FBA Storage Limits Changes

In 2018, we are adjusting our FBA storage limits policies to encourage improved inventory management, which will help your products be received and delivered to customers more quickly. Note: These policies only apply to sellers with a Professional selling plan.

The Inventory Performance Index is our first step in setting a bar on inventory performance. Beginning July 1, 2018, we may limit access to storage for sellers with an Inventory Performance Index below 350. You can track your Inventory Performance Index on the Inventory Performance Dashboard. This free tool provides a hub for optimizing your FBA business, including customized recommendations to grow your sales and reduce costs. Your score is updated weekly based on your ongoing inventory management.

Sellers who maintain an index score of 350 or greater will have unlimited storage for standard size and oversize items (monthly storage fees and long-term storage fees still apply).

Sellers with who do not maintain an Inventory Performance Index score of 350 or greater:

Starting July 1, 2018, storage limits will be evaluated every three months on a quarterly cycle. If your Inventory Performance Index is less than 350 six weeks before the start of a quarter, you will be notified of your potential storage limits. If your Inventory Performance Index score is still less than 350 at the end of that quarter, those limits will apply for the next quarter.

Under the FBA inventory storage limits policy, you will not be able to create a new shipment to Amazon until your inventory level drops below your storage limits. If your existing inventory exceeds your storage limits for a given month, we will also charge an Inventory Storage Overage Fee on the portion of your inventory that exceeds your storage limits, in addition to monthly inventory storage fees and, if applicable, long-term storage fees. The overage fee will be charged monthly at $10.00 per cubic foot, based on the daily average volume of inventory that exceeded your storage limits throughout the month. We will be updating our tools to reflect cubic feet of storage instead of the number of units that we currently show.

July 1, 2018 and after
	Inventory Performance Index
	Score less than 350 (6 weeks before the current quarter ends AND at the end of the current quarter)	Score of 350 or more
Storage limits	Updated quarterly	Unlimited
Monthly storage overage fee	$10.00 per cubic foot over the storage limit	Not applicable

Starting July 1, 2018, storage limits will be adjusted on a quarterly cycle. You will only have storage limits if your Inventory Performance Index score is less than 350 both (a) six weeks before the end of the current quarter and (b) on the last day of the current quarter. If both conditions are met, then you will have storage limits in effect the following quarter. If your score is below 350 six weeks before the start of a quarter, you will receive a notification informing you of your potential storage limits.

Quarter	Notification sent six weeks before end of quarter if below 350	Last day of quarter	Storage limit effective period
3rd - 2018	May 19, 2018	June 30, 2018	July 1, 2018 – September 30, 2018
4th - 2018	August 19, 2018	September 30, 2018	October 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018
1st - 2019	November 19, 2018	December 31, 2018	January 1, 2018 – March 31, 2018

For example, if a seller has a score of 125 on May 19, they will receive an alert which indicates what their storage limits may be if their score isn't above 350 on June 30. If their score raises above 350 by June 30, they will have unlimited storage July through September. However, if their score stays below 350, effective July 1, their limits will be updated to those communicated in the May 19 notification. These limits will be in effect from July 1 to September 30. If their score improves to more than 350 on August 19, they will have unlimited storage the following quarter, October through December.

Starting July 1, 2018, sellers with quarterly storage limits will be charged an Inventory Storage Overage Fee on any inventory that exceeds their storage limits. This fee is in addition to monthly inventory storage fees and, if applicable, long-term storage fees. The overage fee will be charged monthly at $10.00 per cubic foot, based on the daily average volume of inventory that exceeded their storage limits throughout the month.

The following example illustrates how this fee will be assessed and charged:

Event (with dates)	Sample values
Notification sent six weeks before end of quarter (May 19, 2018)
The seller’s Inventory Performance Index is less than 350, so a notification is sent indicating what their storage limit will be on July 1 if their score does not improve to at least 350 by June 30.	Inventory Performance Index	300
	Current standard-size storage limit	1,200 cubic feet
	Potential standard-size storage limit	1,000 cubic feet
Quarter-end Inventory Performance Index (June 30, 2018)
The seller’s Inventory Performance Index is still less than 350 on June 30, so their storage limit will be adjusted on July 1.	Inventory Performance Index	280
	Original standard-size storage limit	1,200 cubic feet
	New standard-size storage limit	1,000 cubic feet
Inventory Storage Overage Fee accrues (July 1, 2018)
The seller’s inventory currently exceeds their standard-size storage limit by 100 cubic feet, so they will incur an overage fee of $10 per cubic foot, or $1,000 total if no action is taken (to be assessed and charged in August).	Standard-size storage limit	1,000 cubic feet
	Space taken by existing standard-size inventory	1,100 cubic feet
	Current standard-size overage	100 cubic feet
	Potential overage fee:	$1,000
Seller reduces inventory exceeding limit (July 5, 2018)
The seller creates a removal order for 80 cubic feet of standard-size inventory on the July 5. No other standard-size inventory is sold or removed during July.	Standard-size overage, July 1 – 4	100 cubic feet
	Standard-size removal, July 5	80 cubic feet
	Standard-size overage, July 5 – 31	20 cubic feet
Inventory Storage Overage Fee billed (August 5, 2018)
The seller’s average overage for the month was 30.322 cubic feet. They will be charged $10 per cubic foot for a July total of $303.22.	July average standard-size overage	30.322
	Storage Overage Fee per cubic foot	$10.00
	Total July Storage Overage Fee	$303.22

In the example above, if the seller removed all of the inventory exceeding the standard-size limit on August 1, they would not incur overage fees for that month. They can reduce their inventory either through removals or sales. If they do not remove or sell through their overage inventory by August 1, they will begin accruing Inventory Storage Overage Fees for August.

What is the Inventory Performance Index based on?

Your score is based on how well you drive sales by keeping popular products in stock, maintaining healthy inventory levels, and fixing listing problems.

How do I view and improve my Inventory Performance Index?

You can check your Inventory Performance Index on the Inventory Performance Dashboard, where we also provide you with four specific tools to help boost your score:

• Fix stranded inventory - take action to ensure your inventory is available for purchase
• Manage excess inventory - reduce your storage fees and carrying costs
• Inventory age - increase your sell-through rate on low-traffic and low-conversion products
• Restock inventory - increase your in-stock rate

Will you inform me if my Inventory Performance Index is low?

If your Inventory Performance Index is 400 or less, we will send you a monthly alert to inform you. Alerts will be emailed to the primary account email address identified in Seller Central. Please note that this alert is separate from the notification you receive if your score is less than 350 at six weeks prior to the end of the quarter.

When will I know if I have storage limits during the next quarterly cycle and what those storage limits will be?

You will be informed what your potential storage limits will be six weeks before the end of the current quarter. Those limits will only go into effect if your score is less than 350 at the end of the quarter.

What happens if my Inventory Performance Index is above 350 six weeks before the start of the next quarter but below 350 on the last day of the quarter? For example, 400 on 5/19 and 300 on 6/30.

You will only have storage limits if your Inventory Performance Index score is less than 350 both (a) six weeks before the end of the current quarter and (b) on the last day of the current quarter. In this example, you would not have storage limits because your score was more than 350 six weeks before the quarter ended.

What if I do not have an Inventory Performance Index score or am a new FBA seller?

Most sellers with Professional selling accounts have an Inventory Performance Index score, but some do not because we do not have enough data to generate a score for the account (for example, sellers who are new to FBA). In order for the new storage limit adjustment cycle to apply, you must have an Inventory Performance Index score both six weeks before the end of the current quarter and on the last day of the current quarter. If you do not have an index score on either of these dates, you will receive the default storage limits. We will provide additional details on these default storage limits before this new policy takes effect.

What if I do not have a Professional selling account?

Only sellers with Professional selling accounts qualify for an Inventory Performance Index. Sellers with Individual selling accounts will have fixed, default storage limits. We will provide additional details on these default storage limits before this new policy takes effect.

Does the new policy apply to dangerous goods (also known as hazmat) storage limits?

No, dangerous goods storage limit adjustments will be handled separately from this new policy. Refer to FBA Dangerous Goods (Hazmat) program for more details.

I have questions not addressed here. How can I get help?

For more information on the overall 2018 U.S. FBA fee changes, please visit amazon.com/fba-fee-changes.

If you've reviewed these fee change details and have additional questions, please contact Seller Support. If you do not have questions but would like to send the FBA team your feedback on this fee change, please e-mail fba-fee-announce-feedback@amazon.com. The Fulfillment by Amazon team will review feedback sent to this address.