FBA New Selection is designed to launch and test new-to-FBA products on Amazon.
In case you need a reminder, FBA stands for Fulfilled by Amazon. This is a service where sellers can let Amazon take care of the logistics involving the shipping of their products.
The FBA New Selection program offers sellers free storage, stock liquidation, and customer returns for a limited time.
Early in March, Amazon announced new updates to the program. These are especially beneficial to new sellers.
If you want to learn more about it, then you’re in the right place! Today, we’ll spell out the basics of the FBA New Selection program changes for 2022.
Let’s dive right in.
What is Amazon FBA?
First off, let’s review the basics of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). This is one of Amazon’s flagship business models for sellers.
The FBA program grants sellers access to Amazon’s logistics and supply resources. Here are the program’s key features:
- Inventory and fulfillment. Brands store their products inside Amazon warehouses. From here, the retail giant will fulfill every order to customers.
- Delivery prep. Amazon takes care of product packaging, labeling, and tracking. The marketplace also ensures all deliveries reach shoppers on time.
- Customer service. FBA features 24/7 customer service. This means Amazon handles questions, returns, ratings and review requests.
In short, FBA sellers let Amazon take care of the supply chain legwork. They can do so for a monthly fee. This way, sellers are free to focus on improving their branding, visibility and conversions.
Of course, Amazon charges referral fees for every item shipped using FBA, which could add up quickly.
Almost 90% of marketplace sellers use FBA services, according to Fit Small Business. This speaks volumes for the quality of the program.
However, not all brands may be prepared to handle the mounting referral fees charged by Amazon. That is where the FBA New Selection Program comes in.
Related Content: 2022 Amazon FBA Fees
What Is FBA New Selection?
The FBA New Selection program is part of the Amazon FBA model. The service grants access to Amazon’s logistics network for products that are new to FBA.
So, here’s the good news: FBA new selection is a free service for eligible items! Which means that FBA sellers can use the program to launch new products, with no extra cost.
The only catch would be that your products need to be eligible based on the requirements that can be found here.
Here is the rundown of the program:
- 90-day free storage for the first 50 standard sized units and 30 oversized units that arrive at the warehouse.
- Free monthly liquidations for standard sized and oversized units. The waiver is valid for 180 days upon first arrival to the warehouse.
- 120-day free storage for the first 100 standard sized apparel and shoes received by Amazon.
- Free shoes and apparel liquidations within 180 days upon the stock’s first arrival.
Also, new-to-FBA merchants will get $200 in Sponsored Ad clicks. They also get a $100 discount on shipping with an Amazon Partnered Carrier.
Note: The free waivers apply only to the unit quantity mentioned above. Any products sold afterwards will incur storage fees.
Seller and ASIN Eligibility
Not all brands can access FBA New Selection. Amazon has very specific criteria, which sellers must meet to enroll in the program.
First off, the FBA New Selection program is exclusive to Amazon Professional sellers. Furthermore, eligible brands should hold an Inventory Performance Index (IPI) score of over 400.
As a reminder, the Inventory Performance Index is a metric used by Amazon to monitor the performance of your inventory over time. It measures the productivity and efficiency in which your inventory is managed.
Note that Amazon reviews seller eligibility on a quarterly basis.
So, once brands are deemed eligible, they will retain their eligibility status for FBA New Selection for the rest of the quarter.
However, if your IPI falls below 400, you will lose your eligibility. In that case, Amazon will remove you from the program.
Luckily that’s not the end of the matter. If your IPI falls below expectations, focus on increasing your score. Amazon will then renew your eligibility.
How to Improve Your IPI Score?
Amazon recommends the following factors to keep your IPI score up:
- Improve your 90-day rolling sell-through by maintaining the right balance of inventory over the same time period.
- Ensure that inventory is buyable by fixing listings that are stranded. Stranded listings are FBA inventory in fulfillment centers that do not have associated active offers, and thus are not available for sale on Amazon.
- Increase sales by keeping popular items in stock.
- Avoid keeping excess and aged inventory. A good guideline is to maintain enough inventory to cover 30 to 60 days of your expected sales.
Product ASINs are also subject to a few requisites for approval:
- Only new-to-FBA parent ASINs are eligible for FBA New Selection.
- The program accepts standard sized and oversized items (excluding Special Oversize).
- Used items and media products are excluded from the program. These include films, books, music, video games, and software.
- Free return processing is limited to apparel and shoes.
Related content: What to Sell on Amazon FBA?
How to enroll in FBA New Selection?
The FBA New Selection program is exclusive to Professional sellers. If you want in, you’ll first need to update your Amazon seller status.
Here’s how to upgrade your Individual Seller account to a Professional Seller one.
- Login to your Amazon Seller Account
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Account Infounder Settings
- Click Manage in the Your Services section
- Click Upgrade next to the account type
Once you are approved as a Pro Seller, log in to Seller Central. From here, go to the FBA New Selection Page and click “Enroll now”.
That’s it! Now you have FBA New Selection benefits on all eligible products. You can manage the program using the FBA New Selection Dashboard. Here’s what you can review:
· Status and eligibility. These will show that you are enrolled in the program, as well as your current IPI score.
· ASINs. Lists the new-to-FBA parent ASINs enrolled in FBA New Selection.
· Sales and Savings. The estimated sum of sales and savings (respectively) from enrolled Parent ASINs.
· Credit usage. This one applies for new-to-FBA brands. It shows the shipping discount usage for Sponsored Ads. It also shows the credit usage by the Amazon Partnered Carrier program.
2022 FBA New Selection Program Updates
Back in 2019, the FBA New Selection had its first rollout. It got quite positive feedback from sellers at that time. From then on, the service does regular updates to improve sellers’ performance on Amazon.
For example, the program started off with a limit of 500 items per seller. Now, brands can enroll as many products as they need, as long as they are new to FBA.
2022 is no exception to such updates. Amazon just released 3 new benefits for sellers using the FBA New selection program.
5% Rebate on Sales
As of March 2022, FBA New Selection provides a monthly 5% rebate on sales. The discount is valid for shoes and apparel, standard sized and oversized products.
Note, however, that the rebate is exclusive to sellers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry.
Liquidation Benefits
FBA New Selection has provided free liquidations since December 2021. This makes it possible to recover an item’s full value from excess stock.
But this changed a bit in March 2022. Now, free liquidations are only valid for FBA New Selection brands in the US.
Sellers outside the US should look elsewhere to remove excess inventory at a low cost.
Note that Amazon will also remove any ASINs that do not register at least one unit sale within 180 days. This will be done free of charge.
Global Enrollment
International sellers had to enroll in FBA New Selection in each selling territory. But that’s no longer the case. Starting in March 2022, FBA New Selection benefits will apply on each and every active Amazon Store.
That means you only need to enroll once to reap the benefits of FBA New Selection across the world.
Source: Seller Central
Final Thoughts
Amazon can be a difficult marketplace for new sellers. But the FBA New Selection Program seeks to make things easier.
The service’s conditions may seem daunting at first, but the results definitely pay off. Once you know the details, you’ll be set up to start off your business on Amazon with the right foot.
Be sure to keep checking your eligibility. Keep improving your presence on the marketplace by staying active and doing what you can to raise your conversion rates.
Author
Esteban Muñoz is an SEO copywriter at AMZ Advisers, with several years’ experience in digital marketing and e-commerce. Esteban and the AMZ Advisers team have been able to achieve incredible growth on the Amazon platform for their clients by optimizing and managing their accounts and creating in-depth content marketing strategies.
