Amazon IPI Penalties: Storage Limits and How They Work

When your IPI score falls below Amazon's threshold (currently around 400, though Amazon adjusts this), you face FBA storage limits. These limits cap the total cubic feet of inventory you can have stored across all Amazon fulfillment centers at any time. Storage limits are evaluated quarterly: Amazon announces limits based on your IPI score at specific cutoff dates before each quarter begins. If your IPI is below threshold at the cutoff date, you receive a lower storage limit for the upcoming quarter. The practical impact of storage limits depends on your business size: for a small seller with 50 ASINs, a storage limit of 1,000 cubic feet may be manageable. For a seller with 500 ASINs and seasonal inventory, the same limit is severely disruptive. Additional penalty: for inventory that exceeds your storage limit, Amazon charges overage fees in addition to regular storage fees. These fees are charged per cubic foot per month and can be significant. The key strategy to avoid penalties is to keep your IPI above the threshold consistently, not just at the quarterly cutoff date — Amazon can update thresholds and the score is calculated on a rolling basis.