As the Brexit trade deal came into force on 1st January 2021, conventional and online businesses face a period of uncertainty until the exact terms of the agreement become known and dissected. No doubt leaving the EU has changed the economic and trading dynamics in the UK and Europe. But what does this all mean to sellers on Amazon, especially considering that the tech giant has its warehousing facilities in mainland Europe as well as the UK?
If you are an Amazon seller, you might be wondering how the post-Brexit trading terms might affect your Amazon Seller account. With the upcoming changes, there is room for confusion and it is important to know the impact on your seller profile. Thankfully, Amazon has readily answered almost all questions about their Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) inventory storage limits. Being a leading
Amazon Management Service in the UK, we help you understand what inventory storage limits are and how to navigate the changes made by Amazon.
A Change to FBA Inventory Storage Limits
Before the Brexit trade deal, there was only one set of storage limits applicable across the UK and Europe. To optimise Amazon fulfilment centre’s storage limits, sellers are often giving an inventory storage limit.
The storage limits are based on the volume and type of storage. If you have reached the storage limit, you might find a storage monitor appear on the dashboard of your seller account. Different kinds of accounts have various storage limits.
For example, the storage limit allotted to an individual account is a permanent ten cubic feet while professional selling accounts have a minimum of 25 cubic feet of storage.
These storage limits change according to IPI (Inventory Performance Index) scores and sales volumes. If your inventory exceeds your storage limit, you may be subject to a storage overage fee. It is always good to keep track of your inventory to avoid cranking up sales costs.
Post-Brexit FBA Inventory Storage Limits
With Brexit formally coming into effect, Amazon has decided to revise its criteria for storage limits. As of 1st January 2021, sellers on Amazon will receive a separate storage limit for each storage type covering their UK inventory and the second set of storage limits covering the EU inventory.
EU countries participating in this new scheme will include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, although Amazon has not explicitly excluded other countries within the trading bloc. However, it is important to note that since Amazon has not mentioned any marketplaces beyond Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, it is safe to assume that these limits apply to these Western European online marketplaces.
Navigating around for Storage Limits
As a start, you can view your current storage limit by expanding the “Storage Volume” option under the Inventory Performance Dashboard.
Furthermore, if you are confused about the limits that apply to you, you can sign into Seller Central and see the storage limits applicable to your particular marketplace. The seller dashboard provides all the information about your inventory and limits.
For example, if you sign into the Italian, Spanish, or German marketplaces, you will see storage limits that are subject to Europe exclusively. If you are a UK-based seller, you will only see the storage limits relevant to the UK.
There is a clear distinction between the EU marketplace inventories and UK store inventory.
Amazon Seller Account Management
A natural question that could arise after this change is whether you should have a separate seller account for the UK and Europe. According to Amazon, it is still better for you to have a unified account to manage your Amazon stores, as it makes your job easier and efficient. With multiple accounts, you have to track numerous variables, which can make the effort much more exhausting.
How can sellers find out the current inventory usage in Europe or the UK? First, refer to the storage volume for current usage. Then, if you are looking for limits that went into effect before January 1st, 2021, you will see that usage for Europe and the UK will still be combined. Storage limits will be split between the UK and Europe for the subsequent period and beyond. You can see this when you sign in to the respective marketplace account.
Stay up to date
Until more guidance is published by Amazon and the details of the trade deal are released, the above should help you navigate your seller account.
This article was based on Amazon’s official guidance for sellers and aims to provide clarity and answers to you on post-Brexit FBA inventory storage limits.
As a dedicated
Amazon Management Agency in the UK, we are committed to providing sellers with accurate and comprehensive information.
Do check our Marketing Tips for regular updates to learn about the changes that could affect Amazon sellers or any of the platform’s other features. If you have a question, please contact us today.
