There are times when you just want to liquidate your Amazon inventory that is located within Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Your inventory may not be selling as you anticipated and you want to salvage some inventory value; or your products are approaching long-term storage fees. Luckily, there is a program called FBA Liquidations. FBA Liquidations is designed to help you attempt to recover value from excess and customer-returned inventory while avoiding storage fees and preventing the disposal of yours. inventory. This is a positive program that helps Amazon sellers minimize environmental harm and help achieve Amazon’s climate pledge and sustainability goals. In this post, we will cover how to create a liquidation order, how we calculate your net recovery value, and basic troubleshooting when liquidating your inventory from Amazon’s fulfillment centers.
How To Create a Liquidation Order on Amazon
Creating an Amazon liquidation order on Amazon is easy and only requires a few steps. Simply navigate to a “Create Removal Order Page”. From there you add the SKUs you which to remove and select the method of removal to “Liquidations. Then, select the number of units you wish to remove. Optionally, add a removal order ID for internal tracking purposes. Select “review” and submit to create a liquidation order.
How to Calculate Net Recovery Value on an Amazon Liquidation Order
Amazon has a formula that is applied to calculate the net recovery value of an Amazon liquidation order.
Net Recovery Value =
(Item Average Selling Price * Contracted Liquidation Rate)
MINUS - Gross Recovery Value Liquidations Referral Fee (15%) of the Gross Recovery Value
MINUS - Liquidations Processing Fee (based on size and weight of the product)
The liquidation rate can vary based on wholesale contracted rates and generally vary between 5 - 10% of the Item Average Selling Price. Once processed, the net recovery value should appear in your account within 60 days, and no later than 90 days, after the liquidation order is submitted.
Possible Errors When Creating a Liquidation Order
There are several error messages that can occur while trying to liquidate your inventory on Amazon.
Product is not eligible - This error code would occur if you try to create an FBA liquidation order when the products are not eligible for liquidation
Inventory is classified as Hazardous Material (Hazmat) - If you have selected products that are designated as dangerous goods or hazmat, they are not permitted for the liquidation program
Inventory ineligible for liquidation due to legal restrictions or Amazon policies. - If you have received a performance notification or Amazon has stated your product is restricted to be sold on Amazon, you would not be allowed into the Liquidation program.
Inventory in Location that Cannot Process Removals - Certain Amazon fulfillment or sortation centers do not have the liquidation capabilities. Units can be transferred to centers that allow liquidation at which point you can create a liquidation order.
Liquidation partner could not be found for inventory. - There can be situations where Amazon is unable to find a liquidation partner. Sellers should look to choose another recovery value option such as returning the product back to your own warehouse in a removal order.
Inventory temporarily unavailable for removal as a result of an in-progress transaction or other process - If this error code exists, Amazon recommends waiting several days and trying again or the units may be part of another liquidation order
Inventory is not available for removal; please try again in two days or contact Seller Support. - Inventory may be pending acceptance into Amazon facilities and not immediately available for the liquidation order to process.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why a seller would want to liquidate the inventory being held at Amazon’s fulfillment centers. This program helps save costs from minimizing long term storage fees, frees up inventory space at Amazon fulfillment centers, and salvages some value for your inventory. Check out the FBA Liquidations program terms and conditions to learn more. If you have any questions about the process of liquidating Amazon inventory or Seller Central in general, please click our Contact Us button below.