Your product is in an Amazon fulfillment center

You are paying their storage fees.

but…

You still can't sell them due to "stranded inventory".

For Amazon sellers, nothing is more frustrating than experiencing a stranded inventory crash. Not only can stranded inventory bring your sales to a screeching halt, but it can also increase your overhead. It can also lower your Inventory Performance Index.

Therefore, sellers need to take the initiative to solve the problem of stranded inventory as soon as it arises. If you are also facing this problem and trying to solve it, you are in the right place.

This article will discuss in detail how to solve this problem. We'll also walk you through why this happens and how to prevent your inventory from getting stuck in Amazon's vast storage space.

What does Amazon stranded inventory mean?

Before diving into the causes of stranded inventory and fixing it, it's important to thoroughly understand the problem, which is what "stranded inventory" essentially means on Amazon.

When inventory gets stuck in an Amazon warehouse, which Amazon calls "stuck," it's neither moving forward (to customers) nor backwards (to sellers).

So, standard inventory basically means that you store your products in Amazon fulfillment centers. However, the corresponding listings for these products remain invalid. In other words, you can't make a sale even if you have enough inventory.

Inventory can be "stranded" for a variety of reasons, and we'll discuss them in the next section.

Unfulfilled and Stranded Inventory

Before going any further, another similar inventory management issue called "unfinishable inventory" must be discussed. Often, the two terms are used interchangeably to describe the same problem. In many cases, unfinished inventory and stranded inventory mean the same thing.

However, it's important to remember that unfulfillable inventory is primarily all those products that cannot be sold due to damage, missing parts, expiration, or any other underlying issue involved. On the other hand, inventory can be stuck due to product issues as well as listing errors and errors (missing SKUs, incomplete listing information, category restrictions, etc.).

A notable difference between unfulfilled inventory and stranded inventory is also the status of the listing. In undelivered inventory, product information remains valid. However, stranded inventory means that the listing is no longer valid, i.e. customers cannot even place an order.

Why is my product/inventory stuck on Amazon?

Inventory can get stuck on Amazon for a variety of reasons. Amazon notifies you of stranded inventory by email. You can also check it yourself on the Seller Central dashboard in the Manage Inventory section. If you have any stranded inventory issues, the Fix stranded inventory tab will appear on the Manage Inventory page.

When you click the "Repair Stuck Inventory" button, you can see the stranded item's name, ASIN, SKU, and the reason for the stranded item in the "Reason for Detention" column. You'll find your stranded cause from the long list of reasons mentioned below.

31 Reasons Your Inventory Is Stuck on Amazon

B2B restricted

Block list

Deleted list

Discontinued and listed

expired product

food safety survey

Future on-sale dates

stock error

Inventory under review

Product discontinued

project merger

Item Restrictions

Listing is closed

Item closed and stock error:

Listing error:

Merchant pays

Misclassified ASINs

missing price

Missing SKU

packaging problem

Please check for quality issues

Potential Logo and Trademark Abuse

product recall

Product Safety Survey

Product update required

Eligibility Requirements (Brand) or (Category

Restricted ASINs

Restricted Product ASINs

restricted program

According to Dangerous Goods Review

Receive unexpected stock

Why is it important to fix stranded inventory as soon as possible?

For the following reasons, you need to resolve stranded inventory issues as soon as possible.

Stranded inventory remains unsellable. However, it still takes up space in Amazon fulfillment centers and increases your storage charges with monthly storage, long-term storage, and storage overage charges.

Stranded inventory also lowers your score on the Inventory Performance Index (IPI). Therefore, if the IPI is below 400 (IPI range: 1-1000), Amazon will limit the available storage space on your account.

Stranded inventory refers to inactive listings, meaning there are no sales and no revenue for a given period.

How to Repair Standard Inventory: A Step-by-Step Guide

You have several options to address stranded inventory in different situations. For example, you may sometimes have to delete inventory and list your products with new inventory. Then, in some cases, you may need to file a case and contact seller support. If you win, you can relist the stranded inventory.

Your treatment of these measures will vary from case to case and we will discuss in the next section.

First, let's take a look at how to start the process of fixing stuck inventory on the Seller Central dashboard.

As previously mentioned, you will receive email or performance notifications about stranded inventory. Additionally, you can check it out for yourself on Seller Central by following the steps below.

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Go to the Manage FBA Inventory section from the Dashboard.

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If you have any stranded inventory , a new tab will appear on the horizontal menu bar titled Repair stranded inventory ( number of stranded ASINs).

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Click the Repair Stalled Inventory tab to find out the /SKU of the corresponding inventory holdover. You can view stranded inventory entries along with SKU, ASIN, FNSKU and other details. You can also view the Strand Reason column. Additionally, the last drop-down column (surrounded in green) gives you actions you can take to repair stranded inventory. In the example below, the reason for the stranding is a listing error, and the fix solution offered is to create a delete order to list it again after the problem is resolved.

However, creating an order removal order may not be the best option for resolving stranded inventory. It will remove the inventory from the fulfillment center and send it back to you or process it. Therefore, if you do not have any other options to fix stuck inventory, you can always contact the seller support team for further assistance. If you hover over the reason given in the " Reason for Stranding " column, you'll see Amazon make the same suggestion.

Open a new case with seller support to fix stranded inventory

In many cases, you may need to contact Seller Support to fix stranded inventory. With their help, you may be able to solve the problem successfully. To do this, you must open and submit a new case from Seller Central.

Follow the steps below to open a new box to Amazon to organize stranded inventory.

Click Help in the upper right corner of the Seller Central dashboard home page.

Scroll down the help page to find the Need More Help section and click the Get Support button below it.

Click "Sell on Amazon" to continue

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Describe your problem that inventory is on hold for a given reason (eg, on hold due to a listing error). Then notify them that you want to fix the problem and restore the list to its active state. The seller support team will take care of your issue and you will be able to retrieve your stranded inventory shortly.

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Get the most out of automated action settings

If you look at the Fix Stuck Inventory page, you can find the Edit Auto Action button at the top of the page.

When you click the Edit Auto Action Settings button, you will see two sections: Auto Repair and Auto Delete. If you enable the auto-repair option, it will automatically fix your hold inventory and republish your listing if a hold occurs due to "closed listings," "item discontinued," "listing closures and inventory errors," and "merchant fulfillment."

The Auto-Delete Settings section lets you choose the deletion method and deadline for auto-deletion.

Here you will find removal method options for different stranded inventory scenarios. You can choose to "return the unit to me" or discard the unit. Then, you'll also need to choose a deadline to initiate automatic deletion. If you want to get your inventory back, rather than Amazon doing whatever it wants, check out this section and check "Return Items to Me" if you notice a problem with stranded inventory.

How do I relist a standard item on Amazon?

In many cases, you will have to republish the listing after revising its details or resolving any other stranding-related issues. Therefore, knowing how to get stranded items back on Amazon is critical.

Once you have obtained permission to relist your item after resolving the stranded inventory, follow the steps below.

Click Manage FBA Inventory from the Inventory drop-down menu in the Seller Central dashboard.

Find the list that deals with stranded inventory and click on the drop-down menu given to the far right of it.

Click Relist and move to the next page.

View and update the quote details for the listing and click Save

Make sure you only perform these steps on inactive or closed lists. After saving the updated offer details, your listing will be republished within 15 minutes if there are no further issues.

31 Reasons Your Inventory Is Stuck on Amazon and How to Fix It

In the previous section, we listed the reasons behind stranded inventory. Now, with Selling Partner Support's knowledge of listing and opening cases, let's expand on these reasons and how to resolve them.

1. B2B Restricted : Products involving stranded inventory are only approved for B2B sales.

Fix : Create removal order and delete list. Next time, make sure the product you choose to list on Amazon is approved for B2C sales.

2. Blocked Listing : If you see a "Blocked Listing" in the Reason for Stranding column, it means that a given product has not been approved for sale due to safety, quality or intellectual property issues. Amazon will notify you of the exact reason via email and performance notifications on Seller Central.

Fix : If you think your inventory is eligible to list and sell and there is some misunderstanding on the part of Amazon, create a removal order and delete the listing or open a case.

3. Deleted Listings : Listings that are deleted for any reason (accidental or intentional) may stranded the corresponding inventory.

FIXED : Create a new listing with exact details to take back inventory and reactivate the listing.

4. Discontinued Lists : Lists that have been discontinued for any reason may also lead to stock holdings.

Fix : Create a new listing with the same ASIN and SKU mentioned in your FBA inventory file.

5. Expired Product : If it appears in the Reason column, the product has passed its expiration date printed in the fulfillment center and cannot be sold.

Fix : Create removal order and delete list. Next time, choose stock that doesn't have an expiration date very close to it.

6. Food Safety Investigations : Your edible inventory may be stranded if the relevant safety testing and compliance documents do not comply with Amazon’s terms and conditions.

Fix : Open a case and submit product safety testing and compliance documents approved by the brand owner or manufacturer. If the evidence provided convinces Amazon, you will be allowed to relist the inventory.

7. Future Listing Sale Dates : If you set your listing's offer start date to any future date, the corresponding inventory may be temporarily stranded.

Fix : Select Edit from the far right dropdown menu in the list and modify the quote start date.

8. Inventory Error : If you see this reason in the Strand Reason column, it could mean several things: First, the inventory is still under review. Second, it exists in fulfillment centers that do not ship directly to consumers. Third, the inventory is missing some listing information. You may need to contact Selling Partner Support to find out the exact reason behind such strandings.

Fix : Review and update the list to see if it fixes the bug. Otherwise, please open a case with Amazon Selling Partner Support.

9. Inventory under review : This cause of stranded inventory means that your inventory is under review by customer service. You may need to check the case log for more information.

Fix : Wait for Amazon's notification after review. If you are not allowed to relist the product, you will have to remove the inventory and delete the listing.

10. Product Discontinued : If the Strand Reason column shows "Product Discontinued", it means that the given ASIN has been discontinued due to a major defect/damage or any violation of Amazon's FBA policy.

Fix : You will have to delete the inventory and delete the order. After that, replenish your inventory with items that are free of defects and damage, and create a new listing.

11. Combination of items : Inventory may also be stuck in Amazon fulfillment centers if a given product ASIN has been merged with another ASIN.

Fix : Contact Sales Partner Support and let them know about the issue. After correcting the problem, they may ask you to relist the list.

12. Item Restricted: When a given product falls into a restricted category for any reason, you will see this reason for stranded inventory. The sales support team can further guide you on the reasoning behind the restriction.

Fix : If you think the limit is a misunderstanding, please open a case. Otherwise, delete the inventory and delete the listing.

13. Item Closed: This cause of stranded inventory occurs when the end date of a given item has passed or has been closed for any other reason.

Fix : Troubleshooting stranded inventory in this case is very simple. Select Republish item from the rightmost drop-down menu for the corresponding ASIN to restore listing.

14. Item Closed and Inventory Error: This stranding reason occurs when two things happen at the same time, i.e. an inventory error occurs and the item is closed due to any of the three reasons above.

Fix : If a simple republish does not bring the listing back to life, please contact the Selling Partner Support team.

15. Bad Listing: When a given inventory is not linked to any valid ASIN, your inventory will be stranded with "Incorrect Listing".

Fix : You will need to contact the Selling Partner Support team to resolve the issue. If you end up with no listing or inventory issues, you will eventually be allowed to relist your inventory.

16. Merchant-Fulfilled: If you accidentally set your shipping option to "Merchant-Fulfilled," your inventory may be stuck and not sold as FBA items.

Fix : Click the drop-down menu on the far right, select "Change to FBA" and save the settings.

17. Misclassified ASINs : If you place an item in the wrong category, your inventory will be stranded. For example, if you classified baby diapers in the "Baby Care" subcategory instead of the "Diapers" subcategory, your inventory could be stranded with "ASIN misclassification."

Fix : If your inventory is sold under Amazon Brand Registry, you can fix this by re-uploading the inventory file template with the correct categories. If you find this correction confusing, please contact Seller Support.

18. Missing Price : If you forget to mention the price of that item in your listing on Seller Central, your inventory will be stranded and will not be available for delivery until you update the price.

Fix : Select the Edit button from the dropdown on the far right and add the price in the price column.

19.Missing SKU : When the SKU of a given product does not match the corresponding ASIN, the reason for the stranded inventory will appear in the Reason column. This may occur due to changes in UPC or ASIN for a given product.

Fix : Relist the list and see if it goes live in a few minutes. Otherwise, open a case with Amazon.

20. Packaging issues : If your items aren’t certified for Amazon’s frustration-free packaging designed to reduce waste disposal, your inventory could run aground.

Fix : You have no choice but to create a removal order for a given /SKU and delete the list.

21. Please check for quality issues : From pricing errors to issues with uploaded product images, listing quality issues can arise for a variety of reasons and stranded related inventory.

Fix : You should see all the details of the list. Then, if needed, edit the list and save the updated version to see if it goes live. If the problem persists, please contact Seller Support.

22. Potential Logo and Trademark Abuse: If a product detail page image faces trademark issues under Amazon's intellectual property policy, your inventory will get stuck in the fulfillment center.

Fix : See what visuals you use on product detail pages. If there are any infringing images, please remove them and save an updated list. If you believe no logos or trademarks are used and you own all intellectual property rights to the images used, please escalate your issue to Seller Support.

23. Product recall: If your product has been marked as a recalled item, its inventory will be stranded and the listing will go offline.

Fix : Remove inventory, delete listing, then get new inventory and compliance letter from manufacturer/brand owner. Read further on Amazon's guidance for sellers' inventory involving recalled products.

24. Product Safety Investigation: If a product is undergoing a safety investigation, your inventory may be stuck in fulfillment centers.

Fix : You need to obtain product safety testing and compliance documents from the manufacturer/brand owner and submit them to Amazon after unboxing.

25. Item update required: If your item listing needs to be updated with information other than price and quantity details, you will see this reason in the Stuck ASIN Reason column.

Fix : You may have to fill in any blank fields on the listing page. First, edit the list and save the updated version. If that doesn't solve the problem, delete the non-active item and create a new item with the same SKU and ASIN.

26. Eligibility Requirements (Brand) or (Category): If you need approval to sell a specific brand or category, you will see "Qualification Requirements" with "Brand" or "Category" in parentheses in the Reason column. Your inventory will remain stranded until the appropriate approval is obtained.

Fix : Click "Edit" in the far right dropdown to see if the "Request Approval" button is available. Click it and wait for Amazon's response. If there is no Request Approval button on the edit page, you will have no choice but to create a removal order and delete the listing.

27. Restricted ASIN: If this is the reason for stranded inventory, it could mean a variety of things: product quality issues, intellectual property infringement, security issues. You will receive an email or performance notification telling you the exact reason why your ASIN was restricted.

Fix : If you think there is any misunderstanding, you can open a case to restore your list. However, if there is a real reason behind the restriction, delete the inventory and delete the listing.

28. Restricted Product ASINs: This is for a different reason than mentioned above. If you see "Restricted Product ASIN" instead of "Restricted ASIN," Amazon has found that this particular item is in violation of its Restricted Products Policy.

Fix : If you don't think a given inventory violates Amazon's restricted products policy , you'll need to open a case. You must also submit documentation to prove your claim.

29. Restricted Plans: Inventory can also be held up if items cannot be sold due to restrictions at the plan level.

Fix : You will have to delete inventory and delete listings.

30. Under Dangerous Goods Review: If your product has been reviewed for dangerous goods, the corresponding inventory will no longer be available, and the corresponding listing will be offline.

Fix : Pending review. If the audit declares the inventory as "Dangerous Goods" and you determine this is not the case, please unpack it with Selling Partner Support.

31. Unexpected Inventory Received: If you see this message in the Strand Reason column, it means that you do not have a related listing for the given inventory. Amazon treats such unlisted inventory as "accidental inventory."

Fix : You must create a new listing to get these stranded inventory back on sale. Also, please contact Seller Support for further instructions.

How to Prevent Amazon Standard Inventory Issues?

It's definitely better to prevent stock stranding in the first place than trying to fix it later. There are a few boxes you need to check to make sure your inventory doesn't get stuck on Amazon.

Before listing an item, be sure to do thorough research so that your inventory does not fall under restricted category, product, and brand standards.

Always double check the details you mention on the product listing page. Make sure nothing violates Amazon's listing rules.

Make sure what you send to an Amazon fulfillment center is fully synergistic with what you noted in your FBA shipping plan.

If you set a maximum and minimum price on your listing, make sure the current listing price is between those limits. If your listing price is lower than the minimum price or higher than the maximum price, your inventory may be stranded.

Do not delete the listing immediately, even if you are out of stock. As a result, any customer returns and lost inventory are stranded.

common problem

Before we wrap up this article, let's answer some frequently asked questions about fixing Amazon's stranded inventory.

How to Fix Stuck Inventory in Amazon Listing Error?

You will need to open a case with Amazon Selling Partner Support to resolve the issue. Once the issue is resolved, you can republish your inactive listings and put your stranded inventory back on sale.

How to fix restricted ASINs on Amazon?

If your inventory is stranded due to an ASIN restriction, click Select Edit in the far right drop-down menu for the corresponding non-active item, find the "Provide evidence of ASIN compliance" link, and submit the relevant documentation. If Amazon accepts the evidence you provide, you will be able to reissue your restricted ASIN and corresponding stranded inventory.

Where can I find stranded inventory?

You can view your performance notifications in Seller Central to see if Amazon has sent you a message about stranded inventory. If you have any stranded inventory, the " Repair Stranded Inventory " button will also appear on the Manage Inventory page in the Inventory section . Click this button to view stranded ASINs.

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