Restock Limits - Who still has OK limits that they can work with? Let's figure it out
OK I’ve had a rant, and I’m still p*&&ed about it, but now I’d like to try and figure out how we can move forward (assuming this isn’t just a MASSIVE glitch).
Who has got WORKABLE restock limits that are still allowing you to function, albeit maybe not as freely as previously? Could you guys that still have decent restock limits share your IPI chart (and percentages too if you’re feeling super kind). I’d like to try and get a broad picture of what the rest of us need to be aiming for to get back on track…
Restock Limits - Who still has OK limits that they can work with? Let's figure it out
OK I’ve had a rant, and I’m still p*&&ed about it, but now I’d like to try and figure out how we can move forward (assuming this isn’t just a MASSIVE glitch).
Who has got WORKABLE restock limits that are still allowing you to function, albeit maybe not as freely as previously? Could you guys that still have decent restock limits share your IPI chart (and percentages too if you’re feeling super kind). I’d like to try and get a broad picture of what the rest of us need to be aiming for to get back on track…
147 replies
Seller_tmoMvNMMALSPB
I know I’ve asked for WORKABLE restock limits only (and I am definitely NOT in that category) but can’t ask you to share yours if I don’t share mine - I personally have had my limits slashed hugely and am now 500+ overstocked, and I have the following percentages,
Excess Inventory: 21.69%
FBA Sell-Through: 1.2 (dropped from 1.5 last week)
Stranded: 0%
In-Stock Rate: 98.97%
and so I’m guessing my sell-through rate is what’s hindering me the most. To fix that I’m going to pull a lot of stock - I know lots have tried this and have seen stock limits reduced by the same amounts so it’s been pointless, but to be honest my housekeeping probably needs addressing anyway and could do with a proper tidy up of stock. It may help, it may not, but it’s certainly not going to improve on it’s own. My IPI & chart below:
Seller_BS5lg2keRs2QO
I do think IPI is a bit of a red herring as it uses different data to how they’ve said the restock limits were calculated. From your IPI influencing factors you can clearly see the two which are are having the biggest impact, but since you are over 500 anyway i assume your storage is already unlimited. Getting those two into the green shouldn’t directly impact the restock limits based on the info we have.
I also think it’s possible for sellers to have a higher sell-through rate (which is the most important for IPI) but a lower restock limit than “worse” sellers as Amazon have said they purely look at past and forecast sales for the new limit. Perhaps a more interesting data set would be for sellers to look at their average sales over the last month, 3 months and 6 months and compare those against the restock limit.
Even that could be moot though if there’s a glitch somewhere - which seems possible as it’s hard to fathom why limits could change more than once per week.
Seller_6sxtIS0RbZ5k7
Firstly, can I say well done for actually trying to get to the bottom of this, it was amazing how everyone pulled together to establish the facts of VTR and hopefully this will be the same.
My IPI and sell through has dropped from what it was but I have now removed a lot of slower-selling stock and converted those listings back to FBM so I am hoping to see an improvement.
The only other thing that I think might have a bearing on why my allocation has been generous (although it has still been cut from the initially over-generous one) is that I have a brand so I am the only one selling my stuff. I don’t know whether, if there are multiple sellers all sending in the same stock, the allocation may be split across them all? I’ve no idea but, it’s worth considering in the absence of any other indicators!
Mine is 3.7 x units sold in last 30 days. Sell through 2.5.
Seller_zmXjRrsKKSSZb
My take on this is that Amazon have run into a temporary issue with processing inbound stock.
A combination of factors, Prime Day, reduced warehouse capacity due to refurbs and opening up inventory limits has resulted in significant backlogs at warehouses.
Rather than be honest they have created a new metric - Restock Limits - which is independent of IPI and storage limits which allows Amazon to throttle all inbound stock. Everyone seems to have a similar allocation based on around 4 to 6 weeks sales, so it certainly seems to be a sledgehammer approach.
So despite a few claims, I really don’t think the current levels are a glitch on Amazons side.
I found what I hope is confirmation that the current limits are not permanent contained within the original seller update.
Seller products now account for more than 60% of the inventory in our UK and EU fulfilment centres. We therefore need to take steps to ensure that all sellers who use FBA have space for their products and that inventory can be received as quickly as possible, particularly in the lead-up to Prime Day. As a result, we are making the following temporary changes to help provide customers with the widest possible selection and to maintain the best customer experience.
Note that restock limits are determined by multiple factors that include Prime Day deals , new selection, your past and future sales, current inventory levels, shipping times and available fulfilment centre capacity .
Reading between the lines I hope that these limits are a) Temporary and b) Will increase or disappear in the leadup to Prime Day. Hopefully as Prime Day offers are prioritised and are drip-fed through to ensure they meet deadlines, the rest of us should start to see an increase in the draconian inbound limits, hopefully more in line with the promised 2-3 months.
I will concede that this is all certainly open to interpretation.
Seller_eLK29CA25PLEu
My IPI is 680 but I have barely one months stock allowance.
Seller_iyK4OSW6GaVBa
Hi All,
Relatively new to selling on Amazon, so haven’t got an IPI yet, but we have a restock limit of 3,000 units, and last 30 days sales are 1,009 units. We only have 12 SKU’s currently, but based on our model, we can keep within the 3,000 units comfortably as things stand as we can get stock into Amazon within 5 working days.
Sell through rate is 2.05 last 7 days, averages between 2.0 and 2.2.
Can I ask how many units you are all selling in 30 days? And without wanting to pry, are you making a decent income from it? What value are your products? We’re really pleased with how things have started for us, but I do get concerned about things like stocking limits and the disbursement reserves have been a real nightmare for paying suppliers on 30 day terms.
Thanks
Seller_zlPLH6VuTXhqD
I sell fba in the USA, EU & UK… It’s the same restocking problem for all of the platforms. So hoping its a worldwide glitch and next week we have some normality. Due to previous experiences with computer glitches ups fees etc, I would wait at least a week before reducing stock.
Seller_InOEEZHvO86Bu
Our business is very seasonal. Sales of units as follows:
JAN: 4162
FEB: 2202
MAR: 1334
APR: 580
Past 30 days: 340
IPI currently 593
Restock Limit: 1247 (down from 5500 last week).
Our sell through at the end of season is always bad, currently 0.8 which is very bad and drags down our IPI. The problem was 3 months ago we couldn’t send in stock quick enough to meet Amazon’s demand. I hate removing stock unless absolutely necessary as Amazon damage a fair percentage picking and packing into those flimsy boxes, only for the driver to then leave them outside our storage facility in the rain!
The restock limits will be very problematic for seasonal sellers who have large swings in sell-through. I’m hoping next Winter the limit will increase as quickly as it reduced as our sales pick up?!
It is going to take some considerable micro-managing.
Seller_fTHw0bbzSUL9L
Our IPI is 628, sell through 2.8 and we have a little over 30 days sales.
Seller_6Gg5kU8znO5sC
Dose this affect new products that i would like to sell if i list them will i be able to send stock in?
