There is no doubt that Amazon FBA is the preferred delivery method for most Amazon sellers. However, if you are selling small, cheap, and fast-moving products, FBA Small and Light Program is a good choice. It can help reduces sellers’ fulfillment costs.
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What is FBA Small and Light Program?
Amazon FBA Light and Small Program is a small and fast shipping product distribution program aimed at prices less than $7.
The size of all products cannot be higher than 16 x 9 x 4 inches, and the weight cannot be higher than 10 oz. According to the Seller Center guidelines, all FBA light products must meet Prime qualifications and can provide Prime customers with standard shipping within 3 to 5 days, while non-Prime customers receive orders within 6-8 days.
Which products are suitable for FBA Small and Light Program?
If you want to participate in this program, your product must meet the following basic conditions:
- It must be a new product;
- Products’ price does not exceed $7;
- The weight does not exceed 10 ounces;
- The size does not exceed 16 x 9 x 4 inches;
- The product must not belong to Amazon’s restricted items list.
The product price of the previous FBA Small and Light Program has a threshold of no more than $15. But since July 2019, Amazon has adjusted the threshold of this program to no more than $7.
FBA Small and Light Program has strict restrictions on the packaging of goods, mainly as follows:
- Same-ASIN units are bundled together in clear plastic bags, manufacturer, or seller case packs.
- Each bag, outer case, or shrink-wrapped bundle has a label with the total quantity of sellable units.
- Small and Light only use poly bags and Jiffy bags. Crushable items such as potato chips and glass should be properly prepped and packaged so they do not crush or break when shipped. Broken or crushed items will not be received at the fulfillment center. They will be removed or disposed of at your expense.
- A minimum of 24 units per SKU must be sent in each shipment.
- Shipment contents match the shipping plan.
- Shipment does not contain dangerous goods (hazmat) or items that are temperature-sensitive, meltable, or crushable.
- The shipping box does not exceed 25 inches on any side and does not weigh more than 50 lb.
- If applicable, pallets are single-stacked and front-loaded with no more than 22 skids per trailer.
What are the advantages of the Small and Light Program?
1. Reduced fulfillment costs
Let’s check the FBA fees for the small and light program and standard version.
The rate of products participating in the FBA Light and Small Program is lower than the normal FBA rate, which means that if a product participates in the FBA Light and Small Plan, the seller’s profit margin will be higher at the same price.
2. Avoid products being marked with the “Add On Item”
Add-on Item is a policy for some low-priced products.
Once the product is tagged with the Add-on Item label, the product can only be used as an “add-on” to other products. That’s means, the product can not sell separately.
Moreover, the buyer can only put the product in the shopping cart when the total order amount is higher than $25, which virtually reduces the conversion rate of the product.
Most of the products participating in the FBA Small and Light Program are low-priced products. In this way, your products in the program will not be labeled as “Add-on Item” because of the low price.
3. Free shipping for Prime customers
Free 3-5 business day shipping for Prime customers and access to millions of active Amazon shoppers.
4. Amazon’s AZ guarantee protects
Under the FBA Small and Light Program, your products are protected by the Amazon AZ guarantee. In this way, Amazon will process the returns and refunds of your products.
Your customers will have more confidence in the delivery and condition of your items. This translates into better brand and product awareness.
What are the disadvantages of the Small and Light Program?
1. Not supporting all markets
Amazon FBA Small and Light Program just cover a number of different countries, not cover all marketplaces. Just like Amazon.ca (Canada), Amazon.mx (Mexico), and Amazon.com.au (Australia) are glaringly absent. If you are just selling on Amazon.ca, you can not use the Small and Light program.
2. Strict restrictions on the packaging of goods
As mentioned above, Amazon Light and Small Program have special requirements for product packaging and transportation. If you happen to ship products that do not comply with the requirements, your shipment could be set aside at the fulfillment center.
How to enroll in FBA Small and Light Program?
Amazon FBA Small and Light sounds complicated but it’s actually really easy.
Here is how it works:
- Enroll in Amazon FBA Small and Light;
- Select your products BEFORE you ship them to Amazon Fulfillment Centers;
- Convert your inventory to Amazon FBA Small and Light;
- Send in your inventory (minimum 24 products) to Amazon Fulfillment Centers.
Frequently Asked Questions about Amazon FBA Small and Light
Q: How many product inventories should I send to the warehouse for each product?
A: We recommend that the minimum warehousing quantity for each product is 30 pieces, or reverse each product for 3 months of inventory supply.
Q: How to remove inventory from FBA Small and Light?
A: You can create a removal order in Seller Central to remove your planned inventory, which is the same as removing items from standard FBA inventory. Under normal circumstances, removal (return/destroy) will take 10 to 14 working days. However, the peak removal period (February, March, August, September) may be extended to 30 days or more.
Q: Does light and small product order support shipment information tracking for buyers?
A: In order to provide lower delivery costs, light and small product orders currently do not support shipment information tracking for buyers.
Q: Do FBA Small and Light support gift wrapping and gift information?
A: Not support. For this special program, Amazon does not provide gift wrapping and gift information services, at the same time, they will show the message “gift options are not available” on the checkout page. When creating an FBA Small and Light offer, the system will automatically disable the gift wrapping and gift information options.
Q: Can the seller cancel the program midway?
A: Sellers can withdraw approved ASINs from the program or terminate their participation in the program at any time. Amazon can also delete approved ASINs or offers from the program at any time. Once the program or ASIN terminates or cancels the supply of the plan, the affected ASIN will no longer continue to serve as the program.
You can remove or destroy any remaining products, and Amazon will apply these products to standard FBA fees.
Final
If you want to sell small, inexpensive, and fast-moving products, FBA Small and Light Program is an easy way to save execution costs.