Amazon will stop offering prep services for sharp products through its FBA fulfillment service in April, and it’s updating its packaging requirements for such items. It’s making the move “to ensure the safety of our associates and customers.”
Sellers will be required to “own” the end-to-end packaging of all sharp products before sending them to Amazon fulfillment centers. Sellers must also package all sharp products in secure, cut- and puncture-resistant packaging, such as hardened plastic or blister packs, Amazon announced on Wednesday, and included the following information:
“To give you time to adjust to the new packaging requirements, a sharp product that arrives at our fulfillment centers before April 14 will still be accepted as long as the sharp edges are boxed or bubble wrapped to meet our current minimum packaging requirements. Sharp products that don’t meet our current minimum packaging requirements will be disposed of immediately at your expense and without reimbursement.
“After April 14, any sharp products that don’t meet the updated packaging requirements when they arrive at our fulfillment centers will be immediately disposed of at your expense and won’t be eligible for reimbursement.”
One seller was concerned that products from Sharp (the brand), such as microwaves, might get caught up in the policy change, to which an Amazon moderator said the update “only applies to products that have sharp edges or points” and that brand names were irrelevant in this case.
Another seller asked if clam pack would be acceptable (also known as clamshell packaging). In its announcement, Amazon had advised sellers to view updated packaging requirements for sharp products on its help page.
The full announcement is on Amazon Seller Central.
