
Mar 17 , 2020
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DRAMATIC COVID-19 CHANGES FOR 47% OF ALL AMAZON SELLER
3/17/2020 Noon
Amazon Freezes Non-Essential-Product Shipments from Its Third-Party FBA Sellers.
Affected Products are everything except the categories listed below:
- Baby
- Health & Household
- Beauty & Personal Care (Including personal care appliances)
- Grocery
- Industrial & Scientific
- Pet Supplies
FAQ:
- Question: Why?
- Answer: Covid – 19. Civic Duty. Amazon is trying to fill the gap of all the retail stores that are shut down and to allow people to order all of their essentials online. This will help America get healthy again.
- Question: I have products in an Amazon FBA Center. What happens to these products?
- Answer: Nothing changes, except your product, might ship a little slower.
- Question: I need to reorder. What should I do?
- Answer: If you try to set up a shipping order in your Seller Central but cannot, then your product is not considered essential by Amazon and you cannot ship it to an FBA Center. However, you may ship it to another location and sell as FBM until the block is lifted. (Fulfilled by Merchant.)
- Question: How do I know if my product is blocked?
- Answer: In general, if it is not selling in one of the above categories, then it is blocked. And even then, some products in these categories are not considered essential. Without an accepted shipping order, you cannot ship your product to Amazon.
- Question: If my product is blocked, what can I do?
- Answer: You can place the order with the factory and have the product shipped to a location of your choice but not the FMA center.
- Question: How long will this current block be in effect?
- Answer: This one is until April 5th.
- Question: Should we consider selling products in the accepted categories?
- Answer: New sellers into these categories must be approved by Amazon. Research is always good, but it’s better to measure twice and cut once. Be cautious here.
- Question: So, what is the takeaway here?
- Answer: Know your business model. Know your options. Work your numbers. If it is still profitable, then arrange for alternate receiving and order fulfillment.