◼️ Amazon Gave Us Homework Over The Weekend


This Issue's TLDR...

  • An unwelcome weekend homework assignment from Amazon
  • A tax law change that won't change anything
  • A deep dive into Claude Skills for Amazon sellers

👉 Did someone forward you this newsletter? First of all, give them a crisp high five when you see them. Second, head over here to subscribe and read past issues.

And, be sure to read last week's issue about how you can get better performance out of certain child ASINs. Or, read my most popular issue ever: 15 Cool Hacks For Your Amazon Business.

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  • Rankings freeze on page 2

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Get ahead of Q4 competition. Outrank your category before Black Friday hits.

BEST From Me

Amazon is back on its bullsh!t.

I think I wrote that back in September, and here I am doing it again.

Why am I doing it again?

Surprisingly, I'm not writing that because Amazon just announced increases to FBA fees in 2026.

We all knew that was coming and, frankly, I gave Amazon some public credit for making the announcement earlier than in past years.

So, no, I'm not calling out Amazon for increasing FBA fees.

I am calling out Amazon for this:

Many sellers received this confusing message a few weeks ago, and it lead to mayhem in the Seller Forums.

Part of the issue (and my issue) with this policy change is that the communication from Amazon was both threatening and confusing.

"We're removing all of your inventory greater than 270 days old."

WTF!?

Sort of draconian to make this change, with very little notice. Especially when many sellers were, presumably, planning to sell-through their older inventory, with ages between 270 and 365 days, in Q4.

But, classic Amazon.

If you received this message and/or are impacted, you need to do two things before this weekend (October 26) in order to avoid inventory removal chaos and potential lost sales.

THING 1: Configure your automated removal settings

I mentioned above that the message was confusing.

Well, Amazon subsequently clarified (in a buried Seller Forum thread), that this draconian action only applies to seller accounts that haven't configured their automated removal settings.

So, to avoid having your 270+ day old inventory automatically removed, start by going in and configuring your settings.

THING 2: Line up a reverse logistics solution

Look, I might be wrong about this interpretation.

Or, this Seller Forums moderator might be wrong.

Or, I might be right and the Seller Forums moderator might be correctly relaying the intended policy change, but...Amazon's systems might behave differently. (I've seen this many times)

So, you need a back-up plan.

Someone, or somewhere, that can receive these unintended (or intended) removals.

A few sellers already reached out to me asking for a reverse logistics solution.

I sent all of them to Axiom Return Solutions.

(You can use this inquiry form to get special Best@Amazon pricing)

You can decide whether or not that is right for you and your business.

The alternative is a drip-feed of removals from Amazon over the course of the next 3-, 6-, or maybe even 12-months, of product that you'd actually like to sell.

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And, I'm also telling you that you should switch to Assureful.

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Seriously, look up what you're paying in monthly insurance premiums right now, and then click the link below to get an instant quote from Assureful.

If you don't see savings, send me an ALL CAPS email saying "you were wrong, Jon."

BEST from my Inbox

Usually, in this section, I highlight a Q&A with a Best@Amazon newsletter reader that I found interesting and/or insightful.

But this time, I have something different.

It was a notice from Amazon alerting me (and other sellers) to the fact that you can now see contribution authority in Seller Central.

The catch is that this is only for Images.

But, it's hopefully a starting point where perplexing catalog issues are at least easier to diagnose.

BEST from X

Tax evasion is a time-honored tradition among businesspeople (Chinese or otherwise).

PREDICTION: Nothing will change.

BEST from YouTube

My good buddy Danny McMillan is in Mad Scientist Mode and...I'm loving it.

Check out his deep dive into Claude Skills (and, while you're there, give his video a "Like" because, he earned it).

video preview
BEST From The World of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

Something to keep in mind...

There are only 3 reasons that a seller is selling their business:

  1. They NEED to
  2. They HAVE to
  3. They WANT to

Those are all very different reasons, and will inform how (or whether) you proceed.

Figure out the reason early in the process.


Best @ Amazon

I'm a former Amazon marketplace leader and current 8-figure seller. I write about advanced strategies and tactics for Amazon brands, that you won't read about anywhere else. Not for beginners.

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