Amazon FBA Removal Orders, Disposal, and Liquidation: When to Use Each

When FBA inventory is not selling fast enough to justify its storage cost, you have three options: removal (Amazon ships the units back to you or a specified address), disposal (Amazon destroys the units), or liquidation (Amazon sells the units to liquidators at a fraction of cost, with you receiving a portion of the proceeds).

The choice depends on: whether the product has value worth recovering, your cost basis, the current and projected storage fee trajectory, and whether you have a viable channel to sell the product outside Amazon.

Do not let slow-moving inventory sit indefinitely — every month of storage at peak rates (October–December) costs 2–3x the off-peak rate. Inventory stored past 365 days triggers long-term storage fees (LTSF) of $6.90/cubic foot/month — extraordinarily expensive for bulky items. Proactive inventory exit planning always saves money vs reactive fee avoidance.

A removal order instructs Amazon to pull your inventory from their fulfillment centers and ship it to an address you specify. Removal fees as of 2025: approximately $0.97 per unit for standard-size items under 1 lb, scaling up with weight and size to $3.12+ per unit for large standard, and higher for oversize.

Use removal when: (a) the inventory has resale value outside Amazon — on your website, eBay, Walmart, or in B2B/wholesale channels; (b) the product needs modification before it can sell (new packaging, relabeling, adding an accessory) and you plan to re-send to FBA; (c) you have excess inventory from a Q4 overbuy and want to avoid January–September storage fees until you can sell through it.

Processing time: Amazon typically processes removal orders within 14 days, though it can take longer during peak periods (November–January). Do not wait until LTSF charge dates to initiate removal — submit removal orders at least 30 days before the 181-day or 365-day inventory age milestones.

Receiving removed inventory: removed units return in the condition Amazon received them. If units were prepped correctly (poly bagged, FNSKU labeled), they arrive sellable. If they were not, expect some handling damage from warehouse operations. Removed units must be re-prepped before being sent back to FBA.

Disposal orders: Amazon destroys the inventory and charges a disposal fee approximately equal to or slightly lower than removal fees. Use disposal when: the product has zero resale value (defective returns, expired perishables, items with broken packaging), the cost to ship items to a usable location exceeds their value, or you need to clear storage quickly without arranging a receiving address.

Amazon Liquidations Program: Amazon sells your inventory to third-party liquidators and remits you approximately 5–10% of the average selling price (not of your wholesale cost). This is a significant discount, but it is better than paying disposal fees while receiving nothing. The liquidation pathway works for inventory that has some retail value but is not moving on Amazon at your target price.

Liquidation eligibility: items must be in "Used — Acceptable" condition or better. Products subject to safety recalls, hazmat restrictions, or with expired dates are not eligible for liquidation. Enrollment is available in Seller Central → Inventory → FBA Liquidations.

Aged inventory surcharge (181–365 days): Amazon charges a monthly surcharge for inventory 181–365 days old (separate from and in addition to regular monthly storage fees). This surcharge was introduced to incentivize sellers to remove slow-moving inventory before the 365-day LTSF threshold. Initiate removal or liquidation orders for all inventory approaching 150 days old to avoid both the surcharge and the LTSF.

Amazon offers an Automated Removal Settings option in Seller Central → Inventory → Inventory Planning → Settings. You can configure Amazon to automatically create removal orders for inventory that triggers LTSF thresholds. Options: remove (send back to you) or dispose, automatically or with your approval.

The "automatically dispose" setting is convenient but should be used with caution — it can trigger disposal of inventory that still has value, without your review. The "request approval" setting is safer: Amazon flags the items and you decide on a case-by-case basis.

Monthly inventory audit: every month, run the Inventory Age report in Seller Central (Inventory → Inventory Planning → Inventory Age). Sort by "days of supply" and identify: (1) all inventory over 150 days old (approaching surcharge territory), (2) all inventory over 330 days old (approaching LTSF territory). Create removal or liquidation orders for the at-risk inventory before charge dates trigger.