Amazon Sellers Get Free FBA Inventory Removal! 

By Joe Waynick
April 14, 2015

Every once in a while Amazon sellers are thrown a deal that can sometimes seem like it's too good to be true.

It appears that the "Free Removals Promotion" may just be one of those rare occasions.

If you have stale inventory sitting in one of Amazon's distribution centers that hasn't sold in over a year, now is your chance to pull it out of the FBA system and save big time on storage fees.

This is especially true if the stale inventory is subject to the dreaded "long-term storage fees". Those are fees that you never want to pay if you can avoid it. If you don't know what FBA is all about then you should read my FBA 101 article before continuing.

Here's How The Promotion Works

Most Amazon sellers know that if you have more than one ASIN stored in an Amazon distribution center for more than six months that item is assessed premium storage fees that can cost you a bundle.

However, during this free promotion if you submit a removal order for inventory stored at any U. S. based fulfillment center the return fee or disposal fee you would normally be charged is waived.

Just think what that means.

If you request the removal of 10,000 items (books, DVDs, CDs, or VHS tapes for example), you would normally have to pay $.50 per item for the privilege. That's a whopping $5000! But during the promotional period you pay nothing.

Why This Opportunity Is a Big Deal

The benefits of keeping an eye out for these types of promotions are obvious. You would instantly understand that if you had experienced the horror story that I did just a few short years ago.

When Amazon first introduced long-term storage fees back in 2010 they sent me a bill for over $15,000! Fortunately, I had submitted a removal order for over 30,000 books several days before the deadline under the free removal promotion that was available at the time.

Although I was able to appeal the outrageous bill they would had assessed me, because I waited until the very last minute, they froze my account until everything got sorted out.

Consequently, I had to survive for almost 2 months with no income whatsoever from my Amazon account. That's not a smart way for Amazon sellers to do business when you sell used books.

There I was with a 12,000 square foot warehouse and nearly $20,000 in monthly overhead with no income! Luckily, I happen to have enough working capital on hand to weather the storm. But if the incident had happened just two months earlier I would have been devastated. I probably would have gone out of business.

Amazon sellers Shouldn't Ignore the Ground Rules

Keep a sharp eye out for the headlines area of your seller account. That's where you'll normally find most announcements for special promotions that Amazon FBA may be sponsoring.

When something is good as a free removals promotion appears, don't hesitate or wait until the last minute. You already know if you have stale inventory or not. You should be prepared with a game plan ahead of time so that you can take full advantage of the special offers that are presented sellers.

Another thing you should remember is that when you remove inventory subject to long-term storage fees you can't send it back to a fulfillment center for six months.

That's okay because you don't want to pay monthly storage fees on inventory that's not selling anyway. Sell what you've got, and then only send in enough of the same ASIN to a fulfillment center that you can sell in less than six months.

That means you'll have to store inventory yourself until the FBA inventory is gone. But that just gives you an incentive to practice good inventory control. Don't buy more than you can sell in six months, and don't send more than six months with of inventory to Amazon at any given time.

And finally, if you submit a removal order prior to the deadline

Cashback Incentives

It gets even better. If you decide to request removal for inventory on which you have already paid long-term storage fees the month prior to the announcement of the promotion, you can be reimbursed up to 66 percent of the fees that you paid.

This is further evidence of Amazon really wants you to clear your slow moving inventory out of the fulfillment centers to make way for fastest selling, hence more profitable, merchandise.

If you want to see if any of the inventory you recently paid long-term storage fees on is eligible for the cashback incentive, check out your Long-Term Storage Fee Charges Report .

Don't waste this opportunity to add extra profits to your bottom line!

Amazon provides a number of tools in your seller Central account that help you with managing your inventory. One of the best tools for Amazon sellers is the Inventory Planning Dashboard which you can use to get the most up-to-date status of your inventory.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

The next time Amazon announces such a sweet deal don't sit on your hands and let the opportunity pass you by. Move quickly and move early to take full advantage of the promotion to advance your book selling business.

You never know when such an opportunity will come along again and you don't want to be one of the people rain their hands wishing that they had been more decisive.

In fact, if you already know you have stellar interior he you wish you can unload but don't want to pay the fees, set up a removal order spreadsheet NOW and be ready to pull the trigger when the opportunity presents itself.

Being prepared for such an eventuality is the very essence of decisiveness. Don't get caught with your guard down. Amazon sellers should be ready to act when the time comes to/your costs and maximize your profits.

There are many great books chock full of ideas about how to profit from selling used books online. To find them just click the “GO” link next to the Search box below and you’ll be shown hundreds of titles like the sample books you see pictured:

Joe Waynick is author of several eCommerce books covering the bookselling and publishing industry. His books are available on Amazon.com.You can also follow him on Twitter @JoeWaynick.

* * * * *

Top of Page: Amazon Sellers

Previous Page: Legitimate Home Based Businesses

Home Page: Making Money Online Selling Used Books