the seller’s legal business name or the seller name that corresponds to your Account information page in Seller Central
Includes the seller’s physical address
Must be in English
Includes a GS1 certificate
Note: We recommend that you obtain your GTINs directly from GS1 (and not from other third parties selling GTIN licenses) to ensure that the appropriate information is reflected in the GS1 database. For more information on licensing EANs or UPCs from GS1, refer to the GS1 website.

Also, it should be noted this is not a change of policy, but a reminder of the rules and guidelines. For the official statement from Amazon, please refer to the Seller Central statement.

Lastly, be sure to check your status within Seller Central immediately to avoid any future complications.

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Amazon FBA Updates: Say Goodbye To This Customer Feedback Feature

Amazon is removing the feature allowing anyone to comment on a product review, per a Business Insider report. Amazon officially retired the feature on December 16th, 2020.

What relevance does this have for sellers?

Many sellers utilized this feature to respond to customer reviews as a form of customer service.

Furthermore, this likely signals more changes to come, as Amazon noted the development of other opportunities to connect with customers.

Following the update, a few sellers have received emails notifying them of change:

Dear seller,
You’re receiving this email because you recently left a comment on a review.
While reviews and feedback are important to our customers and sellers, the comments feature on customer reviews was rarely used. As a result, we are retiring this feature on December 16, 2020.
We’re committed to your continued success and will innovate and develop other opportunities for you to connect with customers.
Thank you.
Amazon Services

Initially, the removal of this feature has been poorly received by sellers.

“Just like removing customer contact information from the order information page, this makes it harder for good sellers to provide top-notch customer service,” stated one concerned Redditor.

However, the update changes the buyer-seller communication experience, but doesn’t end it. Recently, Amazon FBA updates appear to be centered around the buyer-seller communication process.

Sellers and buyers can directly communicate in the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service. Even so, this service permits direct messages to customers and not visible to prospective customers.

As a result, sellers should continue to monitor Seller Central updates as more information becomes available. As mentioned by Amazon, we’d expect more policy or feature changes concerning buyer-seller communication.

What can you do?

Potentially, your listing copy may be a way to address this obstacle effectively. How so?

Let’s put ourselves in the customer position for a situation. You’re looking to purchase a product, but have reservations due to a recent negative review or stream of bleak reviews with a common theme. In the past, the seller could provide help to quell concerns from prospective customers.

Your listing copy can address these issues without replying directly to the review. If customers are misusing your product in a way that could lead to negative reviews, you might be interested in addressing the issue in the product description.

Of course, making changes to your listing copy results in a temporary decline in ranking. So it may not be worth revising your copy after each negative review. But if a review is affecting your conversions, it might be worth the short-term hit.

Did you ever use this feature? How does this change your selling experience? Drop a comment below and let us know how this affects your selling experience.

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