Key takeaways
- Know your current limits and usage.
- Excess stock consumes valuable capacity.
- Prioritize by margin and turnover.
- Check limits before placing supplier orders.
Why limits exist
Fulfillment center space is finite. Amazon uses limits to manage how much each seller can store, often based on past sales, inventory performance and available capacity. The specifics, names and rules vary by marketplace and change from time to time, so check current guidance.
Find your limits
Seller Central shows capacity or storage limits and your current usage. Review them before planning shipments, and note when limits are updated. Keep a record of the limits and how they change over time.
What can influence limits
Factors can include sales volume, how efficiently inventory sells, how much stale or excess stock you hold and overall demand for capacity. Improving sell-through and removing slow movers can free space.
- Sell-through rate
- Excess and aged inventory
- Seasonal capacity demand
- Account performance
Plan the product mix
If capacity is limited, prioritize products with higher contribution margins and faster turnover. Avoid filling space with slow sellers. Allocate capacity by product rank.
Time your shipments
Split shipments to match the limit and sell-through, and avoid sending too much at once. Consider shipping fast-moving items more frequently.
Alternatives when constrained
If limits constrain growth, consider supplementing with merchant-fulfilled or third-party logistics inventory for some products, subject to listing and program rules. Evaluate the cost and service level.
Request and monitor changes
If your limit seems inconsistent with your performance, check the criteria and ask support through the appropriate process. Provide your sales data and context. Do not assume exceptions will be granted.
A worked example
A seller hits their limit before peak season. They remove stale stock, run promotions on slow movers and rank products by margin and turnover. They send the highest-priority items first, using the freed capacity, and supplement some products with their own fulfillment.
Common mistakes
Typical mistakes include ordering from suppliers before checking limits, ignoring excess stock that consumes capacity and relying on exceptions. Check capacity before placing orders.
A capacity planning routine
Review your limits and usage before every purchasing decision. List the products you plan to send, estimate the space each will take and compare the total with your remaining capacity. If you are short, decide what to prioritize, what to delay and what to clear from existing stock.
Keep a running record of limits over time. Patterns, such as limits tightening before peak seasons, help you plan earlier next year and explain to colleagues why a shipment must be split or delayed.
Your next three steps
Plan around limits before you place supplier orders.
- Record your current limit and usage each month.
- Rank products by margin and turnover to prioritize space.
- Clear slow stock to free capacity for the best sellers.
Key terms
A few terms used above, in plain language.
- Capacity limit: the amount of inventory you may store.
- Sell-through: the share of inventory sold in a period.
- Utilization: how much of your limit you are using.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask Amazon to raise my limit?
There are processes for review, but outcomes depend on Amazon.
Do limits apply in every country?
Rules and names vary by marketplace, so check the current guidance for each one you sell in.
This guide is general information. Amazon's fees, policies and program rules change and vary by marketplace, so confirm current details in Seller Central and, for tax or legal questions, with a qualified adviser.