**Is Amazon about to kill AWD for a large number of sellers?**
I just received Amazon's announcement that, starting July 31, AWD will no longer accept new inbound shipments with cartons measuring **18" × 14" × 8" or larger** or **20 lbs or more**.
For many sellers, these limits exclude a large percentage of normal shipping cartons. Reducing carton sizes isn't a practical solution because it dramatically increases costs.
For example, splitting one master carton into two smaller cartons means paying for:
* AWD inbound processing
* AWD outbound processing
* Transportation
* Warehouse handling
These fees are charged **per carton**, so reducing carton size can add several dollars to every original carton before even considering additional freight costs.
The main advantage of AWD has always been lower storage costs and the ability to replenish FBA as needed, especially during Q4 when FBA storage fees become very expensive.
If many products can no longer enter AWD, sellers will be forced to:
* Ship directly to FBA and pay significantly higher storage fees, especially during the holidays, or
* Use third-party warehouses instead of AWD.
I'm concerned this change may actually reduce AWD adoption rather than improve it.
* Are you planning to redesign your master cartons, move to a 3PL, or stop using AWD altogether?
Hopefully, Amazon will reconsider these limits or provide an alternative for sellers using standard shipping cartons.
**Is Amazon about to kill AWD for a large number of sellers?**
I just received Amazon's announcement that, starting July 31, AWD will no longer accept new inbound shipments with cartons measuring **18" × 14" × 8" or larger** or **20 lbs or more**.
For many sellers, these limits exclude a large percentage of normal shipping cartons. Reducing carton sizes isn't a practical solution because it dramatically increases costs.
For example, splitting one master carton into two smaller cartons means paying for:
* AWD inbound processing
* AWD outbound processing
* Transportation
* Warehouse handling
These fees are charged **per carton**, so reducing carton size can add several dollars to every original carton before even considering additional freight costs.
The main advantage of AWD has always been lower storage costs and the ability to replenish FBA as needed, especially during Q4 when FBA storage fees become very expensive.
If many products can no longer enter AWD, sellers will be forced to:
* Ship directly to FBA and pay significantly higher storage fees, especially during the holidays, or
* Use third-party warehouses instead of AWD.
I'm concerned this change may actually reduce AWD adoption rather than improve it.
* Are you planning to redesign your master cartons, move to a 3PL, or stop using AWD altogether?
Hopefully, Amazon will reconsider these limits or provide an alternative for sellers using standard shipping cartons.
22 replies
Seller_Ddy6aBaOmjnx2
It seems clear that seller uptake of AWD was greater than expected or some consultants figured that Amazon could make more in FBA inbound placement fees if it placed these limits on AWD usage. It's so typical of Amazon...they can never leave well enough alone. This certainly kills AWD for us.
KJ_Amazon
Hello @Seller_JCQVyhr3qEe1F Thank you for posting that update and for sharing your feedback. I pass along all AWD feedback to our partner teams for their review.
Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) product eligibility
The Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) program is available for a variety of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) products. When you create shipments for the program, we’ll validate that the ASINs that you’re attempting to send are eligible. Starting July 31, 2026, AWD only accepts sortable items (smaller than 18" x 14" x 8" and weighing less than 20 lbs). Items exceeding these thresholds should be sent directly to the fulfillment network using the Send to Amazon workflow.
Seller_V5l9UBkHDQEjb
still trying to figure out what AWD is even for anyway let alone this bizarrely small box limitation
Seller_86YZdANiWr7x7
I believe that size limitation is for the individual products, not the shipment itself. They'll accept pallets.
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/GVEPW8A7PZ3YGPJE#mnd_2jc_jcb-1
looks like boxes up to 25 inches cubed and 50 pounds are just fine.
Seller_XnVilD6H0DXnb
The 18" × 14" × 8" and 20 lb limitation applies to the individual sellable unit (the ASIN unit), not the entire master carton.
In other words, Amazon is looking at the product you sell to the customer (the FBA unit), including its retail packaging, not the shipping carton you use to send multiple units to AWD.
Seller_qjC9zfgzs3Vpr
No offense to Amazon but you cant even create AWD shipments. You will click AWD and it will attempt to transfer just for everything to reset again.
Seller_9ZBOAD9SC0L7M
We have not and will not use AWD.
No value in it, everyone I know who used it despises it, and it is just another way for Amazon to extract revenue from sellers
Seller_TTG0TX5GOhqmW
I believe this only relates to individual items that are > 18 x 14 x 8" or over 20 lbs -- not BOXES of items. AWD basically won't accept oversize items.
If you run the math, oversize items are not really cost effective in AWD when you account for the inbound processing and outbound -- AWD is geared more towards boxes that contain a large # of units. Oversize items tend to have a low qty of units in a master case (or even just one unit) and are more expensive then sending directly to FBA (in my analysis).
