Amazon Temporarily Halts Storage Of Third-Party Stock

Amazon has temporarily halted the storage of third party goods in its distribution centres so that it may better serve customers with essential household items as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

In a statement, Amazon said:

"We believe our role serving customers and the community during this time is a critical one, and we want to make sure our customers can get the items they need, when they need them. As COVID-19 has spread, we've recently seen an increase in people shopping online which has had an impact on how we serve our customers. So in the short term, we are making the decision to temporarily prioritize household staples, medical supplies and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so we can more quickly receive, restock and ship these products to customers. Products already on its way to our fulfillment centers will be accepted. This does not impact products being delivered to customers, or products currently in stock in our store. Customers can continue to buy any in-stock product in our store, and we will continue to deliver them." 

The policy change affects US and UK warehouses and will remain in place until 5th April.

Third-party sellers of non-essential items are still able to sell through Amazon but they will not be able to use the Fulfilled By Amazon service, and will instead have to handle packaging and shipping themselves.

In a comment to the BBC, Amazon said: "We are temporarily prioritising household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfilment centres so we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers. We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding."

Source : Amazon

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