How I Adjusted Amazon Inventory Placement Fee and Shipment Splits

Рет қаралды 8,410

5 ай бұрын

The new Amazon FBA inventory placement fee is a tough one to come to terms with and tough to avoid. This really changes the game for products that sell for $10 or less. Those who are selling these items are facing a potential loss of most of their profit margins. It is especially important for sellers of low priced products to avoid this Amazon Fee increase.
It all starts with your settings and in this video I show you how to make those adjustments so that when you submit your plan using the API in software like Inventory Lab you can do your best to avoid this fee. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or tips on how to help others avoid this fee.
Remember this is new to everyone so if you have advice please share it in the comments. Thanks!
Email:
matthew.e.urbaniak@gmail.com
Link to fee details:
sellercentral.amazon.com/help...

Пікірлер: 81

@OhDannyboy7 2 ай бұрын

I think it's clear that Amazon is trying to snub out the smaller businesses by making it too expensive to do business with these B.S. fees that make little to no sense. Good video as we appreciate the effort but they make it impossible for us sellers to send a variety of product with lower inventory volumes. I'll probably close my professional seller account with Amazon as it's unsustainable. I'll downgrade to an individual account since FBA is not worth the cost or headache or leave Amazon altogether. Amazon's bureaucracy eats into our profit margins astronomically.

@EnablingEcom 2 ай бұрын

As you say this certainly will impact the small sellers and the variety of products offered on Amazon. I have seen several sellers drop off of the marginally profitable products I am involved in. I am not sure if it is permanent or if they will eventually be back at higher prices. I am a $4 mil annual seller growing around 30% annually. I also consult on product launches and PPC management. Amazon is still quite good for higher margin products. It's the biggest market place that pretty much anyone can access to sell something. You may want to consider pivoting to a different product mix and rebuild from there. Of course Amazon controls the marketplace so big changes to costs are always a business risk to consider. Good luck.

@OhDannyboy7 2 ай бұрын

@@EnablingEcom Just saw your response. Thanks for taking the time to reply thoroughly and I agree on pivoting. It's not going to be easy finding a new product mix but something worth exploring. And I am happy for your success and wish you evermore success along with the rest of us. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. :)

@dealman3312 4 ай бұрын

Timely video. This is what I was just looking into. We have to change all our processes. Thank you

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@mslashay35 2 ай бұрын

Thank you. Trying it.

@Ozzy63666 4 ай бұрын

If you have casepacked shipments, will it keep these together using the setting you should in SC?

@Geni3420 4 ай бұрын

Hi Matt, I have some Asins that I can fit 100 units in 1 box. Amazon is still charging me a placement fee even for sending 1 box to 1 warehouse. I think your method can only work if you ship LTL. If your shipping UPS partner carrier you would have to ship a minimum of 4 boxes to cancel out the placement fee. But even if you save money on the placement fee your still paying more per box because amazon will tell you to ship those 4 boxes to places very far from you.

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Wow, I saw some sellers talking about that on the seller boards. Thanks for adding the detail on that. The added complexity is adding a ton of cost to this business.

@usmanyousafLLC 4 ай бұрын

That's very helpful

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@user-tx3op7pi9p 19 күн бұрын

As of 07/11/2024 I do not see that option. Any updates?!!

@youtube-Tanaview 4 ай бұрын

Thank you ,,, Great info ...

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@ruthinater4322 4 ай бұрын

i did 4 boxes today and only got split once but still paid $99 to ship all 4 boxes. (2 shipments) are you putting different skus in each box or one sku in each box? cus i divided them amongst the 4 boxes and still got charged obscene amount

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

I run one SKU per box. The problem is the split causes large increases in shipping costs. When you factor in the higher shipping cost the savings is much smaller.

@user-yl3ge3uc3y 4 ай бұрын

This time tried with light objects and still charging a fee. Why do KZfaqrs keep posting you can get rid of the fee?

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Please read the other comments as other viewers have added additional advice on this.

@chacha0177 4 ай бұрын

Hello and thank you for this new video, I am waiting for 130 cartons delivered from China to US by boat and by truck, my provider is not able to provide me tracking numbers for 100cartons, he told me to put the number of each label FBA instead to not leave the case empty in the seller central expedtion part where I am supposed to put each tracking number near each carton with FBA Label, is it a solution ?(The reason why I did not provide tracking# is because the freight forwarder used truck service, not traceable service like UPS or Fedex) It is my first expedition, I just began Amazon FBA, thank you

@lautarocometti3744 4 ай бұрын

you just began amazon fba and ship 130 cartons? woooow you are great

@chacha0177 4 ай бұрын

@@lautarocometti3744 thank you :)

@abdulkadirgenc2601 4 ай бұрын

Thank you. I changed my settings to "Amazon-optimized shipment splits" but nothing changed. On the shipment plan page, "Amazon-optimized shipment splits" option is unavailable. How could I overcome this problem?

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Since this is new; there likely are bugs in the process. I would contact customer support or check out some of the forums. Often a solution to these issues will appear withing 24 hours.

@chroniccomforts 4 ай бұрын

Same - I called support it's not a bug, we have to pay e- Even if you send to multiple locations which increases your fees anyway, there is STILL a placement fee. There is something that is greyed out on the shipment page I am not sure if that is the answer (or a bug) but the rep didn't think so. When I asked why what I the reason for this new fee he blamed it on something the government I charging amazon! ??

@bhagyalaxmisirupuram9046 4 ай бұрын

I have the same problem. Does it take 15 minutes and update or something?

@AJ_OnlyAmz 4 ай бұрын

Because he’s wrong-this only avoids fees if amazon’s API determines your shipment can be split to 5 FCs. There is no magical way to get rid of them and there is NO bug impacting you. It comes down to having single multiple single sku shipments. This video is earnestly nothing special and is NOT going to save you from placement fees

@chroniccomforts 4 ай бұрын

@bhagyalaxmisirupuram9046 I'm going to keep calling Amazon until they give me a solid explanation for why it works for some people some times and why so much misinformation is being spread about it. They need to just explain it and then we can do business by understanding the fees in the current state - not guessing every time which way it might go or if there is a workaround like so many are saying!! I hope everyone else will do the same. We need to push back and all our voices together might make a difference

@ValdemarN 4 ай бұрын

After speaking with Amazon they confirmed the setting only works as a preference and that the system will determine it for each shipment you make what your split options are. We are currently sending 14 cartons via UPS partnered carrier but Amazon will not allow us to split up the shipment to remove the placement fee. They suggested to lower the qty of cartons which have not worked so far unfortunately.

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge on this. You may have read this in comments but another seller kindly wrote this: "If your shipping UPS partner carrier you would have to ship a minimum of 4 boxes to cancel out the placement fee. But even if you save money on the placement fee your still paying more per box because amazon will tell you to ship those 4 boxes to places very far from you." The above may work although it is similar to what your saying and then may not work all the time.

@bhagyalaxmisirupuram9046 4 ай бұрын

I have a pickup scheduled for in an hour, and now the fee... What are you all doing? sending anyway with the fee or anything else?

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Check out some of the comments, there are ways to avoid the fee.

@StaverHealth 4 ай бұрын

I tried this method yesterday and it didn’t work BUT, I then tried again today and kept the setting what he said in the video and it worked! I tried about 6 different scenarios and found that each one that was four boxes or more than it gave me the option to do the no placement service fee and only pay for shipping saving us HUNDREDS of dollars each time we ship. Thank you for the informative video!

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the confirmation. I am glad it worked for you and you saved a good amount of money. This should help others as well. Thanks again for contributing your experience.

@bhagyalaxmisirupuram9046 4 ай бұрын

what do you mean by 4 boxes? were you sending the 4 boxes with only 1 sku? does it help in RA for anybody?

@MidwestTreasureChest 4 ай бұрын

send to multiple locations - do we have to now send in 4 different shipments to FBA (when we always sent 1 before)? If so no thanks. If not I will utilize this method.

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

You have a choice what you select. The method is explaining how to make that choice and where in seller central to change the setting. If you don’t mind paying you can still ship to one warehouse. But your costs are going to increase quite a bit. It’s going to change the game for a lot of sellers.

@MidwestTreasureChest 4 ай бұрын

I don't see the cost savings they are going to get us either way on increased fees plus if I have to do multiple shipments not only is it expensive but takes more of my time which I don't have extra of anyway. @@EnablingEcom

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Yes the increased time alone offsets the "savings." At the end of this Amazon will simply retain a larger share of the selling price.

@AJ_OnlyAmz 4 ай бұрын

You don’t have a choice unless Amazon determines your shipment qualifies. In the most respectful way possible-this guy isn’t teaching you anything but changing settings that only gives your PREFERRED method. It’s hogwash

@kyilmaz84 4 ай бұрын

Thanks but in general why did amazon increase the fee?

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

They are a for profit business, if they can increase fees and revenue without decreasing profit then as a business they will do that. As sellers on the platform it will shift our profits more to Amazon. However if the fee dramatically decreases supply of goods for sale on Amazon perhaps they will rethink it and roll it back. As a seller we need to adapt our processes to the forever changing business environment. That's what we get paid for.

@reddragonsubliminal6440 4 ай бұрын

I tried your settings and sad to say it doesn't work was still charged a fee.

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Please read the other comments as other viewers have added additional advice on this.

@DavidJB99 Ай бұрын

Wow, I did what you said, changing that setting within Seller Central and it seemed to work! Yesterday they listed $85 for my Placement Fees which I accepted (but said I had 24 hours to cancel the shipment and avoid any charges). Today I canceled that shipment and after making the settings change, started on a new shipment ... and they listed ZERO Placement Fees. Hopefully this is correct & you've indeed saved me $85! Nice work!

@EnablingEcom Ай бұрын

Ok great. Congratulations. Glad it worked for you.

@user-yl3ge3uc3y 4 ай бұрын

Tried the settings suggested, did not work at all. I even tried partial still charging me 😢

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Please read the other comments as other viewers have added additional advice on this.

@samn9384 4 ай бұрын

Did not work. I selected the option you suggested and Amazon still charging the placement fees

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

The setting change will work but you may need to experiment with how many items and boxes you include in your plan to get the zero free placement. However with the placement you will now be paying more to ship to 5 warehouses instead of one.

@MUHAMMADFAROOQ-jc8lc 4 ай бұрын

thank you sir

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Most welcome

@MUHAMMADFAROOQ-jc8lc 4 ай бұрын

@@EnablingEcom sir i tried this method but amz still asks me for 230$ . what should i do please guide thank you

@EnablingEcom 3 ай бұрын

You may want to experiment with different shipping plans. Amazon isn't offering specific guidance yet.

@sobhagya7054 4 ай бұрын

I have done everything but they are still charging fees in any case. 😢😢

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

They charge you extra fees even if you split the shipment to multiple warehouses?

@sobhagya7054 4 ай бұрын

@@EnablingEcom yes boss

@MidwestTreasureChest 4 ай бұрын

Amazon is going to get us any way we do it. The only thing you can strive for is higher profits to off-set this ridiculousness. It's going to get to the point where they phase out 75% of 3rd party sellers because we simply can't afford it any longer. Shame. @@EnablingEcom

@chroniccomforts 4 ай бұрын

@@EnablingEcom Same - I called support it's not a bug, we have to pay -Even if you send to multiple locations which increases your fees anyway, there is STILL a placement fee. There is something that is greyed out on the shipment page I am not sure if that is the answer (or a bug) but the rep didn't think so. When I asked why what I the reason for this new fee he blamed it on something the government I charging amazon! ??

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the information. Costs are certainly going up a lot and everyone is paying a lot more.

@jefflinnartz9115 4 ай бұрын

I'm so angry! I just got gouged - Thank you so much for this info!! It's still more of a pain in the ass but these fees are going to REALLY hurt business. Thanks again!

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Yes, every single seller is livid. Amazon makes it almost impossible not to pay >250% more for inbound transportation. I wonder how all this will play out. BTW, good luck with dealing with this huge change.

@AJ_OnlyAmz 4 ай бұрын

Please don’t take this video as a method to avoid fees. His setting change does nothing but choose a preferred shipment split. The API decides whether or not you qualify regardless. PLEASE don’t follow this information and think it’s going to change anything-because it will absolutely not change anything

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

It's primarily if you are using 3rd party software to submit your plans since it works through the API. However many have said that if you create 4-5 evenly disbursed boxes the shipments get split and there can be savings there.

@AJ_OnlyAmz 4 ай бұрын

@@EnablingEcom what do you not understand about 3PL software not avoiding fees. Amazon explicitly stated that using 3P software is the illusion of saving on fees but you’ll still be charged. GTFO

@FJ0308 4 ай бұрын

No it doesn't work I'm afraid. Tried all different options but still charging being this placement fee. It's ridiculously high! FBA isn't worth it with these new shipping charges.

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Another viewer kindly wrote this: "If your shipping UPS partner carrier you would have to ship a minimum of 4 boxes to cancel out the placement fee. But even if you save money on the placement fee your still paying more per box because amazon will tell you to ship those 4 boxes to places very far from you." The above may work.

@FJ0308 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing that but only yesterday I tried to ship 4 boxes and yes it did give me three options i.e. Amazon optimized, Partial and Minimum locations. The cheapest one was Amazon optimized but that too was more than double the pre March 1 2024 shipping costs!@@EnablingEcom

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the update. One shipment for me was 275% higher than prior shipments. But the last one came in about 120% higher. Perhaps overtime the new algorithm will get better and more efficient at directing our shipments. Let's hope so!

@frenchy123973 4 ай бұрын

Inventory placement fees are to be charged at your next billing period from what I was told, hence why we're not seeing it right away. This is a headache for sellers that are used to sending LTL and FTL on the regular.

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

I ship only LTL. I may pay the fee for now due to the added complication of constructing pallets with random splits. Also to send to 2 different destinations will be a cost as well when in the past all the pallets would typically go to one location.

@justforkicks 4 ай бұрын

@@EnablingEcom I'm aligned with your thinking here. Question, have you been able to avoid placement fees and also send in LTL or 14+ pallets to one FC location?

@babijii Ай бұрын

starts @ 1:30

@mr.j2618 4 ай бұрын

Doesn’t work

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Please read the other comments as other viewers have added additional advice on this.

@user-px5ly1tg1e 4 ай бұрын

CLICK BAIT, CMON BE TRUTHFUL SIR.

@EnablingEcom 4 ай бұрын

Hello, the video is an exact screen shot of my account. It was one of the first video's created by a real Amazon Seller, myself, on this topic. It has 67 likes so far and other viewers have given additional tips in the comments that can really help out many viewers. I thank them for that. You can help out and provide additional advice in the comments or continue to be negative; that's your choice. Good luck navigating this major Amazon change.