Removal orders require some explanation. You may notice a lot of 3PLs and prep centers don't accept removals or charge extra for them. This article provides a window into the reasons, and what to expect when working with removals.

If you sent 5 cases of 30 units each into FBA, that's what you'll get with a removal, right? Probably not…

Receiving removals is sometimes worse than OA. Amazon may deliver them over a few weeks, often in seemingly random packaging and with different carriers.

First of all, most of your inventory will probably be in Amazon's cartons instead of the boxes you used. They will often use multiple different sizes of box, as well as a few poly mailers. They sometimes even ship individual units with a shipping label pasted directly to the unit.

Often, the quantity received will be slightly different than expected. It's not uncommon to remove 400 units, but actually receive 392. In many cases, you'll receive “bonus” items: another seller's inventory.

In some of the most egregious cases, we have seen things like this:

• A bottle of white-out (like for correcting paperwork) instead of a $600 leather jacket.
• Two bottles of red wine included with a printer.

Even “new” units may have some signs of shipping damage. It's usually not very bad, but the product packaging is often worn, scratched, or has minor tears.

If you've removed “unsellable” inventory, you will probably find out 75% or more can be sold as Used - Like New, New, or Renewed… sometimes with a little repackaging or replacement of inserts.

Amazon really doesn't do a good job inspecting returns, so a lot of “unsellable” inventory is incorrectly graded or easily fixed. On top of that, you can expect some returns fraud, in the form of similar (but different) products, which Amazon failed to notice.

LPN stickers will be on a lot of your items, often covering the FNSKU or UPC. These have to be covered or removed if you want to send the inventory back to Amazon.