The FBA Small and Light Amazon program is a fulfillment option for products that are priced under $15, measure 16” x 9” x 4” or smaller, and weigh 15 ounces or less. In this blog post we’ve broken down all the important aspects of the program.
The Amazon Program is currently only available for ASINs and sellers who meet certain criteria and are approved at Amazon’s discretion. Eligible sellers may submit the ASINs that they want to enroll in the program for approval. Sellers participating in the Program must already be enrolled in FBA and not have Premium Placement enabled.
In addition to Restricted Products and FBA Prohibited Products, the following products cannot be fulfilled through the program:
There is a difference between FBA standard and S&L Fulfilment Fees, and your S&L margin improves for individual orders with more than 1 unit sold. Therefore, the program makes economic sense for brands that sell small products but in large quantities (per individual order).
We recommend reviewing your sales history (on Amazon plus other channels) to see if there’s any products in your catalog that are bought in large quantities via single orders. Often times due to the low price-point such items are not suitable for standard FBA, and have been listed as FBM (Fulfilled By Merchant) on Amazon to protect profit margins. Chances are, if you consistently sell multiple units of these products via single orders, you can see an improved margin on the S&L program compared to FBA standard.
Let's use an example to illustrate the potential savings of S&L.
The following 8" harp set from I Like That Lamp has a total weight of 3.2 oz, dimensions of 11" x 5" x 1" and retails on Amazon for $9.95.
Here's a breakdown of how the FBA vs. S&L fees would work assuming 1 unit was purchased in a single order.
The general S&L concept is that the more units you can sell with individual orders the better your profit margins will become. If you are in doubt we would recommend crunching the S&L fees using the above table before confirming with Amazon support that your calculations check out prior to prepping S&L inventory.
Ensuring that Amazon fees are correct is a big part of Bobsled’s operational deliverables as a full channel management Amazon agency. Unfortunately we’ve noticed discrepancies across several accounts with expected vs. actual Amazon S&L fees.
It is up to each individual seller and vendor to keep track of all Amazon fees across the product catalog. If there’s any S&L fee errors you should open a case with support who will ask for more info and investigate. The issue may be related to a product having incorrect dimensions/weight or simply a glitch in the system. If you can prove to Amazon that fees have been calculated incorrectly, you will be reimbursed accordingly.