Amazon Stranded Inventory Policy: Causes and Resolution

Policy Details

Stranded inventory is FBA inventory stored at Amazon's fulfillment centers with no active listing attached. Without an active offer, Amazon cannot sell the inventory, but you continue paying storage fees. Amazon's stranded inventory policy: Amazon will automatically dispose of stranded inventory after a set period if the seller does not resolve it. This default period is typically 30 days, but Amazon adjusts it based on account settings and inventory age. You can find your auto-removal settings in Settings > Fulfillment by Amazon > Automated unfulfillable settings. Options for handling stranded inventory: relist the product (resolve the stranded reason and the inventory becomes active again), request a removal order (Amazon ships the inventory back to you; fees apply), request a liquidation order (Amazon liquidates at 5-20 cents per dollar of cost; immediate), or do nothing and allow auto-removal (the least financially favorable option for valuable inventory). Prevention: check Fix Stranded Inventory weekly; resolve stranded reasons within days of them appearing; set your auto-removal period to the longest available (to give yourself time to resolve issues before inventory is automatically disposed); and review your listing activity before closing any listing to create removal orders for any associated FBA inventory. Impact on IPI: stranded inventory also hurts your IPI score because stranded units count against your stranded inventory percentage metric.