Amazon Small and Light Program: Interesting Facts

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There are several things that stand out to me about this program.

The stated goal: get small and light items into buyers’ hands with the same standard of service with free shipping as they have come to expect with Prime.

There are only 5 or 6 people currently in the department as of July of 2015. So, it is a busy, but nimble and reactive group. A lot can happen at these early stages.

The inbound shipping requirements ARE very similar but still slightly different from FBA rules. You will want to make sure you are in compliance.

The short rule of thumb for what qualifies as “small” and “light” is as follows:

  • weigh less than or equal to 8 ounces
  • have dimensions less than or equal to 9x6x2 inches
  • be priced under $10
  • be currently fulfilled through your own fulfillment network (cannot be enrolled in standard FBA)

The pick and pack fee is $1.50 per unit, plus $0.09 per ounce.

The buzzword is DISCOVERABILITY. Prior to this, I thought the keyword would be SEARCHABILITY. Apparently, there is a bit of a differentiation on that within Amazon. Also, as sellers, we look at BSR or Sales Rank. They don’t appear focused AT ALL on BSR within Amazon. When the Amazon S&L marketing team is looking to recruit new sellers to the program and trying to help them find a sweet spot for products, the key indicator is actually SALES or the total number of items sold within a one month time period FOR THAT ASIN (as shared among all sellers selling that ASIN). This is one of their most critical considerations. That velocity is also key to discoverability. If Amazon sees that product selling, their search algorithm weights it higher as far a popularity and promotes it better in search.

FBA listings will be given higher Buy Box % OVER A-S&L items which are in turn ranked better than MFN items. So, if there are many FBA sellers for a given ASIN, moving your product into A-S&L would not necessarily be a good competitive strategy. However, the caveat to that is that the fulfillment costs are lower for A-S&L. Therefore, you may be able to set your price point lower than the FBA sellers and still get the Buy Box that way as long as you don’t create a race to the bottom. Part of the requirements of the A-S&L program is that you CANNOT have the same product in your catalog listed in BOTH FBA and A-S&L and they really don’t want you moving your FBA inventory over to A-S&L.

So, there is a sweet spot. For me, it is items that were great selling items with good sales ranks and good profit but that were MFN and I didn’t feel like dealing with any more as I converted more and more of my inventory to FBA. Since an A-S&L item will sell better than an MFN item although the profit might not be as good, it may still make sense to pick back up those items I’m no longer selling but move them to A-S&L. One BIG caveat is that at this point you still cannot list items of your choice directly into the A-S&L catalog. You have to submit the ASIN’s you want to sell to A-S&L for approval before you can then upload them in a feed. So, you have another step in your sourcing process. You have to not only do your research as usual to find a good product that makes sense to sell, but you also have to get approval to sell it through A-S&L first. So, DON’T buy that product before you have approval to sell it. There are some leverage points that make this step worthwhile. Not everyone is going to mess with it. It is trouble. It is time consuming. It is a hassle. So, hustlers are going to make it happen but not many others. Besides, the program has not yet be rolled out for everyone. Essentially, A-S&L is almost like another gated (some small protection for you against competition) category.

Another “rule” or hoop to jump through is you need to have 30 of any one item (that has been approved) to send in. So, that likely cuts out a good many OA or RA finds. But, there are many others that make sense. This appears overall to be a really great alternative to selling products that were getting stuck in the Add-On program or for which you no longer find to be worth your time if the only profit in that item is via MFN.

As far as protecting your Seller Feedback in the same way as FBA, it does “appear” that there will be a preference or protection given to items processed through A-S&L. Since the supply chain process is very similar to FBA, they say the same buffer against negative feedback “should” be in effect. While that is not a 100% guarantee, it does provide a LOT more peace of mind to me than the liability of standard MFN transactions and shipping.

To find more details and specifics: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201706140?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&

 

Changes as of July 1, 2016

 

Hello from Fulfillment by Amazon,

In February 2015, Amazon launched the FBA Small and Light program, which offers all Amazon customers FREE Standard Shipping (4-8 business days) on eligible products to anywhere in the U.S. FBA Small and Light is a fulfillment solution for your fast moving, small and light products that are typically priced under $10.

We are pleased to announce that effective July 1, 2016, we are lowering fulfillment fees for products that can be shipped in flat packaging (products that have packaged dimensions of 6x3x0.5 inches or less), and we are updating our fees to an order-based structure that will be more cost-effective for orders with multiple units. In addition, for Order Handling and Pick & Pack fees for single-unit parcel orders, we will continue the promotional fulfillment rate of $1.50 until December 31, 2016.

For example, with the new fee structure, an order of 3 flat-eligible units that weigh 1 ounce each would be charged fulfillment fees of $1.61, compared to $4.86 under the original fee structure. You’d save $3.25 in fees for the entire order (or $1.08 per unit).

The following table details the changes in the FBA Small and Light fees effective July 1, 2016.

Fulfillment FeePrior to July 1, 2016Effective July 1, 2016
Parcels
(For products that have package dimensions greater than 6x3x0.5 inches)		Order Handling$0.00 per order$1.35 per order
for single-unit orders1
$1.80 per order
for multi-unit orders2
Pick & Pack$1.50 per unit$0.15 per unit
Weight Handling
(Unit Weight + Packaging Weight)		$0.09 per oz.
(up to 16 oz.)
(Round up to the nearest whole oz.)		$0.09 per oz.
(up to 16 oz.)
(Round up to the nearest whole oz.)
Flats3
(For products that have package dimensions equal to or less than 6x3x0.5 inches)		Order Handling$0.00 per order$0.80 per order
Pick & Pack$1.50 per unit$0.15 per unit
Weight Handling
(Unit Weight + Packaging Weight4)
$0.09 per oz.
(up to 16 oz.)
(Round up to the nearest whole oz.)		$0.09 per oz.
(up to 16 oz.)
(Round up to the nearest whole oz.)

1 The promotional Order Handling and Pick & Pack rate of $1.50 for single-unit parcels will be extended until12/31/2016.
2 For the purposes of calculating fees, a multi-unit order would be defined in increments of 10 units. For example, if an order is placed with 18 units, it will be treated as 2 multi-unit orders (one of 10 units; one of 8 units).
3 Orders that contain both flat and parcel-types of units will be considered multi-unit parcel orders when charging fees.
4 The Packaging Weight is the weight of the box and packing materials (i.e. dunnage). In FBA Small and Light, we use a standardized Packaging Weight of 0.7 oz. for every package.

Here are the reasons sellers are choosing Small and Light over self-fulfillment:

  • Maintain your margin on low-price products
  • Reduce fulfillment costs
  • Enroll your products easily with our self-service registration page
  • Gain customer trust with the Amazon A-to-z Guarantee
  • Increase your chances of winning the Buy Box versus self-fulfillment
  • Improve your operational capacity—Amazon’s advanced fulfillment network enables you to increase your inventory as demand grows
  • Having a 4-8 day FREE delivery promise, world-class customer service, and the Amazon A-to-z Guarantee help drive higher sales because they appeal greatly to customers
  • Handle the spike in customer contacts: Increased sales can also mean increased customer service handling requirements. Amazon can manage all the customer inquiries–at no additional cost to you
  • You can monitor your business from wherever you are using Seller Central, while FBA works for you fulfilling customer orders, managing customer service, and keeping you in the loop
  • No need to split shipments for Small and Light products

How do you win with Small and Light?

  • Be the brand owner or submit offers that you fulfill yourself
  • Maintain competitive prices
  • Keep your products in stock with Replenishment Alerts
  • Follow our ASIN selection recommendations

To add or remove products from the Small and Light program, use our self-service registration page. For additional information about the Small and Light program, see our program policies and FAQ page.

Thank you for selling on Amazon.

Sincerely,

The FBA Small and Light team