Amazon Small and Light Program For FBA Sellers

Fulfillment by Amazon is the most preferred fulfillment method that Amazon sellers use. With FBA, Amazon handles everything from picking, packing, shipping, and customer service.

Unfortunately, Amazon’s fulfillment costs are expensive, and high fees make FBA unsuitable for sellers selling low-priced products.

That’s why Amazon introduced the Amazon Small and Light Program with lower fulfillment fees. The small & light program does what it says on the tin and enables sellers to offer cheap, small, and light items while enjoying the benefits of the FBA program.

For lifestyle entrepreneurs looking to get an Amazon business off the ground with small, cheaper items, this could be the program for you.

What Is the Amazon Small and Light Program?

The Amazon Small and Light Program offers reduced fulfillment fees allowing sellers to offer small and light products that meet specific criteria within their weight, size, and price.

Sellers selling cheap, small, and lightweight products find the regular Amazon FBA fees too high, making their products too expensive to be profitable. The FBA small and light program helps to increase their profit margins with lower FBA fees.

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Eligibility Criteria for Amazon Small and Light

You can sell small and lightweight products under the FBA Small and Light program only if you fulfill all of the following conditions:

• The size of the item you sell can’t exceed 18 x 14 x 8 inches. (L x W x H). That’s the maximum measurement allowed, however your product can have smaller dimensions.
• The shipping weight of your product can’t exceed 3 lbs, which is the maximum allowed weight.
• The product must have a price of $12 or less.
• The product must be new.
• For a product you are already selling on Amazon, the existing ASIN must have an Amazon listing for 90 days or more and must have sold at least 25 units in the last month.

There are some restrictions that you need to be aware of, and they include:

• The product is not a Restricted Product.
• The product is not an FBA Prohibited Product.
• It should not be a dangerous good (including hazmat).
• You cannot sell temperature-sensitive products.
• The product is not an Adult Product.

If you want to sell products that can easily break or be crushed such as glass or potato chips, you’ll need to properly pack them. You can learn about prepping and packaging guidelines here.

If you fulfill the conditions above, you can enjoy a lower fulfillment fee and save money using the Amazon FBA Small and Light program.

Fulfillment Costs And Fees For Amazon Small and Light

FBA Small and Light fees are lower than the standard FBA fees. The table below displays the Amazon Small and Light fulfillment fee structure:

If you want to use the FBA Label Service with the Small and Light Program, the Label Service fee is $0.10 per unit.

Why Should You Use The Amazon Small and Light Program? The Advantages

By now, you already know that Amazon’s FBA Small and Light Program has reduced fulfillment costs. However, that’s not the only benefit of the Amazon Small and Light program. Here are some other benefits:

• Free Shipping for Prime Users: Amazon Prime customers purchasing your products will enjoy free shipping. Free shipping is also available for non-prime users, but the delivery time will be 6-8 days opposed to 4-5 days for free Prime delivery.
• Amazon’s A-Z Guarantee: Customers will enjoy Amazon’s guarantee of timely delivery and customer support. You don’t need to worry about picking, packaging, and shipping. Amazon will handle everything – even returns.
• No Minimum Purchase Requirement: There are no minimum purchase requirements, unlike Standard FBA, which offers free shipping only on orders worth $25 or more.
• Multi-Channel Fulfillment: Products you sell through FBA Small and Light are also eligible for sell-fulfillment. Thus, you can offer ‘Standard FBA,’ ‘FBA Small and Light,’ and ‘FBM’ for the same product.
• Free Promotions: Products in the Consumables Category (Health & Personal Care, Beauty, Baby, Grocery, etc., excluding Apparel) that cost $5 or less may be eligible for a 5% discount if customers order two or more units. FBA will cover the cost of the discount without impacting your revenue.

The Disadvantages of FBA Small and Light

Yes, the Amazon Small and Light Program reduces fulfillment costs and offers various benefits, but there are certain disadvantages, too! Here is what you need to know before enrolling products for FBA Small and Light:

• Some Big Amazon Marketplaces Are Not Available: Amazon FBA Small and Light is restricted only to the company’s US, UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and Japanese marketplaces. Unfortunately, some big ones like Mexico, Canada, and Australia are absent.
• Specific Prepping and Shipping Requirements: The Amazon Small and Light Program has the same prepping and shipping requirements as the Standard FBA program. However, there are some distinct requirements that you must adhere to, and they include;
  • You must bundle same-ASIN units in manufacturer or seller case packs or clear plastic bags.
  • Every outer case, bag, or shrink-wrapped bundle must have a label clearly mentioning the number of sellable units.
  • Each SKU in each shipment must contain at least 24 units.
  • Each unit must have a barcode placed outside in a flat and easily accessible & scannable location. You can print and use an Amazon barcode if you don’t have a barcode.
  • Shipment contents must match the shipping plan.
  • Crushable items must be packaged properly so they do not crush when shipped.
  • Sharp objects and glass must be safely packaged to prevent injury or breakage.
  • Shipping boxes should not exceed 25 inches on any side and should not weigh more than 50 pounds.
• Items Ship in Poly Bags and Jiffy Bags: The FBA Small and Light Program only uses poly bags and jiffy bags. You must prep and pack fragile and crushable items properly to keep them safe.

How To Enroll In The Amazon Small and Light Program

Enrolling in the Amazon Small and Light Program is simple. Here are the steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Sign up for or log into your Seller Central account

The Long Path:

Sign into your Amazon Seller Central account. If you don’t already have an account, register for one here.

Once inside the Seller Central account, select ‘Explore Programs’ under the ‘Growth’ menu item.

Once you redirect to the ‘Recommended Programs’ page, select ‘Fulfillment’ under ‘All Programs.’

On the ‘Fulfillment’ page, select ‘Small and Light’ and then click on ‘Enroll Products.’

The Short Path:

On the Amazon Small and Light landing page, scroll down to the ‘How do I enroll?’ section and click on the ‘Get Started’ button.

Clicking on that button will take you straight to the enrollment page. However, you will need to sign in to your Seller Central account, so make sure that you already signed up for Amazon Seller Central.

Step 2: Add or upload MSKUs (Merchant Skus)

On the enrollment page, you will find two options:

Quick enroll + button:

This option will allow you to check the eligibility of existing MSKUs (merchant stock keeping unit – in other words your products) for the Amazon Small and Light program. If eligible, you can enroll up to 100 SKUs quickly without going through too many steps.

Download template button:

If you want to enroll new ASINs, this is the option you need to select.

Once you click on this option, you will download an Excel file where you can input the MSKUs and the target marketplace.

With this file, you can upload up to 50,000 MSKUs at once.

You can check Amazon’s new ASIN enrollment guide here.

Using the Excel template

The Excel spreadsheet you download will have three tabs – Instructions, Example, and Upload.

The fields to add your MSKUs are in the Upload tab.

You need to add the MSKUs in Column A under the header MSKU. In Column B-Row 1 (Cell B1), add the appropriate marketplace.

While adding the MSKUs, remove spaces before and after the MSKUs. If you don’t, Amazon will return errors while uploading and processing the file.

Once you have added all MSKUs, save the file in Text (Tab delimited) format.

If you need help with creating new MSKUs, here is a step-by-step guide from Amazon.

Step 3: Upload the Excel spreadsheet to Amazon

Head back to the enrollment page and use the Choose File button to upload the Excel spreadsheet to Amazon.

The size of the file you upload will determine how long Amazon takes to process the file. Amazon will display the enrollment status of the last 10 uploads. You can click the ‘Refresh’ button to check the enrollment status.

For further confirmation, visit the Seller Central dashboard and check the FBA fees. You should now see lower fees under the Amazon Small and Light program.

Step 4: Ship products to Amazon

Once Amazon approves and enrolls your products for the Amazon FBA Small and Light program, it’s time to prepare and ship your inventory to Amazon.

Remember! There are some special requirements for shipping your inventory. Check the conditions in the Disadvantages section above. Amazon will sideline your products if you fail to comply with the rules.

That’s all!

Learn How to Build Your Own 7-Figure Amazon FBA Business

Part of the Junglescout suite of excellent FBA tools, the learning academy is a comprehensive video training library containing hours of content, including training videos, webinars, and interviews with successful Amazon sellers.

Whether you’re just starting your business, or growing your brand, get expert training from Amazon sellers without the hefty price tag.

Get Up to 30% OFF Here

Amazon Small and Light: FAQ

Is there any weight standard for Small and Light?

Yes, Amazon uses a standardized packaging weight of 0.7 oz for every package under the Small and Light FBA Program.

Is it possible to sell expiration-dated products through FBA Small and Light?

Yes, you can sell expiration-dated products through FBA Small and Light. But the products must have a shelf life of 105 days from the time Amazon receives them. Remember that Amazon will not accept temperature-sensitive items such as chocolates, wax products, etc.

What will happen if the price of a Small and Light enrolled item increases above $12?

Any product that costs more than $12 and has a shipping weight of more than 3 lb will automatically switch to standard FBA, and you will no longer enjoy lower fulfillment costs. You must then pay the regular fulfillment fees.

Is Amazon Small and Light Worth It? Summary

Yes, the FBA Small and Light program is worth it. While the small savings you make on products sold don’t look big, the cumulative savings you enjoy due to lower fulfillment fees can be significant when you sell in large quantities.

You can always pass some of your savings to your customers to increase brand loyalty.

But remember that the Small and Large Program makes sense only when you are offering cheap and fast-moving products. Slow-moving products will make a dent in your profits due to storage fees.

If you are a lifestyle entrepreneur with a small budget, you can start your online retail journey using the Amazon Small and Light program due to low COGS, lower fulfillment costs, and increased profits.

I hope this helps! 🙂