I have a Standard size tier private label product that I’ve been trying to liquidate in the past 6 months. I’ve reduced the price to near my cost. It’s been working well selling 10-15 units a day. At this rate, I expect to sold out in about 8 months. Last month, Amazon started to treat this product as an Oversize product splitting the inbound destinations to 3 far away warehouses; usually 1 east coast, 1 west coast, and 1 south. This increases the cost tremendously for 2 reasons:
(1) I could no longer send a pallet (as I usually do) because the quantity gets split to 3 locations
(2) The shipping cost of 3 far away warehouses is way more expensive than shipping to the warehouse in the same state (as it has been forever).
I tried to open a case with Seller Support. It’s been days and they still couldn’t figure it out why. So I wonder what’s the work around for this. I have another listing that sells the same product but different color (yes I created both listings long time ago). That color is no longer in stock and the listing hasn’t been used for years. I could reuse that listing to help liquidate. However the rank of that listing is horrible. I would have to spend more on PPC to bring it up… Or can I ship through this old listing and ask Amazon to relabel FNSKU to the current listing? So I could ship pallets to the near warehouse through the old listing, and sell on the higher rank listing after Amazon relabel FNSKU. Would this work? Any ideas are welcome. Thank you.
I could flip the color to the correct one. However I don’t like to sell on that old listing because of the horrible rank. It’s probably on the page 50+ in the search Better to do the FNSKU label swap at Amazon if they still offer this type of service…
They’re locking up inventory for any violation nowadays huh, not just IP related issues.
That’s pretty crazy. Granted, sellers agree to that by using the service, but that seems like something that might actually be illegal since they have no real basis to refuse to allow a removal order.
Thanks for your good advice. I did it for this product 6 months ago when they wrongly assigned it as Oversize. Currently it’s Standard size as shown in the red rectangle in the screenshot below. So they got the size tier correct… hmm or should I try to ask them to remeasure anyway. In case if what appear in the screenshot is not what is used to determined the shipping (bugs in the programming code). I’ve got nothing to lose…
Thanks for something new. I’ve never heard of that. I only send single SKU pallets though. Is that the same thing as what you said?
The product is Standard size as shown in the red rectangle in the screenshot below. If this is not the right place to verify the product size tier, please let me the correct place.
Does Amazon lock up inventory for IP violation nowadays? I must be living under the rock for too long Last time I had IP violation was in 2019. Amazon removed the listing and sent all remaining inventory back to me.
Yep, totally agree. It sounds illegal to take the property of another person without consent.
Yes they do, even if the violation is from a baseless complaint (whether that be a rights owner complaint, or an inauthentic customer complaint), if you fail to appeal the complaint they will seize your inventory.
Amazon publishes the number of purportedly counterfeit units they seize and destroy every year for PR reasons, so they have motive to do this as SOP without any real chance to contest it.
You must have been … because it’s been this way for a long time. Breaking (possibly) US law is serious and is required by Amazon to be treated as such in case of a lawsuit.
That worked like a magic! I could send a full pallet with this Single SKU pallet. Thank you! Even though Amazon still split to 3 far warehouses, switching from Small parcel to Pallet saves me at least $1 per unit. That’s great! (tear of joy).
I’ll use this template for now. Hopefully Amazon or someone else would come with a solution to fix this. Thank you so much Tandi
People mention legal reasons as well, but I don’t buy that for the following reasons:
Amazon doesn’t bother following the law whenever they can get away with it, or it’s cheaper to not follow it and deal with the repercussions
An IP complaint or inauthentic complaint is not proof the items are counterfeit, or that there’s something illegal about the items themselves. Not successfully appealing the listing violation doesn’t mean the items are unlawful. Think of it this way, law enforcement can’t seize your property because you can’t produce documentation proving it’s real.
I never seen any law that says a fulfillment service is responsible for seizing questionable products. If they knowingly fulfill counterfeit products they could face liability, but returning questionable products to their owner shouldn’t create any kind of liability.
They’re doing it for PR, because they can, and probably because it’s cheaper/easier to dispose of the items than to return them to the seller (the last one likely being a big motive). I guess it also provides some deterrence to problematic sellers from using FBA or selling on the platform completely if they know that a problem = seized inventory.
I will say this though, the way they handle suspensions (both ASIN level and account level) have become more reasonable. Nowadays you get a chance to appeal prior to the suspension taking effect in a lot of cases. It is still frustrating when you submit exactly what they requested and they reject it over and over though.
Also, a few weeks ago, out of the blue I got an email saying that an ASIN that was suspended (and inventory seized/destroyed) was reinstated. I guess they figured out that the cause of the suspension was due to a bad actor and they reversed all the suspensions that account falsely reported and caused. Obviously they made no mention of the inventory they stole under false pretenses.
So I wonder what’s the work around for this. I have another listing that sells the same product but different color (yes I created both listings long time ago). That color is no longer in stock and the listing hasn’t been used for years. I could reuse that listing to help liquidate. However the rank of that listing is horrible. I would have to spend more on PPC to bring it up… Or can I ship through this old listing and ask Amazon to relabel FNSKU to the current listing? So I could ship pallets to the near warehouse through the old listing, and sell on the higher rank listing after Amazon relabel FNSKU. Would this work? Any ideas are welcome. Thank you.
Better to do the FNSKU label swap at Amazon if they still offer this type of service…
or should I try to ask them to remeasure anyway. In case if what appear in the screenshot is not what is used to determined the shipping (bugs in the programming code). I’ve got nothing to lose…
I could send a full pallet with this Single SKU pallet. Thank you! Even though Amazon still split to 3 far warehouses, switching from Small parcel to Pallet saves me at least $1 per unit. That’s great! 
(tear of joy).
