Amazon is waiving two weeks of inventory storage fees for FBA sellers who have products stored in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
While the decision may sound purely altruistic, and many sellers expressed their appreciation, others said the “nice gesture” wasn’t enough to offset the slowdown in sales due to Amazon policy changes.
In recent weeks Amazon put the brakes on sales of many items considered non-essential as it struggled to deliver high-demand goods to customers coping with the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. As we reported on March 17, Amazon stopped accepting inbound shipments to its fulfillment centers for products other than high-demand goods, citing customer demand for household staples and medical supplies. (On March 27, it slightly eased some of those restrictions.)
The seller explained on the comments section of the announcement post that a customer had emailed today to say they needed an item that, if ordered today, they wouldn’t receive until April 20th. “We are losing business as items which are Prime designated no longer meet Prime Consumer Expectation. This shipment delay is three weeks on top of the two weeks since the first policy change to prioritize products was implemented.”
Amazon’s March 30th announcement to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) sellers follows:
COVID-19: FBA storage fee waiver
COVID-19 has impacted millions of people and businesses around the world. We thank you for your understanding as we have focused on providing a vital service by delivering high priority items to customers, while implementing extensive health and safety measures for our employees across the network to support their well-being.
In light of the evolving COVID-19 crisis, we will waive two weeks of your 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 the previously announced updates including:
- Waiving the April 15 long-term storage fees for inventory stored in the US and Europe.
- Pausing repayments and interest until April 30 for sellers with direct loans from Amazon Lending.
- Waiving April fees for those using Seller Account Management or the Launchpad program.
We are also making policy adjustments to proactively mitigate the impact of the crisis on the health of your Amazon seller account and you can now use the updated Restock Inventory page and Restock report to check which products are eligible for shipment creation.
We are committed to helping our selling partners during the crisis. As the pandemic continues, we will continue to evaluate the situation and work to reduce the impact on our selling partners, while meeting the essential needs of our customers and protecting the health and safety of our associates.
We are inspired to see many of you providing high priority health and household products to people around the world, especially the elderly and most vulnerable. We are working directly with some of you to get medical supplies to healthcare providers, first responders, and government agencies. In addition, many sellers are making donations and contributions to their communities on their own, such as the glassware company making hand sanitizer or the sleep pillow seller donating thousands of pairs of compression socks to healthcare workers. Amazon selling partners are helping meet peoples’ critical needs in this unprecedented time.
Thank you for your partnership.
I ordered from Ebay Prime this morning. Pantry items of cereal, and cat food. As a prime member I should have them in 1 or 2 days. Maybe 5 if patient BUT Amazon says to expect it by April 19. Well Amazon guess what. I just went to the grocery and picked the up. I will wait a few months before I waste my time trying to order from Amazon. Sorry Prime sucks right now. How about a refund for services not performed. Can I give Amazon negative feedback for lying.
AS an Amazon seller and a Prime member, I agree that perhaps we should get a prorated credit for Prime. I have heard that Amazon is basically only dealing with essentials, so I tried to buy what I needed on CVS online. Out of about 4 items that I checked, everyone of them was out of stock. So I have to find a way to order them. My son picks up stuff for us and brings it every Sunday, but somethings a boy shouldn’t have to buy for his mother!
They need to waive storage fees whenever they limit sellers recalling the product from the warehouse, such as they are doing now. Plus a month, because of timing.