Amazon Closing Shipping Loopholes May Wreak Chaos for Some Sellers

In what could be seen as another classic play to close loopholes, Amazon has announced another change to their shipping policies.

Effective April 1st, 2022, if you are found to be sending shipments into FBA that were already canceled or deleted, those shipments could be rejected at Amazon and your FBA shipping privileges could be suspended.

This policy update seems to specifically target dubious sellers who may be trying to skirt restock limits guidelines by using canceled or deleted shipments to send more inventory than the limits allow, knowing full well that Amazon will still accept them. 

But with this update, it would, in effect, prohibit that from happening.

However, it potentially opens up a bigger issue in that sellers with valid reasons to cancel or delete shipments may also get suspended, albeit through no fault of their own. For example, they may need to change their approved shipping plan because of errors in quantity, content, or other information.

Luckily, according to Amazon, sellers may make small changes to their shipping plans, such as adjusting their shipment quantity by up to 5% above or below the original amount. Otherwise, incomplete shipments or incorrect information in your shipping plans could lead to additional processing times, which could cause delays in your inventory’s availability on Amazon.

Also, keep in mind that Amazon automatically closes shipments after 90 days, which could be a big problem for some sellers (not just the sneaky ones) as getting inventory from overseas into Amazon these days can sometimes take 45-60 days or longer due to slowdowns in the supply chain.

Other Actions to Stay Compliant with the Updated Shipping Policy

Be sure to avoid:

• Removing some of the shipments from your approved multi-destination shipping plan.
• Sending shipments along a different route.
• Using illegible FBA box ID labels.
• Failure to ensure all shipments in your multi-destination shipping plan are delivered to Amazon within 30 days of receipt of the first shipment. This means if you have a shipment plan with three destinations shipping from overseas directly into FBA, Amazon requires that within 30 days of receiving the first shipment, the other two should arrive at their fulfillment centers as well.

Note: While one or more shipments may arrive late due to your carrier losing them and finding them later or other mishandling issues, these are rather exceptions and not the norm. Communicate with your carrier to ensure your shipments are delivered on time and in the correct quantity.

If you’re unable to send additional shipments due to non-compliance, connect with an Amazon representative and provide a solid plan of action to reinstate your shipping privileges.  

Read “Deleted, Misrouted, and Incomplete Shipments” for more information.