Jet Worldwide Blog Posts

Why Remove Inventory From American Amazon FBA

All FBA inventory incurs Amazon storage costs, and slow-selling merchandise may not cover those fixed costs. Regularly reviewing your inventory and removing products that are aging is essential. FBA delivers real benefits, including integrated returns and Prime eligibility, but those benefits are not free, and aging stock is where the economics turn against you.

You can request disposal, return, or liquidation of your inventory. Having Jet Worldwide as a return option gives you greater policy choices at a lower price than disposal, and lets you redeploy goods to other markets rather than writing them off.

Avoid the Amazon Aged Inventory Surcharge

Amazon charges an aged inventory surcharge on top of normal monthly storage fees. This is the fee that makes dead stock expensive, and its rules changed significantly.

Correction noted: an earlier version of this page said the surcharge applied after one year at about 0.15 US dollars per unit with a minimum over 260 US dollars per cubic meter, assessed mid-month. The trigger is now 181 days, the rate ladder reaches roughly 6.90 to 7.90 US dollars per cubic foot per month for the oldest stock, and figures are published per cubic foot, not per cubic meter. Confirm the current tiers in Seller Central, since Amazon revises them.

Step-by-Step Removal-Order Process

The entire removal process happens in the Manage Inventory section of Amazon Seller Central. Select Create Removal Order, then follow these steps.

1. In Seller Central, select the items to remove from your storefront and choose the return option rather than disposal.
2. Enter an order ID for tracking. If you leave it blank, Amazon self-generates one; save it for your records.
3. Set the ship-to address to your Jet North America receiving facility, including your account number.
4. Submit the order. Removal orders cannot ship to another fulfillment center, and processing can take 90 days or more.
5. Jet receives, consolidates, and forwards your goods by low-cost ground within North America, or by economy air or ocean overseas.

Creating a Cross-Border Removal Order

If you are a seller outside the USA with a US merchant account, removal stock must ship to a US address. Many international sellers establish US storage so they can create cross-border removal orders, with stock flowing to a US address for storage, consolidation, and return. Your timeframe and shipment size dictate the method, from economy air to ocean freight.

Look for third-party logistics partners that offer repacking, kitting, and wider North American support, so you keep control over your US sales process. Jet has built a straightforward solution: a few extra steps in the removal-order process, but your American removals ship within the USA first, and you can receive consolidated removal orders on a regular schedule.

Consolidating and Shipping Your Returns

Consolidating returns from Amazon FBA is central to cost-effective international transport. Jet works with your team to establish receiving, consolidation, and shipping protocols that maximize savings.

• Ground within North America: the usual low-cost route for returns to the USA and Canada.
• Economy air or ocean LCL: for pallet freight and overseas destinations, subject to minimum volumes.
• Redeployment or resale: Jet can forward goods to a reseller of removal stock, or return them to your overseas supplier.
• Canada and US consolidation: route Canadian Amazon removals to the USA for consolidation before international forwarding.

Jet Worldwide does not charge storage fees for the first 60 days following receipt, so you avoid both Amazon storage and the monthly fees a regular storage facility would charge.

Do I Pay Duty on US Returns From Amazon?

The rules here changed, and old advice can cost you. The US 800 US dollar de minimis exemption is gone for commercial shipments.

• The exemption was suspended for China and Hong Kong on 2 May 2025, and for all countries on 29 August 2025.
• A February 2026 executive action confirmed the suspension continues, and it is separate from the tariff litigation, so the February 2026 Supreme Court ruling on IEEPA did not restore it.
• Congress permanently repeals the exemption effective 1 July 2027 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

In practice, low-value shipments into the USA no longer clear duty-free by staying under 800 US dollars. Every commercial import now requires formal or informal customs entry with a 10-digit HTS code, and duty applies by origin and classification. Returned goods can sometimes re-enter under provisions for US goods returned, so work with your customs broker on the correct entry type. For other countries, work with a broker on how returned goods can enter with the lowest duty exposure.

Correction noted: an earlier version recommended shipping consolidations under 800 US dollars to ensure duty-free import to the USA. That guidance is out of date. Since 29 August 2025 the 800 US dollar de minimis no longer applies to any country of origin.

What to Do Before Preparing a Removal Order

If you are recalling or disposing of inventory, decide how to handle the product listing first. You have two options.

• Closing a listing: the product simply comes off the storefront and is marked inactive. The sales history, product information, and SKU remain accessible, and the listing can be reactivated later.
• Deleting a listing: the account permanently removes the sales history, product information, and SKU from the inventory page, though accounting sales data remains. Only delete when you are certain you will not sell the product again. You have a 24-hour window to reactivate a deleted listing.

Once you initiate removal, the options are: have Amazon dispose of the products, request delivery to a specific address such as Jet North America, or run reports and choose the best route. Removal orders cannot ship to another fulfillment center, and the process can take 90 days or more.

The Jet Worldwide Returns Service

Jet Worldwide has supported cross-border shipping since 1988, and offers a low monthly rate to manage Amazon removals with a local US address. The service gives international and non-resident sellers a practical way to handle returns.

• Receive individual return items or consolidated removal orders at a US address.
• See the actual condition of returned items, with photographs on request, which helps resolve claims from buyers acting in bad faith.
• Track each return online, from receiving to forwarding, with confirmation of receipt in the USA.
• Reset your storage: receive goods, then create a new FBA shipment and renew listings.
• Manage your FBA restock limit by holding goods and shipping to Amazon on demand.
• French-language support is available.

Information gain, from Jet Worldwide file data: across the FBA removal orders Jet received in the last 12 months, about [JET-PROPRIETARY-PERCENT]% arrived in oversized boxes without inner protective padding, and roughly [JET-PROPRIETARY-DAYS] days was the typical gap between a seller creating the removal order and Jet physically receiving the goods. (Placeholder: insert real Jet Worldwide operational figures before publishing.)

Steps for American Amazon removals

1. Set up an account with Jet Worldwide and receive your address confirmation.
2. Create your Amazon removal order to the confirmed address.
3. Consolidate and ship by international ground or sea freight.

You can cancel a Jet returns subscription with 30 days notice. Even though Amazon handles order and shipping notifications, it helps to work with your US buyer directly to resolve issues, and a quick point of contact with email support makes that easier.

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