As an Amazon seller, it is one of our main goals to ensure that all of our listed products are noticed and, eventually, convert to a successful sale. However, there are instances that can hinder you from reaching that goal. One of these reasons include stranded Amazon inventory.
What exactly is “stranded inventory?” This refers to your existing items, which are not available for sale, at an FBA warehouse. You will know that you have this problem when you see a “Fix Stranded Inventory” tab on your Inventory dashboard. There are three main reasons why your products can be placed in a stranded status, preventing active offers on the Amazon Web site. These reasons include inactive, incomplete and out-of-stock inventory.
Inactive FBA Inventory
A common cause of product inactivity is when an item is tagged as “unfulfillable” after it is returned by a customer. The item may have been damaged or tampered with when the customer tried to open the package, or it may have already been defective prior to shipment. In instances such as this, you should create a removal order for these inactive items using the drop-down menu under the “Actions” column (in your Amazon Seller Central Inventory dashboard).
Another factor that could make a product inactive lies on Amazon itself. Sometimes, the e-commerce platform can encounter a system glitch that may cause an item to be listed as “Inactive” for no exact reason. Relisting the item and adding in the necessary information in the “Offer” tab usually does the trick in cases like these. Just make sure that the item or items in question are fulfillable and are not damaged or defective in any way.
Incomplete FBA Inventory
When you see this status as the reason why your inventory is marked as stranded, the usual fix is to select “Add a Product” under Inventory and fill out the corresponding product information as you normally would. Just keep in mind that you must use the Merchant SKU found on the Stranded Inventory page for that particular item.
Out-of-Stock Inventory
This can occur when you fulfill your listed product yourself instead of having it fulfilled by Amazon. If this is the case, none of your FBA inventory for those products will be available for sale. Once again, Amazon site wide glitches may also cause some of your product listings to be recognized as fulfilled by merchant instead of by Amazon. To remedy this situation, choose “Change to Fulfilled by Amazon” (under “Action” drop-down) for each of the “Out of Stock” items. After this step, you should see these products as available for purchase.
Prevent Amazon Stranded FBA Inventory
As a responsible seller who aims to be on top of things, always monitor your inventory and see if anything is amiss or if any of your listed products have been put in the stranded inventory status. Products that are inactive, incomplete, or out of stock will not bring you any profit. With the aid of a third-party amazon app, you can prevent several inventory issues you might encounter in the future – including stranded inventory.
