Stock that sits in Amazon's warehouses too long gets expensive. On top of regular monthly storage fees, Amazon charges an aged inventory surcharge on older units. For supplements and other expiry-dated products, there's a second clock: units that get too close to expiry can't be sold.
The answer isn't a blanket rule to keep everything or pull everything. Each product needs its own decision, based on its age, its expiry date and what it would cost to sell, move or dispose of it. This page walks through that decision.
How Amazon charges for aged stock
Amazon charges aged-inventory surcharges on long-stored units. The charge is added to the regular monthly storage fee, and the rate rises as the stock gets older. Check Seller Central for Amazon.ca's current schedule, including any age thresholds and snapshot timing.
Inventory age is counted first in, first out across the network. When you sell a unit, Amazon retires your oldest units first, whichever unit physically shipped.
Rates change, and each marketplace has its own schedule. Check the current fee page in Seller Central for Amazon.ca and Amazon.com before you do the arithmetic, rather than relying on rates copied from an old article.
Expiry is the other clock
FBA treats supplements and other consumables as expiry-dated products. That brings extra rules:
- Expiry dates must be printed on each unit and on the outer carton in the format Amazon requires.
- Amazon removes units that get too close to their expiry date and marks them for disposal. Units marked for disposal can't be returned to you.
For a slow-selling supplement, expiry can matter more than the surcharge. A unit that's six months old with a year of shelf life left is a pricing question. A unit that's close to expiry may only have one realistic outcome.
Build the review file
Start with data from the account, dated:
- Export the Inventory Age report and note the date.
- Match each row to the marketplace, SKU and pack size.
- Add the expiry lots for each SKU.
- Separate sellable units from units with a condition, expiry or listing problem.
- Add the recent daily sales rate, so you can see how long the stock will take to sell at the current pace.
- Pull the current fees: storage, aged surcharge, removal and disposal.
Now each product has a clear position: how many units, how old, how long until expiry and how long until it sells.
Compare the options
Amazon may offer several routes, depending on the store and the product. Check what's available for each SKU in your account, because not every product qualifies for every route.
- Keep selling as is. Fine if the stock will sell before it reaches a costly age band or gets close to expiry.
- Sell faster. A price change, coupon or deal can clear stock. Check the product's margin first. A discount that loses less than the surcharge and removal can still be the best choice.
- Advertise to move it. This only helps if the product converts well and has margin to spend. See Amazon PPC bid management.
- Return it to your warehouse. A removal order sends units back to you. You pay a removal fee and shipping, and you need somewhere to receive them.
- Liquidate, only where Amazon offers it for that marketplace and SKU. Where the programme is available, you recover part of the value and the units leave your inventory. Do not assume liquidation is offered on Amazon.ca; check eligibility for each marketplace and SKU first.
- Dispose of it. Disposal costs a fee and recovers nothing, but it ends storage charges. For units near expiry, this may be the only option.
Compare the routes using real costs for that product: what another month of storage and surcharge would cost, against the cost and recovery of each alternative.
Supplements returned to you need checking
Don't assume a returned supplement can simply be relisted or resold. Before reusing it, a warehouse should inspect:
- The seal and packaging condition.
- The expiry date, and whether enough shelf life is left to send it back to Amazon.
- The lot number, against your records.
Keep that inspection separate from the original Amazon removal request. The decision to reuse stock should rest on the goods' actual condition, not on the paperwork.
Make the decision explicit
For each product, record:
- The chosen action.
- The evidence used: age, expiry, sales rate and costs.
- Who gave the OK.
- The date to check the result.
Hold the action until the responsible person has approved it. A removal or disposal order can't easily be undone.
Follow the movement to the end
A completed request and a completed movement aren't the same thing. Keep both:
- The request ID and its status in Seller Central.
- Carrier and receiving records for units sent back to you.
- A reconciliation of units requested against units actually received or disposed of.
If the counts don't match, open a case with the evidence.
Stop it happening again
Aged stock is usually a planning problem from months earlier. Two habits help:
- Order closer to demand. Base restock quantities on clean sales history and real lead times. See Amazon demand forecasting and restock planning.
- Review age every month. Catch units approaching the next age band or the expiry cut-off while you still have time to sell them.
For seasonal products, plan the end of the season at the same time you plan the start.
How we handle this
Aged stock reviews are part of our inventory and replenishment work. Each product gets a written recommendation with the costs behind it, and nothing is removed or disposed of without your OK.
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