Amazon requires inventory to be at their warehouses by October 19th, 2024, to ensure availability for Black Friday. This deadline seems earlier than previous years. Although inventory arriving after this date might still be available for Prime customers, it's advisable to meet this deadline due to increasing instances of lost inventory, particularly in categories like sunglasses.
Sending inventory by this date might incur higher storage fees. However, the risk of missing out on significant sales, as experienced by a brand last year that sent inventory on October 31st and had it misplaced until December 21st, outweighs the cost savings. Ensuring stock availability is crucial.
Balancing inventory submission with FBA limits is challenging. Prioritizing fast-moving SKUs and increasing sales velocity in the coming month can help expand limits, providing more space for Q4 inventory.
