What triggers Amazon's aged inventory surcharge?
Amazon's aged inventory surcharge applies on top of monthly storage fees for units aged 271+ days in FBA. Rates start around $1.50 per cubic foot and climb sharply at 365 days. The fastest way to avoid it is a removal order or a targeted price cut before day 270.
Fee tiers
271 to 365 days: aged inventory surcharge on top of monthly storage. 365+ days: higher rate. Fees hit on the 15th of each month based on inventory age snapshots.
How to avoid it
Monitor inventory age weekly. At day 240, decide: price-cut for sell-through, run a promotion, or submit a removal order. Removal orders take 14 to 45 days, so start early.
Which SKUs are most at risk
Seasonal items shipped in too early, over-ordered launches, and SKUs that lost search rank. All three accumulate age fast because velocity is lower than forecast.
Frequently asked questions
Is aged inventory surcharge the same as LTSF?
Same concept, updated naming. Amazon calls the 271+ day fee 'aged inventory surcharge' now.
Can I appeal an aged inventory charge?
No. The only remedy is to remove units before the next snapshot.
How much can it cost?
Easily $200 to $2,000/month on a single overstocked SKU depending on cubic feet.
How does Nova help?
Nova shows inventory age per SKU and flags units approaching the 271-day threshold so you can act.
See this in Nova
Nova surfaces this metric per SKU in near real time so you can act before your next monthly close catches it.
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What triggers Amazon long-term storage fees?
Amazon charges aged inventory surcharges on units stored in a fulfilment centre for more than 181 days. The fee is tiered: 181 to 210 days adds $0.50/cu ft, 211 to 240 days $1.00, 241 to 270 days $1.50, 271 to 330 days $3.90, 331 to 365 days $5.90, and 365+ days $10.90 on top of monthly storage.
How do I avoid FBA storage limits?
FBA storage limits are set by IPI score. Keep IPI above 400 by clearing stranded inventory weekly, running removals or liquidations on units aged 180+ days, and keeping your top 20 SKUs consistently in stock. Restock-limited accounts often gain 30% to 60% more capacity within 30 days after a targeted cleanup.
How is the Amazon IPI score calculated?
Amazon's Inventory Performance Index (IPI) is a rolling score from 0 to 1000 built from four inputs: excess inventory percentage, sell-through rate, stranded inventory percentage, and in-stock rate on FBA. Scores above 400 keep storage limits open; scores below 400 trigger restock limits and higher storage costs.
What is days of cover and how do I calculate it?
Days of cover = current on-hand inventory / average daily units sold. If you have 600 units on hand and sell 20/day, you have 30 days of cover. Most sellers target 45 to 75 days of cover for FBA SKUs: enough to survive a demand spike or a shipping delay, not so much that IPI or storage fees suffer.
How do I forecast Amazon demand accurately?
The most accurate simple forecast weights the last 30 days at 60% and the prior 60 days at 40%, then adjusts for seasonality and known promotions. For most private-label SKUs this beats gut-feel and matches what statistical models produce within a 10% margin. Rebuild the forecast every 2 to 4 weeks.