Sales Articles

Article / Updated 03-22-2023

Once you have built a direct sales team and a large list of customers, relocating can be very challenging. You are dealing with a lot of emotions and the feeling that you have to start over. The key is to stay positive and look at it as a new opportunity in a different area. You actually have the opportunity to expand your business. But no matter what, relocating can be difficult. So you will need some reassuring to happen: Reassure your team. An important first step you will want to take when you decide to relocate is to reassure your team that you will still be there for them and will not abandon them. Let them know everything is going to be fine and put in place some concrete systems for staying in contact. The best thing you can do is find someone who is either a leader or close to promoting and give them some ownership of that area. Train them on what it means to be a leader and instruct them on how to handle your monthly meetings. A lot of times when someone is suddenly given this responsibility, they rise to the occasion and become the leader you always knew they could be. Make sure you choose wisely and talk with them so that everyone on your team is clear of the change and expectations. Phone and video conferencing — for example, Skype — are good ways to stay in touch with your team. If you don't have one already, creating a Facebook Group for everyone in your downline is something you will want to start. Posting training tips, news, and recognition in your Facebook Group will build confidence in your team that you have not abandoned them or have lost interest. Reassure yourself. Some people go through a feeling of depression, and have a tendency to feel like they don't even know where to begin. This is and can be daunting, so first things first. Take it in small steps. Reassure yourself that you can continue to grow your team back home and expand your business in this new area. Try to set simple daily goals, like meeting one new person per day or making five phone calls a day. Don't feel like you have to build a new business in a new location overnight. Also, depending on the level of leadership you are at and the size of your team, you may have been more in the leadership or managing mindset — meaning less personal business. Pretend you're new. Perhaps the easiest way to start over is to start from the beginning. This can be challenging to wrap your head around, but acting as if you are a new representative is the easiest way to start your business in a new location. Pretend you are a new representative and continue to re-promote yourself through the ranks of your company. Aside from needing to do it because of your relocation, this exercise can challenge you and get you excited about your business again. This time around, you will find yourself achieving promotions much faster than you did when you actually started your business. Provide excellent customer care to existing clients. With the Internet and social media, running a business far away from your clients is very doable. And not only doable, but can still be very successful. The key is to maintain your relationships with your customers through phone, email and social media. Continue to service them as you would in your previous local area and they will order from you again and again. And don't forget to ask your existing clients if they know anyone in the area you are moving to who would be interested in your product or service.

Article / Updated 03-22-2023

One thing you need to learn quickly in the direct sales business — in any business, for that matter — is that people are going to tell you no. There are people who will not like or want your product. They won't want to book a party, and they won't think direct sales is for them. And that's okay. You can't let them bring you down, because getting a no actually means you are closer to getting a yes. When someone tells you no, remind yourself that they aren't saying no to you because they don't like you as a person. They are saying no to the experience or to the product, maybe even because they don't understand it. Sometimes people are so fearful they're going to get a no that it prevents them from getting a yes. The truth is, to get a yes, you need to get a number of no's. If you ask ten people and one says yes, that means nine say no. So, when you get the no, be excited about it — because you know that a yes is just around the corner! Many tend to take rejection personally and let it affect the way they think about their business. The first few times you hear no from your friends, family, or coworkers, or if no one shows up to your launch party, you may want to abandon your dreams. You will want to lose your positive attitude. You will start convincing yourself of things like these: Well, I really just wanted the products in the kit anyway. I guess it wasn't meant to be. I'm actually too busy with my other job. I've earned back the cost of the kit, so it's no big deal. In fact, many people talk themselves out of the business before it even starts. This is why you need to remain positive and committed to your goal. To get the results you want your for business, you have to stay focused, give your business the time and attention it deserves, and don't let the no's bring you down. As with any new job, there are going to be times when you feel uncomfortable and unsure, especially at the beginning. But as long as you remain positive about your business — even through the no's — you will find yourself attracting people you want.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 07-01-2022

Direct selling has come a long way from its humble, domestic roots in 1950s Americana. Today’s top independent representatives run highly efficient, modern businesses that often leave more traditional retailers in the dust. There are three main types of direct sales models: social selling, network marketing, and affiliate/influencer, and each finds its niche in the industry. Being successful means setting and meeting goals. Doing so keeps you on your toes and engaged in your business. Once you get going in your business, there are lots of hard-earned tips and tricks you can apply to really maximize your profit. The following are some resources you can use regularly as a direct seller. You can find helpful information about everything from time management, team communications, social media communication and strategy, money management, and a wide assortment of other topics.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-26-2022

Being a successful sales manager means so much more than being a good sales person (although that certainly is a big part of it). You have to be skilled at identifying new talent, know how to run an effective sales meeting, and set and track the progress of goals for your team. Nobody said the job was easy, but it's certainly never dull.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-01-2022

With the right selling skills in your arsenal, you’ll have more happiness and satisfaction in all areas of your life, not just in your selling career (although your selling will certainly benefit, too). To start down the road to sales success, you need to know how to make a good first impression, ensure that your prospective clients need what you have, give fantastic presentations, address client concerns, and close sales.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-22-2022

Selling on Amazon is a broad topic that covers everything from researching products to sell and sourcing products to listing products for sale, fulfilling orders, and serving customers after a sale. This Cheat Sheet highlights a few key topics.

Article / Updated 07-02-2020

If you have an approved trademark, as an Amazon seller you can create an Amazon Brand Registry account and add your trademark to the Brand Registry, assuming you meet the following program requirements: You have an active trademark that appears on your products and packaging. You can verify that you’re the owner of the trademark. (You have a trademark registration certificate from the USPTO or you applied for trademark registration through Amazon’s IP Accelerator.) You have an Amazon Brand Registry account, which you can create using your existing Seller Central credentials. In the following discussion, we list the benefits of having your brand registered on Amazon and provide instructions on how to add your brand to Amazon’s Brand Registry. The benefits of Amazon Brand Registry Amazon’s Brand Registry delivers several benefits to brand owners, including the following: Accurate brand representation: The listings you create for your branded products are the listings shoppers see. You’re the only seller who can change the content of your branded product listings. Brand protection: Amazon prohibits other sellers from using your brand and provides you with search and report tools to identify potential infringements and report them to Amazon. In addition, Amazon’s predictive protection mechanisms identify and remove any content that’s suspected of infringing on your brand or providing inaccurate content about your branded products. 24/7/365 support: As a registered brand owner, you have access to Amazon support teams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days of the year to answer questions and address concerns. Brand-building tools: Registered brands have access to Amazon’s brand building tools including A+ Pages, Sponsored Brands, Stores and the Brand Dashboard. Adding your brand to Amazon’s Brand Registry When you’re ready to add your brand/trademark to Amazon’s Brand Registry, take the following steps: 1. Go to Brand Services and press the Get Started button. 2. Review the eligibility requirements and press the Enroll Now button. 3. Select the country-specific marketplace where you want to enroll your brand. 4. After the Tell Us About Your Business page appears, enter the requested details about your business and press the Create Account button. 5. From the Amazon Brand Registry page, press the Enroll a New Brand button. Amazon asks you to confirm your brand eligibility, as shown. 6. Answer the following questions and press the Next button: Do your products and packaging have a permanently affixed brand name and logo? Do you intend to enroll more than ten brands in the Brand Registry? Do you have a brand name to be registered? After you click the Next button, the Intellectual Property page appears, as shown. 7. Enter the requested information, as follows, and press the Next button: Trademark type: Open the list and select Word Mark or Design Mark. Mark name: Click in the box and type the mark name as it appears on your trademark registration certificate. Trademark number: Click in the box and type the trademark number that appears on your trademark registration certificate. Trademark office: Open the list and select the country or region from which the trademark registration certificate was issued. After you click the Next button, the Tell Us More About page appears, as shown. 8. Answer the following questions about your trademark, products, seller and vendor accounts, and manufacturing and licensing: Do you products have UPCs, ISBNs, EANs, or other GTINs? If you sell your products online, let us know where (optional). Does your brand have an existing relationship with Amazon? If it does, specify your role: Seller, Vendor, or Both. Otherwise, choose No, my brand doesn’t have an existing seller or vendor relationship with Amazon. Does your brand manufacture products? Does your brand license the trademarks to others who manufacture products associated with your intellectual property? Where are your brand’s products manufactured? Select your answers from the lists provided. Where are your brand’s products distributed? Select your answers from the lists provided. 9. Press the Submit Application button. Amazon sends an email message with the case ID and another with a verification code to the contact you specified on your trademark application (you or your attorney). If you don’t receive these messages, ask your attorney to forward them to you. 10. Log in to Seller Central and scroll down to the Manage Your Case Log section. 11. Open the case message that applies to your adding your brand to the Brand Registry and choose the option to reply to the message. 12. Type or paste the verification code into your reply and choose the option to send the message. The Amazon Brand Registry support team completes the brand registration process and notifies you of its completion within one or two days.

Article / Updated 07-02-2020

Success as an Amazon seller relies on providing superior customer service 24/7/365. It requires being responsive to customer questions and complaints whether the customer tries to contact you during or outside business hours and even when you’re on vacation with your family. To stay in close contact with Amazon and your Amazon customers, consider downloading and installing the Amazon Seller app on your smartphone. With this free app, you can do the following: Receive Amazon notifications and address critical issues when you’re away from your office Snap, edit, and save product photos using your mobile device Scan products with or without a barcode using visual search, so you can easily create product listings for new products Conduct sale analysis and track your sales growth Manage orders, inventory, and advertising and promotional campaigns Contact Amazon Seller support when you need help Share the app with your team to become even more responsive to customers and have more eyes on opportunities and critical issues Where to get the Amazon Seller Mobile App The Amazon Seller Mobile App is currently available for iOS (Apple) and Android devices, and it’s free to install and use. To get the app, go to the app store for your device, search for “amazon seller,” and, when the Amazon Seller app appears, press the Install button. You can find the Amazon Seller app at any of the following App Stores: Apple’s App Store Google Play Amazon App Store After installing the app, press the button to run it and then select your primary marketplace (country). When prompted to log on, enter your login credentials (username and password), just as you would do to log on to your Amazon seller account from a computer. How to navigate the Amazon Seller Mobile App The Amazon Seller Mobile App has many of the same features and functionality as are built into the version you access via your computer’s web browser; everything is just presented a little differently. Most of the opening screen is dedicated to displaying your recent sales performance over the past seven days. Just above the main area is a bar you can swipe left or right to view key information, such as today’s total sales (in dollars and units), your current Amazon balance, when you can expect your next payment from Amazon, and your customer feedback rating. In the upper left corner of the screen is a menu button you can tap to view a list of options for returning to the Home page, managing inventory, viewing orders, communicating with customers or Amazon staff, getting help, signing out, and more. Near the bottom of the opening screen is another menu with options for performing common tasks, such as adding a product listing, managing orders, and checking your Amazon account health. Tap the camera icon in the upper right corner of the screen to scan a product, using its barcode or just a snapshot of the product, and create a product listing from it. This technique is a great way to add listings for specific products when you encounter a product anywhere that you want to start selling.

Article / Updated 07-02-2020

To a certain degree, Amazon’s success hinges on the performance of its third-party sellers. To ensure consistent product quality and customer satisfaction across all sellers, Amazon sets performance targets and policies and provides sellers with tools for evaluating and improving their own performance. You can access the tools from Seller Central via the Performance menu to provide guidance. How to check your Account Health Open the Performance menu and choose Account Health to access an overview of how well you’re doing in terms of complying with Amazon’s performance targets and policies (see the following figure). Overall account health is reflected by three metrics: customer service performance, product policy compliance, and shipping performance. Customer service performance Customer service performance is measured in terms of Order Defect Rate (ODR) — the percentage of total orders that result in negative seller feedback, an A-to-Z Guarantee claim that’s not denied, or a chargeback. (A chargeback is a reversal of a credit card payment initiated by the bank that issued the card.) Amazon sets a target order defect rate for all sellers of less than 1 percent. Here you can view your order defect rate broken down by Seller Fulfilled versus Fulfilled by Amazon orders and by the three metrics: negative feedback, A-to-Z Guarantee claims, and chargeback claims. Product policy compliance Amazon has a long list of policies it expects its sellers to comply with. Even a single violation of one of Amazon’s policies places your seller account at risk of suspension. To determine whether you have a clean record, check the Product Policy Compliance section of the Account Health page. Product compliance complaints include the following: Suspected intellectual property violations Received intellectual property complaints Product authenticity customer complaints Product condition customer complaints Product safety customer complaints Listing policy violations Restricted product policy violations Customer product reviews policy violations Amazon sets a target of zero product policy complaints or violations. If you receive a performance notification from Amazon indicating that you’re guilty of a violation or that someone has filed a complaint against you, respond immediately to address the issue. Shipping performance Amazon gauges shipping performance by late shipment rate (with a target of under 4 percent), a pre-fulfillment cancellation rate (with a target of under 2.5 percent), and a valid tracking rate (with a target above 95 percent). You’re responsible only for orders you fulfill. Amazon is responsible for Fulfillment by Amazon performance. When filling orders yourself, underpromise and overdeliver. Promise a deliver window you’re fairly certain you can beat by a day or two and try to get your products delivered a day or two early to impress your customers. How to review Amazon customer feedback The Account Health page includes a section for negative customer feedback, but if you’re looking for additional customer feedback metrics, open the Performance menu and choose Feedback. The Feedback Manager page appears (refer to the following figure), displaying your overall customer feedback rating and breaking it down into periods of 30, 90, 365, and Lifetime. Metrics are broken down into percentages of positive (four or five stars), neutral (three stars), and negative (one or two stars). This page also includes all the feedback you received along with a set of actions (on the far right) for responding publicly to the feedback or requesting its removal if you think it violates Amazon’s feedback policy. The Feedback Manager page also has an option to download your feedback report. Monitor and manage your A-to-Z Guarantee claims Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee ensures customer satisfaction when they buy from third-party sellers by guaranteeing that products are delivered on time and in good condition. If a customer contacts you about a problem with a product or its timely delivery, and the two of you are unable to resolve the issue, the customer can file an A-to-Z Guarantee claim to seek resolution from Amazon. Amazon requires that customers contact the seller prior to filing an A-to-Z Guarantee claim, either via Buyer-Seller messaging or by submitting a return request. If the customer isn’t satisfied within 48 hours of filing the request, she can file an A-to-Z Guarantee claim. Amazon notifies you upon receipt of the claim, and you have 72 hours to respond. If you don’t respond, Amazon grants the claim, refunds the customer’s payment, and takes the money out of your account. Worse yet, because A-to-Z Guarantee claims are a key component of your order defect rate (ODR), which needs to be below 1 percent, not handling a claim increases your ODR, jeopardizing your account. To monitor and manage your A-to-Z Guarantee claims, open the Performance menu and choose A-to-Z Guarantee claims. The resulting page includes four tabs for filtering your A-to-Z Guarantee claims: Action Required, Under Review, Option to Appeal, and All. You can also search for a claim by order number. When a customer contacts you about an order, respond promptly and do your best to resolve any issues, even if you must take a loss on a transaction. You certainly shouldn’t give into scammers who just want free products, but be open to resolving any issue that seems remotely legitimate. Depending on the A-to-Z Guarantee claim and how it’s resolved, it may or may not add to your ODR. Monitor and manage your chargeback claims A chargeback typically occurs when a disgruntled customer is unable to resolve a dispute with a seller or service provider and turns to her credit card company for help. If the credit card company investigates the transaction, can’t resolve the issue with the seller/service provider, and determines that the customer is right, the company may reverse the charge. As seller on Amazon, you want to avoid chargebacks, because they negatively impact your ODR and overall customer service performance rating. To check whether you have any chargebacks and to manage any chargeback disputes, open the Performance menu and choose Chargeback Claims. The Chargebacks page appears, showing any chargeback claims that customers have filed against you. You can click the Action Required tab to view only active chargeback claims or the All tab to view a list of all chargeback claims. Access Amazon’s performance notifications If Amazon’s performance metrics indicate any issues that may negatively impact your account health or ability to sell, Amazon sends you a performance notification via email and stores a copy of it for reference. To access your performance notifications, open the Performance menu and choose Performance Notifications. To view the contents of a performance notification, click its subject line. To avoid having your account suspended, read all performance notifications and reply to any that indicate a response is expected. Gain additional insight via the Voice of the Customer feature Voice of the Customer is a customer experience (CX) dashboard that uses statistical analysis to identify potential issues with product listings. Behind the scenes, Voice of the Customer analyzes your product listings and product and listing feedback from customers and uses the results to rank your listings as very poor, poor, fair, good, or excellent. You can then dig down to review issues with specific listings and address them to improve the customer experience. To access Voice of the Customer, open the Performance menu and choose Voice of the Customer. The following figure shows a sample of the opening Voice of the Customer dashboard. Near the top of the dashboard is a CX Health breakdown of your listings, showing the total number of very poor, poor, fair, good, and excellent ratings. Below that is a table that shows CX details for each product you’ve listed. Pay special attention to the details in the following columns: NCX Rate is a percentage of orders that received negative feedback out of the total number of orders. CX health is an indication of the average customer experience ranked from very poor to excellent. Last updated is the most recent date a sale was made or an NCX was received. If you just listed a product and haven’t sold any yet, the product won’t have an NCX or CX rating. Improve your performance via Seller University The one item on the Performance menu that seems to be out of place is Seller University, which would seem better suited for a Help menu. However, its placement on the Performance menu reflects how valuable Amazon believes Seller University can be in helping sellers quickly optimize their performance. Seller University is a collection of brief video clips designed to bring sellers quickly up to speed on the process of selling on Amazon and using Amazon tools and applications to their advantage.

Article / Updated 07-02-2020

Use Amazon’s Manage Inventory page to search, view, and update the inventory records for products you sell on Amazon. To access the Manage Inventory page, log in to Seller Central, open the Inventory menu, and select Manage Inventory. The Manage Inventory page appears, as shown in the figure, where you can do the following: Search for a product: To search for a specific product, click in the Search box, near the top of the page, type the product’s SKU, Title, ISBN, or other attribute, and press the Search button. Filter inventory: Use the options above the table to view all products in inventory or only active or inactive inventory or to view all products or only FBA or only Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) products. You may also see filters for displaying only those products with suppressed listings, quality issues, or price alerts — product listings that have specific problems you need to address before those products will appear in searches. One of the most common uses of the Manage Inventory page is to quickly identify suppressed listings and make corrections to those listings. Click Suppressed near the top left of the Manage Inventory page to display a complete list of suppressed listings. In the table of suppressed listings, check the Issue(s) to Fix box to find out why the listing is suppressed. Press the Edit button next to the listing, choose the option for correcting the issue, and follow the onscreen cues to complete the task. Click Save All to save your changes. Sort inventory: Select an inventory header attribute such as SKU or product name at the top of the inventory table to sort product listings according to that attribute. Customize the inventory table: Press the Preferences button, above and to the right of the inventory table, use the resulting options to specify the columns you want included in the table and other display options, and press the Save Changes button. Update the quantity available: In the Qty field next to a product, type the quantity currently in stock and press the Save Change the price: In the Price field next to an item, type the price of the item and press the Save Edit a product: Open the Edit drop-down list (to the right of a product listing) to access additional actions, including changing the product’s image, matching to the lowest price, or closing or deleting the product listing. (Closing a listing deactivates it, making it unavailable to shoppers. Deleting a listing removes the SKU, which is best if you plan never to list the product again.) If you sell on channels other than Amazon, look for a third-party inventory management utility that supports Amazon and your other sales channels, such as eBay, Shopify, and your own ecommerce store. Maintain sufficient stock As long as you have products listed for sale, you never want to run out, so you need to have a system in place to replenish inventory before you get to the point at which you don’t have enough to fill an order. Having enough inventory comes down to math; you need to crunch the numbers to forecast total sales over a given period of time and then place an order to replenish inventory early enough for your supplier to deliver the goods before supplies run out. In the following discussion, we lead you through the calculations and provide additional guidance on how to automate the inventory replenishment process. Forecasting sales To avoid running out of stock, you first need to know the quantity of an item you sell over a given period of time. Calculating your average daily sales volume provides you with a number you can use to forecast sales for the coming weeks, months, quarter, and even year. Use the following equation to calculate average daily sales volume for a product: Quantity Sold divided by Number of Days = Average Daily Sales Volume For example, if I sold 450 items in three months or 90 days: 450 divided by 90 = 5 Knowing the average daily sales volume simplifies the process of forecasting sales for any given period of time — a week, a month, a quarter, or a year. Just multiply the average daily sales volume by the number of days in the period, as shown in the table: Forecasting Your Sales Period Multiply Days in Period By Average Daily Sales Volume Equal Total Sales Week 7 5 35 Month 30 5 150 Quarter 90 5 450 Year 365 5 1,825 After forecasting your total sales for a given period, add 25 to 30 percent to the quantity as a buffer. Also, be sure to consider the fact that sales volume of some products is likely to increase during certain periods of the year, such as Christmas, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day. Analyze your sales reports (accessible via Seller Central’s Reports menu) to identify and better understand demand fluctuations for specific products. Accounting for lead times Suppliers need time to manufacture, pack, and ship products. Be sure to account for the time required, and place your order earlier enough so the products reach you or arrive at Amazon fulfillment centers before you run out of stock. Communicate with your suppliers to identify any potential supplier downtimes or other factors that may impact lead time, such as the following: Holiday seasons: Holidays can impact lead times in two ways. First, if a number of employees take time off, the supplier may not have the workforce required to fill orders. For example, most Chinese suppliers slow down or shut down for at least seven days (and some for several weeks) in late January and early February, in honor of Chinese New Year. Second, suppliers often are busier in the days leading up to holiday seasons, during which period they may need more time to fill orders. Order sizes: Suppliers can typically fill small orders faster than large orders, so find out from your supplier how order quantity impacts fulfillment and then plan for these variations in lead times. Shipping/delivery: Delivery times vary according to the location of the supplier and how the items are shipped, such as via air, land, or sea. Customs inspections: If products need to cross borders, expect delays due to customs inspections. Inventory processing: Whether items are shipped to you or to Amazon or other third-party fulfillment centers, they need to be logged in to inventory. With inventory planning, you need to think months in advance, not merely days or weeks. From the time you place an order with a supplier until the product is ready to be shipped (from you or an Amazon fulfillment center) generally requires at least 30 days and often longer. Replenishing FBA inventory If you use FBA, you can start the process of replenishing inventory from Amazon’s Manage Inventory page: In Seller Central, open the Inventory menu and select Manage FBA Inventory. The Inventory Amazon Fulfills page appears, as shown in the following figure. Scroll down the product list to the product you want to replenish and click the check box to the left of that product. Open the Actions menu and select Send/Replenish Inventory. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process. Setting up replenishment alerts Replenishment alerts notify you via email when the quantity of a product in inventory dips below the threshold you specify. With replenishment alerts, you don’t have to constantly monitor your product listings via Amazon’s Manage Inventory page. You simply set up an alert and then take action when you receive a replenishment notification. Replenishment alerts are available only for FBA products. For FBM products check the low stock alerts on your Seller Central homepage. These alerts are generated automatically based on sales over the past 30 days and the number of items in stock you entered when you first listed the product or most recently updated your quantity in stock. When creating a replenishment alert for an FBA product, Amazon allows you to specify your replenishment threshold in terms of units or weeks-of-cover (the number of weeks’ worth of inventory you have on hand based on sales over the past 30 days): Units: To figure out when to replenish based on number of units in stock, multiply your lead time by your daily sales volume and add a buffer to ensure you don’t run out of stock. For example, if your lead time is 45 days and you sell an average of five units per day, should set a replenishment alert for when you have a minimum of 225 items in stock. You would be wise to add a buffer of say 50 to 75 units to be sure you don’t run short, such as 225 + 75 = 300 units. Weeks-of-cover: To set a replenishment alert based on weeks-of-cover, start with your lead time in weeks and add a buffer of a couple weeks. For example, if your lead time is 75 days, that’s about 11 weeks, plus two weeks equal 13 weeks. Every 13 weeks, you need to order enough items to cover the next 13 weeks. Revisit your alerts regularly and make adjustments when necessary. You don’t want to run out of inventory, but inventory can build up over time leading to overstock conditions that increase your storage costs and your risk of getting stuck with products you can’t sell. To set a replenishment alert, take the following steps: In Seller Central, open the Inventory menu and select Manage Inventory. After the Manage Inventory page appears, check the box next to each product for which you want to set a replenishment alert in the table of product listings. Open the Action menu, select Set Replenishment Alerts, and press the Go button. The Set Inventory Replenishment Alerts page appears. In the When do you want to be alerted column, open the Apply to All list and select When Fulfillable Quantity Reaches (Units) or When Weeks-of-Cover Reaches (Weeks) to set the same replenishment level for all products listed or select the desired unit for each individual product. Enter the desired alert threshold quantity in the Alert Threshold box at the top of the column to use the same threshold for all items in the list or enter the desired quantity in the Alert Threshold box for each product individually. Press the Save button to save the alert. Use Amazon’s Restock Inventory tool to obtain recommendations on products to restock, replenishment quantities, and ship dates. To access the Restock Inventory tool, open the Inventory menu, select Inventory Planning, and select the Restock Inventory tab. Although Amazon will notify you via email when your fulfillment threshold is reached, you can check for alerts on Seller Central. Open the Inventory menu and select Manage FBA Inventory. A gold bell appears in the Available column next to the quantity when an alert has been set but not yet reached. A red bell indicates that the threshold has been reached. Avoiding FBA’s long-term storage fees Inventory that has been in an Amazon fulfillment center is subject to long-term storage fees charged per item or per cubic foot, whichever is greater. To help sellers avoid these fees, Amazon features an inventory planner that enables you to monitor how long your products have been stored in Amazon fulfillment centers. To access the inventory planner from Seller Central, open the Inventory menu and select Inventory Planning. The inventory planner appears with the Inventory Age tab selected, as shown. For each product stored in FBA inventory, the inventory planner displays its name, sales rank, sales (units shipped in the last 90 days), FBA sell-through (in the last 90 days), inventory age, estimated long-term storage fees, your price, and the buy box price. Use these details to make informed decisions about each product; for example, you may want to avoid long-term storage fees by dropping a product’s price to quickly sell any remaining units or have FBA ship any remaining items back to you and then close or delete the listing.