FBA and Expiration Dates: Here's what you need to know
When shopping at the grocery store, you probably have the expectation that you are purchasing fresh items within their shelf life. Any packaging is typically labeled with the expiration date so that you can be assured of freshness and informed about safety. In an online store where shoppers are not able to pick up the merchandise, following the expiration-dated inventory policies and requirements ensures the safety and satisfaction of your customers.
Expiration is not limited to consumables. Amazon considers any product with a shelf life, or that loses effectiveness with time, to be subject to expiration, even if an expiration date is not indicated on the product packaging. When your items arrive at a fulfillment center, they must have a remaining shelf life that allows time for the product to be consumed/used with an additional 90 days. Perishable items are not allowed.
Add an expiration date to a listing via file upload or, if adding a product one-at-a-time, you will provide expiration information in the Vital info tab.
1. Is product expirable -- Select yes if any of the following are true:
- There is a printed expiration or manufacturing date on the product or its packaging
- The product is a topical or consumable for human or animal use
- It is a cleaning product, such as disinfectant wipes, cleaning sprays and solutions, and detergents
- It includes components that can expire, such as a coffee machine that is sold bundled with coffee
- The product has a recommended shelf life
- The product loses effectiveness over time
- The product has a period-after-opening symbol
2. Product expiration type -- If you answered yes above, select one of the following:
- Expiration date required: The expiration date is printed on the product or product packaging.
- Expiration on package: The product will be reviewed and given an expiration date when we receive it in our fulfillment center.
- Production date required: The production date or manufacturing date is printed on the product or product packaging.
- Shelf life: The product will lose effectiveness over time but it doesn’t have an exact expiration or production date (for example, batteries and some beauty products).
3. Fulfillment center shelf life -- Enter the number of days between 0 and 1,825 that your product can be kept in the fulfillment center without losing effectiveness. There is a guide found here.
4. Fulfillment center shelf life unit -- you must select Days from the drop-down.
Expiration-dated products must be fully enclosed and sealed in packaging that is suitable for shipping. Expiration-dated products that require additional preparation, such as poly-bagging or bubble wrap, must have labels with expiration dates applied to the outside of the product prep or packaging.
When shipping products to our fulfillment centers, each box can have only one expiration date per ASIN. You can ship multiple ASINs in the same box as long as each ASIN has only one expiration date. If there are multiple expiration dates for the same ASIN, the products with different expiration dates must be shipped in separate boxes.
Firstly, all expiration-dated FBA inventory requires an Amazon barcode label.
Expiration-dated products must include the expiration date on the outer box in 36-point or larger font and on the individual units. For clarity, these expiration dates must be in one of a few specific formats. Medical devices must be clearly labeled using YYYY-MM-DD format. For products other than medical devices, acceptable date formats are:
- MM-DD-YYYY
- MM-YYYY
Numeric date formats are preferred. However, dates with an alphabetical abbreviation for the month (for example, DD-JAN-YYYY) are also acceptable. If the expiration date is printed in a different format, a sticker with the correct format must be applied over it.
Any manufacturing and expiration date must be clearly labeled. A manufacturing date is the equivalent of a production date. A best-by or sell-by date is considered the equivalent of an expiration date.
- Do not conceal the original expiration date or other information on the product packaging (such as ingredients, drug facts, net contents, or distributor information).
- All ingestible products (including animal products) must be clearly labeled with an expiration date or manufacturing date. Lot numbers alone are insufficient.
- All baby food and baby formula products must have a clearly labeled expiration date.
- All medical devices must have expiration dates.
- All case packs, multipacks, and display boxes must have the expiration date on the box or bundle, as well as on each individual item inside the box or bundle.
If you have a product bundle where the individual products in the bundle have different expiration dates, it is recommended to use the "soonest" expiration date of the products in the bundle. This will ensure the customer does not receive any expired products in the bundle.
Common Problems
Failure to specify the manufacturing date or expiration date on a product might cause delays in receiving your products, or it may cause products to be received as expired at the fulfillment center. Any inventory that exceeds the expiration date or that has an expiration date that cannot be confirmed will be marked as unsellable and you will need to remove it from the fulfillment center. You can have unsellable inventory sent back to you automatically if you wish.
This may seem like a lot of information, but if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know in the replies of this post! If you're an experienced seller, do you have any recommended practices for keeping track of your expiration information?
10 replies
Seller_0JNslkNnWLtcD
Hello, we are selling a food item that recently received a VOC 2-star review stating that the product tastes like "it had been left in a pantry for several years and forgotten about".
Seemingly a bot picked up this product review and interpreted it as the product is past the expiration date. Based on the review a past the expiration date complaint was generated for the ASIN.
While the listing remains active, we've been trying to remove both the complaint and the review with no positive result. The product expires in summer 2024 and the expiration date is clearly visible on each item. We made photos of it on an item from the batch that Amazon currently has at its fulfillment centers. We sent commercial invoice, lab reports, FDA certificates etc.
Each time we get the same answer that Amazon doesn't have sufficient documentation to remove the complaint not stating exactly what is needed to prove that this ASIN is not past the expiration date.
It seems that the account health team wants us to admit something we have never done, i.e. selling expired product and then tick certain boxes in commitment to our determination to avoid such situations in the future.
Not really sure what can be done to resolve the issue. As for product review Amazon CS told us that if a customer feels that the product tastes like it has expired a customer is free to say so. Sounds really weird. A customer is holding a bottle that has the exp.date: 06/15/2024, but feels the product has expired??? What if I hold a red dress in my hand and I feel that it is blue. Could be funny except that in our case stating something like a food product is past the expiration date means that it can be potentially harmful to one's health that will basically cut sales off. Maybe this is the whole purpose of such reviews?
Seller_WyXakOeaZDr6D
Hello,
I am reaching out to seek guidance on a recent challenge we have encountered with a customer claim of expired products. We sell a snack variety pack comprising over 20 different snacks sourced internationally. We prioritize obtaining the freshest items available in the market and frequently replenish our FBA stocks to ensure optimal freshness.
Recently, we received an expired product claim from a customer, alleging that all 24 snacks in our variety pack are expired. This assertion is unequivocally false and appears to be a misguided claim, possibly originating from a competitor. We take extensive measures to communicate expiration dates, especially given the variation in date formats between Europe (DD-MM-YYYY) and the USA (MM-DD-YYYY). Our commitment to customer satisfaction includes relabeling and providing clear guidance on date formats.
In response to this claim, I am preparing to submit invoices and documentation that validate our legitimate purchases of goods within the last 365 days. While I have no reservations about providing this documentation, I have concerns that the Amazon investigators may overlook crucial details. Our product is a combination of 20+ snacks in one box, and I want to ensure that this complexity is adequately captured during the review process. Additionally, as our snacks are international, our invoices are addressed to our overseas company, creating a discrepancy with the account name on our Amazon US account.
I would appreciate any insights or suggestions on how best to present our case and address these specific challenges. My goal is to provide a thorough and accurate representation of our business practices, dispelling any doubts about the quality and freshness of our products.
FBA and Expiration Dates: Here's what you need to know
When shopping at the grocery store, you probably have the expectation that you are purchasing fresh items within their shelf life. Any packaging is typically labeled with the expiration date so that you can be assured of freshness and informed about safety. In an online store where shoppers are not able to pick up the merchandise, following the expiration-dated inventory policies and requirements ensures the safety and satisfaction of your customers.
Expiration is not limited to consumables. Amazon considers any product with a shelf life, or that loses effectiveness with time, to be subject to expiration, even if an expiration date is not indicated on the product packaging. When your items arrive at a fulfillment center, they must have a remaining shelf life that allows time for the product to be consumed/used with an additional 90 days. Perishable items are not allowed.
Add an expiration date to a listing via file upload or, if adding a product one-at-a-time, you will provide expiration information in the Vital info tab.
1. Is product expirable -- Select yes if any of the following are true:
- There is a printed expiration or manufacturing date on the product or its packaging
- The product is a topical or consumable for human or animal use
- It is a cleaning product, such as disinfectant wipes, cleaning sprays and solutions, and detergents
- It includes components that can expire, such as a coffee machine that is sold bundled with coffee
- The product has a recommended shelf life
- The product loses effectiveness over time
- The product has a period-after-opening symbol
2. Product expiration type -- If you answered yes above, select one of the following:
- Expiration date required: The expiration date is printed on the product or product packaging.
- Expiration on package: The product will be reviewed and given an expiration date when we receive it in our fulfillment center.
- Production date required: The production date or manufacturing date is printed on the product or product packaging.
- Shelf life: The product will lose effectiveness over time but it doesn’t have an exact expiration or production date (for example, batteries and some beauty products).
3. Fulfillment center shelf life -- Enter the number of days between 0 and 1,825 that your product can be kept in the fulfillment center without losing effectiveness. There is a guide found here.
4. Fulfillment center shelf life unit -- you must select Days from the drop-down.
Expiration-dated products must be fully enclosed and sealed in packaging that is suitable for shipping. Expiration-dated products that require additional preparation, such as poly-bagging or bubble wrap, must have labels with expiration dates applied to the outside of the product prep or packaging.
When shipping products to our fulfillment centers, each box can have only one expiration date per ASIN. You can ship multiple ASINs in the same box as long as each ASIN has only one expiration date. If there are multiple expiration dates for the same ASIN, the products with different expiration dates must be shipped in separate boxes.
Firstly, all expiration-dated FBA inventory requires an Amazon barcode label.
Expiration-dated products must include the expiration date on the outer box in 36-point or larger font and on the individual units. For clarity, these expiration dates must be in one of a few specific formats. Medical devices must be clearly labeled using YYYY-MM-DD format. For products other than medical devices, acceptable date formats are:
- MM-DD-YYYY
- MM-YYYY
Numeric date formats are preferred. However, dates with an alphabetical abbreviation for the month (for example, DD-JAN-YYYY) are also acceptable. If the expiration date is printed in a different format, a sticker with the correct format must be applied over it.
Any manufacturing and expiration date must be clearly labeled. A manufacturing date is the equivalent of a production date. A best-by or sell-by date is considered the equivalent of an expiration date.
- Do not conceal the original expiration date or other information on the product packaging (such as ingredients, drug facts, net contents, or distributor information).
- All ingestible products (including animal products) must be clearly labeled with an expiration date or manufacturing date. Lot numbers alone are insufficient.
- All baby food and baby formula products must have a clearly labeled expiration date.
- All medical devices must have expiration dates.
- All case packs, multipacks, and display boxes must have the expiration date on the box or bundle, as well as on each individual item inside the box or bundle.
If you have a product bundle where the individual products in the bundle have different expiration dates, it is recommended to use the "soonest" expiration date of the products in the bundle. This will ensure the customer does not receive any expired products in the bundle.
Common Problems
Failure to specify the manufacturing date or expiration date on a product might cause delays in receiving your products, or it may cause products to be received as expired at the fulfillment center. Any inventory that exceeds the expiration date or that has an expiration date that cannot be confirmed will be marked as unsellable and you will need to remove it from the fulfillment center. You can have unsellable inventory sent back to you automatically if you wish.
This may seem like a lot of information, but if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know in the replies of this post! If you're an experienced seller, do you have any recommended practices for keeping track of your expiration information?
FBA and Expiration Dates: Here's what you need to know
When shopping at the grocery store, you probably have the expectation that you are purchasing fresh items within their shelf life. Any packaging is typically labeled with the expiration date so that you can be assured of freshness and informed about safety. In an online store where shoppers are not able to pick up the merchandise, following the expiration-dated inventory policies and requirements ensures the safety and satisfaction of your customers.
Expiration is not limited to consumables. Amazon considers any product with a shelf life, or that loses effectiveness with time, to be subject to expiration, even if an expiration date is not indicated on the product packaging. When your items arrive at a fulfillment center, they must have a remaining shelf life that allows time for the product to be consumed/used with an additional 90 days. Perishable items are not allowed.
Add an expiration date to a listing via file upload or, if adding a product one-at-a-time, you will provide expiration information in the Vital info tab.
1. Is product expirable -- Select yes if any of the following are true:
- There is a printed expiration or manufacturing date on the product or its packaging
- The product is a topical or consumable for human or animal use
- It is a cleaning product, such as disinfectant wipes, cleaning sprays and solutions, and detergents
- It includes components that can expire, such as a coffee machine that is sold bundled with coffee
- The product has a recommended shelf life
- The product loses effectiveness over time
- The product has a period-after-opening symbol
2. Product expiration type -- If you answered yes above, select one of the following:
- Expiration date required: The expiration date is printed on the product or product packaging.
- Expiration on package: The product will be reviewed and given an expiration date when we receive it in our fulfillment center.
- Production date required: The production date or manufacturing date is printed on the product or product packaging.
- Shelf life: The product will lose effectiveness over time but it doesn’t have an exact expiration or production date (for example, batteries and some beauty products).
3. Fulfillment center shelf life -- Enter the number of days between 0 and 1,825 that your product can be kept in the fulfillment center without losing effectiveness. There is a guide found here.
4. Fulfillment center shelf life unit -- you must select Days from the drop-down.
Expiration-dated products must be fully enclosed and sealed in packaging that is suitable for shipping. Expiration-dated products that require additional preparation, such as poly-bagging or bubble wrap, must have labels with expiration dates applied to the outside of the product prep or packaging.
When shipping products to our fulfillment centers, each box can have only one expiration date per ASIN. You can ship multiple ASINs in the same box as long as each ASIN has only one expiration date. If there are multiple expiration dates for the same ASIN, the products with different expiration dates must be shipped in separate boxes.
Firstly, all expiration-dated FBA inventory requires an Amazon barcode label.
Expiration-dated products must include the expiration date on the outer box in 36-point or larger font and on the individual units. For clarity, these expiration dates must be in one of a few specific formats. Medical devices must be clearly labeled using YYYY-MM-DD format. For products other than medical devices, acceptable date formats are:
- MM-DD-YYYY
- MM-YYYY
Numeric date formats are preferred. However, dates with an alphabetical abbreviation for the month (for example, DD-JAN-YYYY) are also acceptable. If the expiration date is printed in a different format, a sticker with the correct format must be applied over it.
Any manufacturing and expiration date must be clearly labeled. A manufacturing date is the equivalent of a production date. A best-by or sell-by date is considered the equivalent of an expiration date.
- Do not conceal the original expiration date or other information on the product packaging (such as ingredients, drug facts, net contents, or distributor information).
- All ingestible products (including animal products) must be clearly labeled with an expiration date or manufacturing date. Lot numbers alone are insufficient.
- All baby food and baby formula products must have a clearly labeled expiration date.
- All medical devices must have expiration dates.
- All case packs, multipacks, and display boxes must have the expiration date on the box or bundle, as well as on each individual item inside the box or bundle.
If you have a product bundle where the individual products in the bundle have different expiration dates, it is recommended to use the "soonest" expiration date of the products in the bundle. This will ensure the customer does not receive any expired products in the bundle.
Common Problems
Failure to specify the manufacturing date or expiration date on a product might cause delays in receiving your products, or it may cause products to be received as expired at the fulfillment center. Any inventory that exceeds the expiration date or that has an expiration date that cannot be confirmed will be marked as unsellable and you will need to remove it from the fulfillment center. You can have unsellable inventory sent back to you automatically if you wish.
This may seem like a lot of information, but if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know in the replies of this post! If you're an experienced seller, do you have any recommended practices for keeping track of your expiration information?
10 replies
10 replies
Seller_0JNslkNnWLtcD
Hello, we are selling a food item that recently received a VOC 2-star review stating that the product tastes like "it had been left in a pantry for several years and forgotten about".
Seemingly a bot picked up this product review and interpreted it as the product is past the expiration date. Based on the review a past the expiration date complaint was generated for the ASIN.
While the listing remains active, we've been trying to remove both the complaint and the review with no positive result. The product expires in summer 2024 and the expiration date is clearly visible on each item. We made photos of it on an item from the batch that Amazon currently has at its fulfillment centers. We sent commercial invoice, lab reports, FDA certificates etc.
Each time we get the same answer that Amazon doesn't have sufficient documentation to remove the complaint not stating exactly what is needed to prove that this ASIN is not past the expiration date.
It seems that the account health team wants us to admit something we have never done, i.e. selling expired product and then tick certain boxes in commitment to our determination to avoid such situations in the future.
Not really sure what can be done to resolve the issue. As for product review Amazon CS told us that if a customer feels that the product tastes like it has expired a customer is free to say so. Sounds really weird. A customer is holding a bottle that has the exp.date: 06/15/2024, but feels the product has expired??? What if I hold a red dress in my hand and I feel that it is blue. Could be funny except that in our case stating something like a food product is past the expiration date means that it can be potentially harmful to one's health that will basically cut sales off. Maybe this is the whole purpose of such reviews?
Seller_WyXakOeaZDr6D
Hello,
I am reaching out to seek guidance on a recent challenge we have encountered with a customer claim of expired products. We sell a snack variety pack comprising over 20 different snacks sourced internationally. We prioritize obtaining the freshest items available in the market and frequently replenish our FBA stocks to ensure optimal freshness.
Recently, we received an expired product claim from a customer, alleging that all 24 snacks in our variety pack are expired. This assertion is unequivocally false and appears to be a misguided claim, possibly originating from a competitor. We take extensive measures to communicate expiration dates, especially given the variation in date formats between Europe (DD-MM-YYYY) and the USA (MM-DD-YYYY). Our commitment to customer satisfaction includes relabeling and providing clear guidance on date formats.
In response to this claim, I am preparing to submit invoices and documentation that validate our legitimate purchases of goods within the last 365 days. While I have no reservations about providing this documentation, I have concerns that the Amazon investigators may overlook crucial details. Our product is a combination of 20+ snacks in one box, and I want to ensure that this complexity is adequately captured during the review process. Additionally, as our snacks are international, our invoices are addressed to our overseas company, creating a discrepancy with the account name on our Amazon US account.
I would appreciate any insights or suggestions on how best to present our case and address these specific challenges. My goal is to provide a thorough and accurate representation of our business practices, dispelling any doubts about the quality and freshness of our products.
Seller_0JNslkNnWLtcD
Hello, we are selling a food item that recently received a VOC 2-star review stating that the product tastes like "it had been left in a pantry for several years and forgotten about".
Seemingly a bot picked up this product review and interpreted it as the product is past the expiration date. Based on the review a past the expiration date complaint was generated for the ASIN.
While the listing remains active, we've been trying to remove both the complaint and the review with no positive result. The product expires in summer 2024 and the expiration date is clearly visible on each item. We made photos of it on an item from the batch that Amazon currently has at its fulfillment centers. We sent commercial invoice, lab reports, FDA certificates etc.
Each time we get the same answer that Amazon doesn't have sufficient documentation to remove the complaint not stating exactly what is needed to prove that this ASIN is not past the expiration date.
It seems that the account health team wants us to admit something we have never done, i.e. selling expired product and then tick certain boxes in commitment to our determination to avoid such situations in the future.
Not really sure what can be done to resolve the issue. As for product review Amazon CS told us that if a customer feels that the product tastes like it has expired a customer is free to say so. Sounds really weird. A customer is holding a bottle that has the exp.date: 06/15/2024, but feels the product has expired??? What if I hold a red dress in my hand and I feel that it is blue. Could be funny except that in our case stating something like a food product is past the expiration date means that it can be potentially harmful to one's health that will basically cut sales off. Maybe this is the whole purpose of such reviews?
Seller_0JNslkNnWLtcD
Hello, we are selling a food item that recently received a VOC 2-star review stating that the product tastes like "it had been left in a pantry for several years and forgotten about".
Seemingly a bot picked up this product review and interpreted it as the product is past the expiration date. Based on the review a past the expiration date complaint was generated for the ASIN.
While the listing remains active, we've been trying to remove both the complaint and the review with no positive result. The product expires in summer 2024 and the expiration date is clearly visible on each item. We made photos of it on an item from the batch that Amazon currently has at its fulfillment centers. We sent commercial invoice, lab reports, FDA certificates etc.
Each time we get the same answer that Amazon doesn't have sufficient documentation to remove the complaint not stating exactly what is needed to prove that this ASIN is not past the expiration date.
It seems that the account health team wants us to admit something we have never done, i.e. selling expired product and then tick certain boxes in commitment to our determination to avoid such situations in the future.
Not really sure what can be done to resolve the issue. As for product review Amazon CS told us that if a customer feels that the product tastes like it has expired a customer is free to say so. Sounds really weird. A customer is holding a bottle that has the exp.date: 06/15/2024, but feels the product has expired??? What if I hold a red dress in my hand and I feel that it is blue. Could be funny except that in our case stating something like a food product is past the expiration date means that it can be potentially harmful to one's health that will basically cut sales off. Maybe this is the whole purpose of such reviews?
Seller_WyXakOeaZDr6D
Hello,
I am reaching out to seek guidance on a recent challenge we have encountered with a customer claim of expired products. We sell a snack variety pack comprising over 20 different snacks sourced internationally. We prioritize obtaining the freshest items available in the market and frequently replenish our FBA stocks to ensure optimal freshness.
Recently, we received an expired product claim from a customer, alleging that all 24 snacks in our variety pack are expired. This assertion is unequivocally false and appears to be a misguided claim, possibly originating from a competitor. We take extensive measures to communicate expiration dates, especially given the variation in date formats between Europe (DD-MM-YYYY) and the USA (MM-DD-YYYY). Our commitment to customer satisfaction includes relabeling and providing clear guidance on date formats.
In response to this claim, I am preparing to submit invoices and documentation that validate our legitimate purchases of goods within the last 365 days. While I have no reservations about providing this documentation, I have concerns that the Amazon investigators may overlook crucial details. Our product is a combination of 20+ snacks in one box, and I want to ensure that this complexity is adequately captured during the review process. Additionally, as our snacks are international, our invoices are addressed to our overseas company, creating a discrepancy with the account name on our Amazon US account.
I would appreciate any insights or suggestions on how best to present our case and address these specific challenges. My goal is to provide a thorough and accurate representation of our business practices, dispelling any doubts about the quality and freshness of our products.
Seller_WyXakOeaZDr6D
Hello,
I am reaching out to seek guidance on a recent challenge we have encountered with a customer claim of expired products. We sell a snack variety pack comprising over 20 different snacks sourced internationally. We prioritize obtaining the freshest items available in the market and frequently replenish our FBA stocks to ensure optimal freshness.
Recently, we received an expired product claim from a customer, alleging that all 24 snacks in our variety pack are expired. This assertion is unequivocally false and appears to be a misguided claim, possibly originating from a competitor. We take extensive measures to communicate expiration dates, especially given the variation in date formats between Europe (DD-MM-YYYY) and the USA (MM-DD-YYYY). Our commitment to customer satisfaction includes relabeling and providing clear guidance on date formats.
In response to this claim, I am preparing to submit invoices and documentation that validate our legitimate purchases of goods within the last 365 days. While I have no reservations about providing this documentation, I have concerns that the Amazon investigators may overlook crucial details. Our product is a combination of 20+ snacks in one box, and I want to ensure that this complexity is adequately captured during the review process. Additionally, as our snacks are international, our invoices are addressed to our overseas company, creating a discrepancy with the account name on our Amazon US account.
I would appreciate any insights or suggestions on how best to present our case and address these specific challenges. My goal is to provide a thorough and accurate representation of our business practices, dispelling any doubts about the quality and freshness of our products.
