Imagine carefully preparing your inventory for Amazon's FBA warehouses, only to have items become unsellable due to various reasons. These stranded products not only occupy valuable storage space but also risk being disposed of, resulting in financial losses. Amazon typically notifies sellers to create removal orders within 30 days for unsellable inventory, or it may automatically dispose of them. Rather than accepting these losses, sellers can take proactive measures by setting up automatic removal to keep their inventory active.
1. Maximizing Value from Unsellable Inventory
Before configuring automatic removal, consider how to revitalize this dormant inventory. Amazon offers two value recovery services:
- Refurbishment: Eligible unsellable inventory can be refurbished to meet sales standards and relisted. This option works well for items with minor defects or damaged packaging.
- Bulk Liquidation: For items that cannot be refurbished or where refurbishment costs are prohibitive, bulk liquidation allows Amazon to sell the inventory to liquidators at reduced prices. While profits are lower, this approach prevents total loss through disposal.
2. Automatic Removal Settings: Return or Dispose?
Amazon provides three removal options:
- None: Only available when automatic removal isn't enabled during refurbishment registration. Generally not recommended.
- Return: Unsellable inventory is sent back to a specified address. Ideal for sellers with overseas warehouses or those who prefer handling inventory themselves.
- Dispose: Direct disposal of unsellable inventory. Suitable for low-value items or when return shipping costs are prohibitive.
3. Configuring Removal Frequency
After selecting return or disposal, set your preferred removal frequency. Amazon offers these options:
- Weekly (on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 28th)
- Bi-monthly (5th and 20th)
- Monthly (1st)
Choose a frequency that aligns with your inventory volume and processing capacity.
4. Providing Required Information
For return or disposal selections, you must provide contact details. Return selections require additional shipping address and phone number information to ensure successful inventory returns.
5. Finalizing Updates
After completing all information fields, click "Update" to finalize your automatic removal settings.
6. Step-by-Step Configuration Guide
Follow these detailed steps to set up automatic removal:
- Log in to Amazon Seller Central and search "Automatically remove unsellable inventory" in the help search bar
- Select "Automatically remove inventory" from search results
- Navigate to the "Automatically remove unsellable inventory" page and click "Unsellable items automatic removal settings"
- On the settings page, select your preferred "Refurbishment" and "Liquidation" options
- Choose between "Dispose" or "Return" based on your warehouse availability, set removal frequency, and provide required information
- Click "Update" to complete the configuration
These six steps enable efficient setup of Amazon's automatic unsellable inventory removal, helping sellers minimize losses and optimize inventory management.