Amazon has introduced Amazon Haul, a mobile-only shopping platform offering ultra-low-cost, unbranded goods directly from Chinese manufacturers. This bold move not only challenges established competitors like Temu and Shein, which have tens of millions of monthly active users but also stands in stark contrast to Amazon’s traditional focus on rapid delivery (fast and free), as it embraces affordability and a distinct shopping experience for value-conscious consumers.

The Mechanics of Amazon Haul

Amazon Haul operates with a unique business model designed to sell low-cost products to U.S. consumers. By leveraging the $800 duty-free import threshold (aka de minimis), the platform enables products to be shipped directly from China without incurring tariffs. Shipping for orders over $25 is free. Smaller purchases include a nominal $3.99 fee. Delivery times range from one to two weeks, a marked shift from Amazon’s typical emphasis on fast delivery.

The platform’s simple pricing structure reinforces its budget-friendly approach. Items are capped at $20 across nearly 700 categories, spanning clothing, electronics, household goods, and more. To motivate shoppers to make larger purchases, discounts of up to 10% are offered on qualifying orders exceeding $75. Meanwhile, storage and fulfillment fees are streamlined to maintain lean operations.

Competitive Strategy and Market Disruption

The launch of Amazon Haul underscores a direct response to the rapid growth of discount retailers like Temu and Shein, which are popular with younger, price-sensitive consumer demographics. By prioritizing affordability over branding, Amazon Haul captures shoppers who value cost savings over speed or traditional brand loyalty. This initiative leverages Amazon’s established relationships with Chinese manufacturers, particularly in Guangdong province, a region critical to its supply chain.

The absence of branding on Amazon Haul products represents a shift toward platform-based trust. Consumers are drawn to the low prices and Amazon’s reputation for reliability rather than the brand identities of individual sellers. This approach mirrors evolving consumer preferences, where price and peer reviews often outweigh the traditional brand value.

Implications for Domestic Online Retailers and Brands

Amazon Haul poses significant challenges for domestic retailers, as its ultra-low-cost model bypasses traditional retail and supply chain frameworks. By eliminating intermediaries and reducing overhead, the platform undercuts prices offered by U.S.-based companies. This dynamic risks exacerbating existing pressures on mid-market retailers, which may find their customer bases eroded by the appeal of budget alternatives.

The rise of a brandless marketplace shifts consumer expectations for established brands. Brands that previously relied on trust and recognition now face a stark choice: adapt to a competitive environment prioritizing functionality and price or risk losing relevance in an increasingly value-driven market. 

Economic and Political Factors

The sustainability of Amazon Haul’s business model hinges on broader economic and political dynamics. Proposed tariff reforms and increased scrutiny of duty-free import practices could significantly impact the platform’s cost structure. As U.S. policymakers consider tightening loopholes that allow duty-free imports under the de minimis threshold, platforms like Amazon Haul may face heightened regulatory and operational challenges.

Consumer Behavior and the Future of Retail

Amazon Haul’s success is rooted in shifting consumer behavior based largely on the younger demographic that it appeals to and significant inflationary pressures. Many shoppers now prioritize savings over convenience, embracing longer delivery times in exchange for substantial cost reductions. Again, this shift represents a broader transformation in retail, as value-driven shopping disrupts traditional paradigms of immediacy and branding.

The platform’s mobile-first design underscores its appeal to a younger, digitally native audience. With visually engaging elements such as emoji-enhanced promotions and interactive features, Amazon Haul is poised to captivate a demographic that is increasingly conducting smartphone transactions.

Environmental and Social Considerations

While Amazon Haul’s model delivers affordability, it raises questions about sustainability and ethical labor practices. Competitors like Shein have faced criticism for their environmental footprints, with annual emissions significantly exceeding recommended global targets. Amazon Haul’s reliance on direct-from-China shipping and low-cost manufacturing mirrors similar concerns, potentially inviting scrutiny from environmentally conscious consumers and advocacy groups.

Strategic Outlook

Amazon Haul is a calculated move to secure dominance in the competitive landscape of discount e-commerce. Its ability to coexist with Amazon’s primary marketplace, offering a contrasting value proposition, demonstrates its adaptability and foresight. By entering the ultra-low-cost segment, Amazon diversifies its appeal, addressing the needs of both premium and price-sensitive shoppers.

However, the platform’s long-term impact will depend on its resilience to regulatory changes and ability to balance affordability with environmental and ethical accountability. Should it succeed, Amazon Haul could help redefine global retail, setting a new benchmark for price-driven e-commerce.

Summary

The launch of Amazon Haul represents a dramatic departure from the company’s traditional rapid-delivery model. As the platform evolves, its implications for domestic retailers, global supply chains, and consumer behavior will likely shape the future of commerce. Whether as a niche offering or a transformative force, Amazon Haul underscores the company’s ability to redefine e-commerce. You can also listen to a recent podcast on Amazon Haul here.

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Ecommerce returns are painful for Sellers no matter which way you slice it. They drain attention and resources and directly impact the bottom line. Whether returns fraud is involved or not, which is where customers intentionally exploit customer-friendly return policies to get free or steeply discounted items. Many estimate that 20 – 30% of e-commerce orders are returned for one reason or another.

Online Returns are Really Expensive

For each returned item, Amazon Third Party Sellers have already absorbed the product cost and the cost of preparing and shipping the inventory from their 3PL provider to multiple FBA fulfillment centers. Then, after an order is received, there are referral fees, fulfillment fees, and storage fees. What’s left after all the other sunk costs is the profit margin. If a customer initiates a free (or significantly subsidized) return, the Seller is expected to eat the costs of the return shipping, product inspection, and subsequent inventory management, which hurts the profit margin or may even turn the sale into a loss.

It’s no wonder many Sellers just offer to let customers keep low-cost items rather than return them because, at a certain point, it doesn’t make sense to process the return and resell it. To help Sellers recoup some value from returns and to get an even larger share of the Third-Party Sellers’ wallet, Amazon has now opened up the FBA Grade and Resell program to all Sellers that use FBA in the US. 

Amazon FBA Grade and Resell Program

In the US and Europe last year (2023), nearly 368MM items were either resold on Amazon in Used Condition or otherwise liquidated or donated. However, the FBA Grade and Resell program that enabled this success story was only available to a few Brands. Amazon has now made the program available to all Sellers that use FBA in the US, enabling all Sellers to recover value from inventory that would otherwise be removed or discarded by automatically inspecting, grading, and relisting eligible returned products as “Used” on Amazon’s marketplace. The program is particularly beneficial for items that can no longer be sold in New Condition but retain significant market value.

Not all products are eligible for FBA Grade and Resell. Specific categories are excluded, including but not limited to consumables, dangerous goods (hazmat) and recalled products, gift cards, heavy/bulky SKUs, and products with an average sale price that exceeds $75 (the complete list can be found here). Additionally, items must be returned to ecommerce fulfillment centers that support the program, and Sellers can exclude specific ASINs from the program for any reason.

How the FBA Grade and Resell Program Works

Sellers first enroll in the Grade and Sell program through the Automated Unfulfillable Settings in Seller Central. Once enrolled, eligible customer returns that are unsellable as New are processed through different evaluation paths based on the product type. These paths include non-technical, technical, and specialty grading.

Amazon’s grading process is described as thorough and tailored to each product category. It may include checking for catalog accuracy, inspecting for packaging defects, damage, or cosmetic blemishes, validating functionality, checking accessories, and even memory wiping and factory resetting certain electronics such as laptops and cameras.

After evaluation, items are assigned one of four conditions: Used-Like New, Used-Very Good, Used-Good, or Used-Acceptable. Items that don’t meet these standards are graded as Unsellable. For items graded as Used, Amazon creates a new listing under the parent ASIN in the “New and Used” offers section, with the Seller remaining as Seller of record. They are eligible to become the Used Featured Offer (the default buy box for Used items) if the Seller’s offer meets the pricing and performance criteria and is managed the same way New items are managed, including advertising and pricing. The grading process can take several weeks and longer during peak seasons, so plan accordingly.

Sellers manage the pricing discount that applies to all Used SKUs in the program as a percentage of the New Condition offer price. For example, a Seller might set offers for Used-Like New SKUs as “85%” of the New SKU offer price, which is applied automatically when units are relisted. Sellers should actively manage their pricing strategy to ensure their Used items remain competitive while providing a worthwhile return.

Managing and Monitoring Used Inventory

Sellers have several tools available to help manage Used (graded) inventory. The most important is the Grade and Resell Report, which provides real-time updates on inventory status, including how many units are graded and ready for resale.

Sellers will appreciate that customer feedback and reviews for graded items roll up to the parent ASIN and do not materially affect Account Health Metrics, ensuring that Seller’s reputation is not negatively compromised due to poorly graded units.

FBA Grade and Resell Program Fees

Based on the item’s size and weight, sellers are charged a flat processing fee (from $1.50 – $4.10). However, items deemed completely unsellable remain in the Seller’s unfulfillable inventory and are not relisted nor processing fees charged. Sellers receive payouts for sold Used units just as they would for their New items, minus applicable fees. Amazon recommends enrolling SKUs with an average selling price above $15 to ensure profitability. Still, this guidance is highly subjective, and each Seller must monitor their eligible SKUs and adjust as necessary.

Benefits of the FBA Grade and Resell Program

There are several benefits of the FBA Grade and Resell program:

• Boost revenue: Recover value from inventory that would otherwise be a loss instead of removing/disposing returned items or selling them at a steep discount through liquidation channels by selling Used units to customers willing to accept them at a discount.


• Ease of Use: Sellers can automate submitting unfulfillable inventory into the Grade and Resell program, reducing the time and effort required to manage returned stock. Set it and forget it.
  


• Cost Efficiency: Sellers only pay a processing fee when an item is successfully relisted and can avoid paying to return or dispose of unsellable inventory.


• Faster time to market for Used: Units delivered directly to FBA fulfillment centers that support Grade and Resell compared to removing inventory, grading and prepping it externally, and then either Seller-fulfilling Used SKUs, or reinbounding to FBA


• Support sustainability: Reduce waste going to the landfill

Pitfalls of FBA Grade and Resell Program

• Imperfect humans resulting in poorly graded units: FBA employees may need to be more familiar with a product and what constitutes success criteria for passing inspection beyond the vague definitions provided in the condition guidelines. The subjective nature of the grading rubric would make it too easy to overestimate the grade as Like New when it’s actually in Acceptable condition, leading to customer complaints and poor reviews and/or brand image. And vice versa, under-grading an item limits the net recovery value from the resold item, leading to potential losses rather than gains.
  


• It’s expensive: For example, if a $30 home goods item is resold at 75% of the new price, ($22.50) after the Grade and Resell Processing fee ($1.80), Fulfillment fee ($6.75), and Referral fee ($3.38), the net recovered value is only $10.57, or 35.23% of the original offer price for the new condition listing. That’s less than the cost of the Fulfillment and Referral fees for the original sale of the new item. Besides the additional fees for Grade and Resell, Used items typically take longer to sell. They may require more active management of listings, including leveraging pricing and marketing tools to shrink the time to sale and, thus, avoid accumulating storage fees.
  


• Stranded inventory: If a Seller’s listing for a Used item is deleted, priced incorrectly, or otherwise not associated with an active offer, the product could become stranded, causing delays in selling and accumulation of storage fees.

Conclusion

Without truly transformative new returns models such as Cahoot’s Peer-to-Peer Returns, FBA Grade and Resell represents an attractive opportunity for Amazon Sellers to maximize the value of their returned inventory. By turning potential losses into sellable inventory, the program can help improve revenue and overall profitability, plus reduce waste.

However, like any tool, its effectiveness depends on how well it’s used. Sellers should carefully consider their pricing strategy, monitor the performance of their Grade and Resell listings, and be prepared to manage this inventory alongside their New Condition counterparts actively. For many FBA Sellers, it may be a valuable addition to their arsenal of tools for managing inventory and maximizing returns recovery. But for others, while this presents an opportunity to sell their Used returns (that may have otherwise gone to landfill), they need to be keenly aware of how much can be extracted from the resale after all the FBA fees, promotional costs, and landed costs for the item.

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Shipping costs are one of the largest cost centers for any e-commerce business and are second only to labor costs. With last-mile expenses increasing yearly, finding ways to reduce these costs is more important than ever. Leveraging technology to optimize shipping costs by right-sizing packaging can reduce shipping expenses significantly while improving operational efficiency and positively impacting the environment.

What is Cartonization Software and Parcel Packing Intelligence

One of the most effective ways to reduce shipping costs is to right-size the packaging. The reason is that shipping rates are based on weight. Still, shippers are charged the higher of the actual shipment weight (product in a box) OR the dimensional weight (the package volume in cubic inches turned into a weight value for rating purposes). 

Efficient Shippers have reported saving over six figures just by right-sizing their packaging. Additional savings come from lower packaging costs from using less packaging. Further savings are achieved by reducing or eliminating dunnage required to fill the void in the larger box so items ship safely, less tape is used, etc. 

The average return rate for ecommerce orders is in the 15 to 30% range (much higher for apparel); right-sizing the packaging would also reduce the cost of return shipping when the original packaging can be re-used for reverse logistics.

Cartonization software (or smart cartonization features built into Order Management Systems or Multi-Carrier Shipping and Fulfillment Software such as Cahoot) can help automate selecting the best packaging for each order, even for complex shipments containing multiple product and quantity configurations. For example, Cahoot software evaluates the dimensions of the items being shipped and auto-selects the smallest box the products can safely ship in from a list of available options in stock. By using cartonization capabilities prebuilt into software like Cahoot, ecommerce merchants can ensure they are shipping orders in the most cost-effective packaging rather than relying on warehouse staff members to guess the correct size. No human means no judgment is needed, and human errors are eliminated.

A crucial part of parcel packing intelligence, i.e., right-sizing shipments is to stock a wide variety of box, non-corrugate packaging and mailer sizes. Many shippers only stock a limited range of packaging sizes, which forces them to use larger boxes when smaller ones would suffice. Expanding the available box sizes can reduce the risk of paying to ship a lot of air. Some shipping and fulfillment solutions even support the tracking and management of packaging inventory, including cost, reorder points, etc.

It’s worth noting that cartonization and packing tools are useless without accurate dimensional data. Easy AI-based tools such as the Qboid M2 Perceptor Mobile Dimensioning handheld device have recently become available, making capturing these details a breeze.

Increase Sales and Profits through Cartonization Software

For Sellers that can pass shipping costs to their customers, right-sizing packaging increases profits and conversions through more competitive ‘all-in’ product pricing, leading to higher revenues.

Reduce Waste using Smart Cartonization

While used cardboard boxes can be recycled, much of it still ends up in a landfill with a negative environmental impact and a higher carbon footprint. So, right-sizing shipping supplies also helps the planet.

The best way to minimize cost and environmental impact is not to use overpacks at all – ship the items in their original manufacturer packaging. Amazon’s SIPP program (Ships in Product Packaging) was opened to Amazon FBA Sellers in early 2024 to reduce costs and improve sustainability. It’s generally been regarded as successful. 

It’s recommended to collaborate with suppliers to design product packaging to optimize for shipping costs, staying away from the surcharges carriers impose on “oversize” shipments.

Summary

Reducing operations expenses must be a forethought to achieve continued business success. By utilizing technology like cartonization software to optimize shipment packaging, not only are shipping cost savings guaranteed, but the cost of the supplies goes down, operational efficiency goes up, and more sustainable business practices not only result in lower carbon emissions and less waste but it can also enhance brand reputation.

Dimensional Weight

As mentioned above, DIM weight considers the package’s volume, meaning large boxes, even when filled with light products, can incur substantial shipping charges.

The DIM weight is calculated by multiplying the package’s length, width, and height, then dividing by a DIM factor set by the carrier. FedEx and UPS typically use a DIM factor 139 for domestic US shipments, while the USPS uses 166. The higher the DIM factor, the more “air” you can include in a package before triggering the DIM weight pricing.

For example, if you use a 12″x12″x12″ carton, it will be billed as a 13-pound package by UPS and FedEx based on its volume, even if the actual contents weigh much less (a box of cotton candy, as an extreme example). Over time, these minor discrepancies can add up to thousands of dollars in extra shipping fees. Switching to smaller cartons that more appropriately fit your products can help reduce these DIM weight charges. It also minimizes the need for excess void fill, such as bubble wrap or packing peanuts, which adds cost and waste to each shipment.

An example:

Shipping this 2.25 lb product 8 zones in a slightly larger box than the product (8 x 5 x 5) will cost $9.52 using USPS Ground Advantage. Shipping this 2.25 lb product 8 zones in an adequately fitted box (8 x 5 x 3) will only cost $8.35 using USPS Ground Advantage. This is only 2 inches longer on one side but represents 40% air (200 cubic inches vs. 120 cubic inches). That’s over 12% savings on just one shipment and not that egregious of an example. And not including all the waste saved as described above. 

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Celebrated for Excellence in Fulfillment Solutions and Customer Satisfaction in 3PL Services

Cahoot, the groundbreaking peer-to-peer fulfillment network, proudly announces its recognition as a Category Leader for Fall 2024 by SourceForge, the largest software and services review platform. This prestigious accolade underscores Cahoot’s dedication to providing top-tier third-party logistics (3PL) services to eCommerce businesses, delivering innovative fulfillment solutions that enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.

SourceForge’s Category Leader award is granted to companies that consistently deliver outstanding products and services, based on ratings and reviews from verified users. Cahoot’s peer-to-peer network model and commitment to cost-effective fulfillment solutions have received high praise from eCommerce businesses for helping them expand their reach, optimize order fulfillment, and improve customer experiences.

“We are thrilled to be recognized as a Fall 2024 Category Leader by SourceForge,” said Manish Chowdhary, CEO of Cahoot. “This award reflects our commitment to empowering retailers with the tools they need to compete with major marketplaces while providing excellent service to their customers. We thank our customers for their valuable feedback, which helps us innovate and provide exceptional service.”

Cahoot’s peer-to-peer fulfillment model enables brands and retailers to use their warehouse space as a part of a global network, optimizing distribution and delivery times while reducing costs. This approach has resonated strongly with eCommerce businesses seeking flexible, scalable, and affordable logistics solutions.

This latest recognition from SourceForge reinforces Cahoot’s status as a trusted partner in the 3PL space, supporting eCommerce businesses with agile, dependable, and customer-focused fulfillment solutions.

For more information about Cahoot’s award-winning fulfillment network, visit www.cahoot.ai.

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As a business owner, you already know that returns are a pain, especially on Amazon.

First of all, they cost you. Not only do you have to refund the original purchase price after you thought you had some revenue, but the returned inventory might be damaged and unsellable, or even totally the wrong product, causing a complete loss.

This would be the case in any retail business. But if you sell through Amazon FBA, you’ll encounter unique challenges.

First, if you choose the setting to have your returns go back to FBA to grade and resell, you run a risk: the FBA staff might make a mistake and end up sending another customer a damaged or used product. This could lead to a negative review and/or seller feedback that tanks your business’s reputation. (Have you heard about the small business that got wrecked because someone received a dirty used diaper?!)

But if you have all returns sent back to you instead of trusting FBA, you have a major time loss on your hands: you and your staff now have to take the time to assess each item yourselves and either resell as new, resell as used, or dispose of it in some other way. Time is money in your business.

Plus, if you’re outside the US, you have to either set up a US-based return address for your US customers, provide a pre-paid international shipping label, or simply refund the item without requiring a return, all of which are expensive and potentially a hassle. (Failing to do one of the three makes the buyer eligible for an A-to-Z claim, which harms your order defect rate.)

Last but not least: if an item gets returned a lot compared to other items in its category, Amazon might add the frequently returned item warning to the listing, which could easily scare off buyers from purchasing the product, reducing your sales.

Amazon’s customer-centric mindset has led it to require third-party sellers to be very generous with their return policies all the time…and extra generous during the holiday peak season. While returns are usually allowed within 30 days, orders placed between November 1 and December 31 are usually eligible for return until the end of January.

With this returns extension taking effect very soon, it’s a good time to analyze your returns and find new ways to reduce or manage them.

How to Analyze Your FBA Returns

First, you’ll need to understand why returns are happening. The best way to do that is to go straight to the buyers themselves. Buyers have to choose a reason when they request to return something, and they have a space to leave a comment with more details as well. Notice any patterns in the return reasons, and read the comments to try to understand where buyers are coming from.

It may seem daunting to read through all returns for every item, especially if your catalog is large. So, prioritize. Your process might look something like this:

• Identify the SKU that has the highest return rate, while also having enough sales to be worth your focus. For example, look at your ten top-selling parent ASINs, then choose the SKU among those that have the most returns in the last 90 days.
• Next, look at the top two or three return reasons customers choose for this item.
• Read through a substantial sample of the return comments for each of those reasons.
• Repeat with another high-selling and frequently returned SKU.

SellerPulse by eComEngine is a software tool that provides these details fast. It includes a robust FBA returns report with easy-to-read graphs showing which items are most often returned in which condition or for which reason, plus a word cloud of common themes in the comments. All the individual remarks are imported too, so you can notice a theme and dig in to get more details about the buyers’ experiences.

The report also shows returns over time (so you can see whether there was an unusual spike in returns for a certain period that might not happen again), item disposition (the condition it was returned in), and more

Action Steps

Of course, one benefit of doing this research is that it allows you to collect evidence of any fraudulent returns to make your case to Amazon.

But there are plenty of non-fraudulent returns and plenty of ways to reduce those going forward. Over time, you can improve your product, listing, packaging, or service to prevent the issues you’re seeing in the reasons and comments.

For example, if many buyers are saying that a certain item arrived damaged, you may need to improve the packaging it comes in for extra durability, rather than relying on FBA to pack it with the proper amount of cushion.

Or, if many buyers are complaining that the size, color, or other features of the item are not what they expected, you may need to update the listing to be more accurate to the real product.

As always, the first step to solving a problem is knowing that it’s there in the first place. Start analyzing your FBA returns today to be prepared for Q4 and another successful year.

Rachel Hoover

Rachel is a freelance writer who helps Amazon sellers connect with their customers and manage their seller reputations.

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Protect Your Amazon Listings from Search Suppression, Hijackers, and Stockouts

Amazon is a competitive platform. You need to have a quality product, excellent listing content, and plenty of reviews to catch the attention of busy

Amazon continues to set the pace for customer satisfaction and delivery expectations. As we approach the latter half of 2024, Amazon is rolling out significant changes to its shipping and delivery policies that will impact Sellers across the platform. These updates aim to enhance the customer experience by ensuring faster, more accurate delivery times while also providing tools and guidance for Sellers to meet these new standards. Let’s dive into the key changes and what they mean for Amazon Sellers.

The Importance of On- Time Delivery

Amazon’s focus on fast and accurate delivery is not new, but it’s becoming increasingly important to the marketplace operator. It’s well known that the delivery speed and reliability of the delivery date expectation set during checkout are major factors in customers’ purchasing decisions. To meet this expectation, Amazon will be rigorously enforcing a new on-time delivery rate (OTDR) policy that will directly affect Sellers’ ability to list products on the marketplace.

Starting September 25, 2024, Sellers will need to maintain a minimum 90% OTDR without promise extensions to continue listing seller-fulfilled products on Amazon.com. This policy change underscores the importance of reliable shipping practices and puts the onus on Sellers to meet customer expectations. For optimal performance, Amazon recommends maintaining a 95% or higher OTDR for all seller-fulfilled orders.

It’s worth noting that this policy doesn’t apply to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) orders where Amazon is responsible for meeting delivery promises. However, for Sellers managing their own fulfillment, this change could have significant implications.

Updates to Transit Time Settings

To help improve OTDR and the reliability of delivery date promises made to customers, Amazon is reducing the number of transit days allowed for both Standard and Free Economy shipping options in shipping templates.

Some Sellers may have already noticed an update to the transit time requirements which became effective August 25, 2024. For Sellers shipping from the continental United States (excluding Hawaii, Alaska, and US territories), the maximum transit time allowed for Standard Shipping has been reduced to 5 days, while Free Economy shipping will have a maximum of 8 days.

There’s an important caveat for media items such as books, magazines, and DVDs. These products will continue to have a maximum transit time of 8 days for Standard Shipping. Sellers should pay close attention to their product categories to ensure compliance with these new transit time limits.

For those offering Free Economy shipping, Amazon has already adjusted max transit times in shipping templates from the previously allowed 5 to 10-day range to the new 4 to 8-day requirement. While no action is required from Sellers, they continue to have the option to disable Free Economy shipping if they prefer not to offer this service within the new timeframe.

Introduction of Automated Handling Time

Perhaps the most significant change for many Sellers will be the introduction of Automated Handling Time (AHT), set to take effect on September 25, 2024. AHT will use historical shipping data to set more accurate handling times for each SKU based on how long a Seller has typically taken to ship it in the past. For new products without historical data, AHT will default to the manually configured handling time.

This automation aims to provide customers with faster and more accurate delivery date estimates, potentially leading to increased sales for Sellers. However, it also means that Sellers will need to consistently meet these handling time expectations to maintain an acceptable OTDR. AHT will automatically take Order Handling Capacity into account (the maximum number of orders that have been fulfilled in the past 90 days) and adjust delivery promises to reflect longer handling times accordingly; the objective is to avoid overburdening Sellers with shorter handling times that cannot be met.

This feature will be automatically enabled for Sellers who currently have a handling time gap of 2 days or more compared to their actual shipping performance (Sellers can find their current handling time gap here). AHT is already available in the Order Handling Settings for Sellers that want to test how the new setting will affect their fulfillment workflows in advance of the September 25th obligation.

It’s important to note that handling time only considers business days, excluding weekend days unless weekend operations are intentionally enabled in Order Fulfillment settings.

AHT for Seller Fulfilled Prime Orders

For Prime orders that have one-day or two-day delivery expectations, the same-day handling time will continue to apply. Prime orders with standard delivery will default to a one-day handling time, unless a same-day default handling time is configured at the account-level, in which case, Prime orders with standard delivery would have a same-day handling time.

Exceptions and Protections

Amazon recognizes that certain products, such as custom-made and/or personalized items, certain media, and heavy or bulky goods, may require more flexible handling times. Sellers can request exceptions for these types of SKUs, allowing them to set manual handling time overrides. However, it’s important to note that exempted SKUs will not receive OTDR protection from late deliveries. OTD protection will be available to provide a safety net for Sellers as they adjust to the new policies.

To qualify for OTDR protection, Sellers must meet three conditions:

• Have Shipping Automation (SSA) enabled on the relevant shipping template. SSA helps set accurate delivery dates through automated transit time calculations based on preferred shipping services. (Learn More)
• Have AHT enabled on their account. (Learn More)
• Purchase “OTDR protected” Standard Shipping services through Amazon Buy Shipping

Preparing for the Changes

With these significant updates, Sellers should take proactive steps to prepare:

• Review current shipping practices and identify areas for improvement.
• Get familiar with the new transit time and handling time requirements.
• Consider enabling Automated Handling Time if it’s not already active to analyze how the required changes will impact business operations and workflows before the September 25th deadline.
• Evaluate product catalogs to determine if any items might qualify for handling time exceptions. Contact Seller Support and request that a ticket is created to have Handling Time exceptions applied to the list of SKUs.

Looking Ahead

Meeting customer expectations for fast and reliable order delivery is more crucial than ever. Amazon’s new policies reflect this reality, pushing Sellers to optimize their fulfillment processes or risk losing visibility on the marketplace. While these changes may present challenges, they also offer opportunities for Sellers to streamline their operations and potentially increase sales through improved delivery promises. Staying informed and continuously monitoring performance will help Sellers to ensure continued success on the Amazon marketplace.

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In the lead-up to Manifest 2022, the leading conference focused on innovation in logistics and supply chain, Conference Chair Pam Simon is sitting down with leaders that are redefining what’s possible. 

One of those leaders is our own Manish Chowdhary, who sat down with Pam to talk about the future of eCommerce order fulfillment. Cahoot, recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2021, is empowering eCommerce merchants to offer fast and free delivery to their customers with a unique peer-to-peer platform.

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Demand for eCommerce order fulfillment will continue to grow

The changes in shopping behavior brought by COVID are here to stay (and then some), says Manish. eCommerce sales grew an incredible 44% year-over-year from 2019 to 2020, pulling forward many years of demand. Far from reversing, though, 2021 is projected to see another 18% jump over 2020. 

Online sales growth, and thus demand for eCommerce order fulfillment, was primarily being driven upwards slowly and steadily by generational change prior to COVID. The pandemic, though, forced those that weren’t inclined to shop online to do so – and they discovered that they liked it. At the same time, companies large and small made enormous investments in multichannel order fulfillment, further increasing the convenience and ease of online shopping. Curbside pickup, same-day delivery, and vastly improved shopping portals are all here to stay, along with customer behavior. 

How can merchants future-proof their eCommerce order fulfillment?

Don’t end up like Macy’s. Manish relates the story we all know now, 

“In the 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s, the Macy’s of the world went and built tons of buildings, got tons of leases, and then the consumer behavior changed. Those very assets that were helping them expand and grow became a liability.”

Big merchants that take the traditional approach of investing heavily in buying & building warehouses across the country tie up significant capital and run the risk of choosing the wrong locations. Moreover, warehouse space and personnel have never been more expensive – warehouse space is at an all-time low, and there are an incredible 400,000 open job positions for frontline eCommerce order fulfillment workers. A mid-size merchant that builds a second fulfillment center in a sub-optimal location will have the worst of all worlds – they still won’t be able to cover enough of the country with 2-day shipping, and their capital will be tied up in expensive real estate.

Outsourcing fulfillment to a provider like Cahoot, on the other hand, enables merchants to offer an Amazon-like delivery experience while keeping costs low. Customers expect fast and free shipping, and on top of that, Amazon keeps raising the bar for what ‘fast’ means. A distributed US fulfillment center network like Cahoot strategically deploys its customers’ inventory in multiple nodes across the country and can offer 99% 2-day and over 40% 1-day coverage. This level of service, in fact, enables Cahoot to provide Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) to its customers – something very few other 3PLs even attempt.

Critically, Cahoot has dozens of fulfillment nodes, so as customer demand and needs shift, it can instantly shift its customers’ fulfillment profiles to match. Some merchants are familiar with the pain of signing up with a 3PL to extend their reach – only for sales to grow in a different part of the country, and to be back at square one. Cahoot’s eCommerce order fulfillment network has redundancy across the entire United States, and it solves present and future fulfillment needs for its clients.

What does Cahoot do differently to future-proof eCommerce order fulfillment?

Every other order fulfillment network is constrained by the warehouse and labor shortage – but not Cahoot. Cahoot is a first-of-its-kind peer-to-peer order fulfillment network that enables merchants to fulfill orders for one another. This ingenious design solves the capacity crunch by unlocking latent warehouse capacity and monetizing it for the fulfilling merchant. 

The idea was born out of ecommerce sales research. While looking at order profiles for a different project, Manish and his team realized that merchants on opposite coasts were selling identical products to people on the other coast. That is, a merchant in LA would sell a widget to a customer in NYC, and a merchant in NYC would sell the exact same widget to a customer in LA. They’d then both ship the product across the country – what a waste! This inefficient process hurt growth with slow deliveries, ate margins with long deliveries, and hurt the environment with extra emissions. Cahoot was born to help merchants solve this issue. 

It quickly grew to be more flexible and inclusive – any merchant with an excellent warehouse can fulfill orders for any other merchant, regardless of what’s being sold. In fact, Cahoot’s intelligent platform and shipping software optimize each and every label printed to ensure that a product ships from the lowest-cost warehouse that will offer a speedy delivery.

Find us at Manifest 2022

On January 25-27th, 2022, Manifest will bring together the most comprehensive ecosystem of innovation and transformation in LogisticsTech and end-to-end Supply Chain. We’ll be there, talking about the future of eCommerce order fulfillment with anyone and everyone! Come find us – we’d be happy to see you.

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Amazon Experts Share Insights on Getting Ready for a Record-Breaking Q4

View the On-Demand Webinar

Set yourself up for success! Start preparing now to make the most of a record-breaking Q4 on Amazon. Veteran Amazon 3P seller Charlene Anderson, Cahoot CEO Manish Chowdhary, and a panel of other leading Amazon experts from eComEngine, Kaspien, Tinuiti, Cahoot, and Wholesale Sourcing share the actionable insights you need to maximize sales and protect your bottom line.

Amazon FBA Sourcing

• How to align sourcing, inventory, shipping & promotions

Navigating New FBA Inventory Limits & FBA Fulfillment Alternatives

• How to navigate new FBA account-level inventory limits
• Nationwide 1-day & 2-day delivery options that complement FBA

Amazon Advertising

• The biggest advertising trends & benchmarks in 2021
• New features to consider right now, including Amazon Posts

Amazon FBA Auditing & Refunds

• Best practices on auditing Amazon mistakes & getting the money owed

Amazon Customer Reviews

• What to expect when it comes to product reviews on holiday purchases

Webinar Recap

Don’t wait until it’s too late – now is the time to start preparations to make the most of Amazon Q4! Here are some highlights from this action-packed and informative on-demand webinar:

How to Strengthen Supplier Relationships and Source Products Year-Round

20-year Amazon veteran seller Charlene Anderson of Wholesale Sourcing Experts shares that sourcing and fostering solid relationships with key suppliers should be a year-round effort. Great relationships can give you a distinct advantage when it comes to getting the inventory you want – when you need it.

How to Improve IPI Scores & Use FBM to Workaround FBA Inventory Limits

Manish Chowdhary of Cahoot offers sage advice on dealing with FBA’s latest storage-type inventory limits and practical tips on improving sellers’ Inventory Performance Index (IPI score), and recommends that FBA sellers adopt an FBM strategy to avoid stockouts and save Q4 sales.

How to Optimize Your Amazon Advertising Spend in Q4 2021

Katie Keyser of Tinuiti provides valuable insight on optimizing Amazon advertising in light of the changing consumer shopping trends and which of Amazon’s latest advertising products will be the most cost-effective in Q4 2021.

How to Get All of the Amazon FBA Reimbursements That You Deserve

Amazon makes mistakes, and automation doesn’t catch everything. Kelsey Gruis of Kaspien provides insights on where to look, how to get the FBA reimbursements owed, and how to use automation to protect your time and sanity.

How & When to Get More Amazon Reviews in Q4

Colleen Quattlebaum of eComEngine offers advice on how and when to ask for reviews for your holiday shopping sales. Hint: It’s different from the rest of the year.

Watch – Making the Most of Q4 on Amazon Webinar

This year more than ever, it’s vital to start now to set yourself up for success and protect your Amazon business in Q4.

Speakers Bios

Charlene Anderson is the owner of Wholesale Sourcing Experts and The Anderson Group, LLC, an online retailer with over 25 years of eCommerce experience. She has been an active seller on Amazon since 2001. Charlene is the author of “Wholesale Sourcing: A Step-by-Step Guide for eCommerce Businesses.” She manages the Wholesale Sourcing Experts Facebook group, a small, curated coaching group for eCommerce sellers focusing on wholesale product sourcing.

Colleen Quattlebaum is the Marketing Manager at eComEngine, and she is committed to helping Amazon Sellers succeed. Colleen reviews the latest market trends and strategizes on how to improve eComEngine’s offerings so that she can pass that insight and value on to Amazon merchants.

Katie Keyser is a Marketplace Specialist at Tinuiti. She has 8+ years working in the digital marketing and tech industry and has become an expert across multiple verticals, effectively helping clients grow their revenue. Katie excels at taking a data-driven approach and executing a tailored strategy to meet her clients’ specific goals

Kelsey Gruis of Kaspien has over eight years of combined sales and management experience in eCommerce. As Kaspien’s VP of Business Development, Kelsey helps brands identify and implement strategic opportunities to optimize and grow their business on today’s leading online marketplaces.

Manish Chowdhary  is the founder and CEO of Cahoot, the world’s first peer-to-peer eCommerce order fulfillment network that enables top-rated eCommerce merchants on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Shopify, and other sales channels to win sales by offering superfast nationwide shipping – for less than the cost of ground. Cahoot was recognized among the top 50 most innovative companies and awarded Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas for 2020.

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Recent Blog Posts

Save 2021 Holiday Sales

This Q4 promises to be the biggest yet for eCommerce, but great challenges threaten great opportunity for sellers.

Many have expanded to new marketplaces – but do they know the ins and outs of selling on different platforms? Walmart, eBay, Etsy, and Google Shopping all have unique customer bases and tools that can make or break a seller’s season. GeekSeller is here to help you with the key tips you need to succeed everywhere.

Meanwhile, the logistics world is slammed, and sellers’ ability to move inventory from Point A to Point B is the casualty. Customers want fast and free delivery, but how will that happen when goods are stuck in port and carriers have 60% on-time metrics? Your sales don’t have to be held hostage by operations. Cahoot will teach you how to overcome supply chain struggles to unlock your biggest Q4 yet.

Here’s what we covered in our advice-packed webinar:

• Top tips for selling on Walmart, eBay, Etsy, and Google Shopping
• Fulfillment challenges this Q4
  • Carrier crunch
  • Early shopping
  • Amazon FBA limits
• Advice for overcoming fulfillment challenges and boosting revenue

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Recent Blog Posts

Top 10 Profit-Saving Tips for Amazon Q4

Amazon already takes as much as 15% of each sale in referral fees – why are you letting them keep extra money on top? 

This Q4 promises to be the biggest ever on Amazon, as experts predict that it will blow last year’s $100B quarter out of the water. In our recent webinar, the founders of Cahoot and Seller Locker share ten actionable pieces of advice for how to maximize your profitability

Manish from Cahoot goes deep on FBA – if you’re not obsessing over item size, bundling, and category, you’re probably letting Amazon fleece you. And moreover, FBA isn’t a complete solution: we go into detail on why you at least need FBA backup to maximize profits.

Joseph from Seller Locker then gives tips on reimbursements; you could be losing over a dollar per item in overcharges if Amazon measures your product even a centimeter longer than it is! He goes on to share advice on how to reduce returns, including how to get into Amazon’s new invite-only PLS program that provides a button for sellers to work with customers before they process a costly return.

Here’s what we covered in our advice-packed webinar:

• FBA Operational Excellence
• Why You Need Alternatives to FBA
• How to Fight Back Against Overcharges from Amazon
• How to Minimize Returns – including details on Amazon’s new return-interrupting tool

Offer 1-day and 2-day shipping at ground rates or less.

Recent Blog Posts