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Amazon News: FBA Policy Shift, AI Tools, New Marketplaces & Q4 Prep Strategies
Published about 2 months ago • 9 min read
This Week's Top Amazon Seller News
Hey Reader,
This week’s news is packed with game-changing updates—from Amazon’s latest AI tools to major moves in global e-commerce. Here’s what you need to know: Join us live today at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific!
We’ll discuss the latest Amazon news and how it impacts your business. Tune in for valuable insights to help you stay ahead. Catch the live stream on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.
Amazon has introduced a new FBA Damaged Inventory Ownership policy that allows sellers to choose whether they want reimbursement or to retain control of Amazon-fault damaged goods. Vanessa Hung explains that sellers can now opt to recover these items themselves instead of letting Amazon resell them through Warehouse Deals—often at prices that undercut your listing.
There are four setting options, ranging from full reimbursement with Amazon taking ownership (default) to full control with no reimbursement. This gives sellers more flexibility to protect brand value, manage margins, and prevent damaged goods from resurfacing in ways that hurt pricing integrity.
For sellers who already handle recovery logistics, opting out may boost profits; others may still benefit from fast reimbursements. Review your Returns Evaluation & Ownership settings in Seller Central to align with your product strategy and cash flow needs.
Amazon has expanded its Brand Registry tools to give trademark owners more control, including the new Brand Catalog Lock to prevent unauthorized listing edits. Sellers now have better visibility into third-party sellers and enhanced tools like Transparency and Project Zero to fight counterfeiters more effectively.
The updated Report a Violation tool offers real-time claim tracking and improved usability, streamlining takedowns. Sellers should assess which enforcement tools align with their brand strategy to maintain control and consumer trust in Amazon’s evolving marketplace.
Amazon has launched its AI Seller Assistant, codenamed “Amelia,” which acts like a built-in ChatGPT for Seller Central users. It helps sellers with tasks like understanding account health, creating listings, optimizing bullets and titles, organizing reports, and even spying on competitors.
While it could boost efficiency for overseas VAs, the tool doesn’t directly help you increase profits, recover lost funds, or improve organic rankings. Jon Elder warns sellers to use it with caution, as Amazon logs every interaction—this isn’t a tool to confide sensitive business info in.
Best Buy has launched its new third-party marketplace powered by Mirakl, instantly expanding its online product catalog across categories like small appliances, gaming gear, furniture, seasonal decor, musical instruments, and even licensed sports merchandise. This move brings Best Buy into more direct competition with Amazon by giving consumers access to thousands of new products and trusted brands through a similar seller model.
For Amazon sellers, this means a rising competitor is giving third-party brands another channel to grow, particularly in tech, home, and lifestyle categories. If you’re exploring multichannel expansion, Best Buy’s growing digital shelf may be worth watching—or joining.
Chinese exporters selling on Amazon, Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop remain concerned about ongoing U.S. tariffs, despite a recent 90-day truce extension between the U.S. and China. At the China Cross-Border E-Commerce Trade Fair, many sellers reported business disruptions and suspended shipments due to unpredictable trade policy under the Trump administration.
For Amazon sellers sourcing from China, these tensions pose ongoing risks to pricing, fulfillment, and seasonal inventory planning. Some sellers are now exploring alternative markets in Europe, Latin America, and Africa to reduce their reliance on U.S. demand.
Amazon will begin removing unused or irrelevant variation themes from product templates between September 2 and November 30, 2025. These deprecated themes are already marked in the Variation Theme Name field, and sellers trying to use them will receive an error.
Amazon sellers should prepare by deleting outdated parent ASINs and relisting child ASINs under a new valid parent with an approved variation theme. If no action is taken, child ASINs will remain active but as standalone listings, which may impact discoverability and conversion.
Ecommerce sales in the U.S. hit $1.2 trillion over the past year, rising 6.9% year-over-year, with Q2 alone seeing $304 billion in seasonally adjusted sales. The share of ecommerce now accounts for 16.3% of all retail, matching the pandemic peak.
Since Q2 2019, ecommerce sales are up 125%, with major gains in categories like clothing (+160%), electronics & furniture (+124%), and food/personal care (+139%). For Amazon sellers, this trend confirms continued demand growth in online shopping, especially in key Q4 categories.
Starting September 2, 2025, Amazon will require a minimum purchase of two units for percentage-off promotions that don’t use claim codes. This update aims to reduce confusion for customers by making promotional types more distinct.
Sellers who want to offer single-unit discounts can still do so using claim codes, which work well for social media and email campaigns. Alternatively, professional sellers may use coupons for single-unit offers without claim codes, though coupon fees will apply.
U.S. consumer goods companies—including Amazon’s Whole Foods—are overhauling their supply chains in response to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, led by Donald Trump and RFK Jr. Keychain CEO Oisin Hanrahan notes that companies are prioritizing product reformulation over tariff concerns, with a surge in demand for “natural” and “clean label” projects.
For Amazon sellers in the grocery and health categories, this signals a major opportunity to align with evolving consumer preferences and anticipated regulations targeting ingredients like seed oils and synthetic dyes. Brands that fail to adapt to these standards risk losing market share as CPG giants move quickly to secure reformulated ingredients and revamp packaging strategies.
Target CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down after 11 years, with current COO Michael Fiddelke set to take over in February 2026. Cornell’s departure comes as the retailer faces declining sales and growing pressure from competitors like Amazon and Walmart.
The company has also been hit hard by a consumer boycott over its rollback of DEI initiatives, contributing to three consecutive quarters of sales drops. For Amazon sellers, this signals a continued shift in market share and customer loyalty—especially among value-conscious or socially driven consumers.
Generative AI is being widely adopted across the supply chain, from creating product content to optimizing logistics and sustainability strategies. Amazon and eBay are already using it to auto-generate product listings, which sellers can refine to save time and improve listing quality.
Digital twins powered by AI simulations are helping brands like Mars and UPS predict disruptions and optimize routes. For Amazon sellers, this means the AI tools you’re already using could soon expand to inventory forecasting, packaging optimization, and compliance tracking—giving you a competitive edge if implemented early.
Amazon sellers managing ad budgets should allocate 89% to Sponsored Products, 9% to Sponsored Brands, and just 2% to Sponsored Display. This ratio is based on data from 400 brands and $700 million in spend managed by My Amazon Guy, with support from other PPC experts and platforms.
Despite conflicting advice online, real-world performance data consistently supports this allocation for maximizing ROI. If your PPC manager doesn’t know your current breakdown, it may be time to reassess your ad strategy.
Negative keywords prevent your ads from appearing in irrelevant searches, helping you avoid wasted clicks and budget. Amazon sellers can use either “negative exact match” for specific unwanted terms or “negative phrase match” to block broader irrelevant searches.
You can find negative keywords by analyzing your search term reports, low-performing campaign data, and competitor listings. Tools like AMZScout’s Reverse ASIN Lookup can streamline this process and help you eliminate non-converting terms to improve ROI.
Amazon is offering free live webinars to help sellers succeed during peak shopping seasons. The upcoming “Prepare for Seasonal Shopping Events” session on August 21 will cover listing optimization, FBA planning, and effective promotions to boost visibility and conversions.
A separate 3-part series from August 26–28 dives into adding listings, bulk uploads, ASIN management, and file troubleshooting — essential for catalog efficiency. All webinars include live Q&A, making them a practical opportunity for sellers at any level to sharpen their skills.
In this detailed guide by Mickey Toogood, Amazon explains how FBA helps sellers save time, reduce shipping costs, and scale operations by outsourcing order fulfillment to Amazon. The article outlines key benefits like Prime shipping, access to Amazon’s global logistics, and tools like the Revenue Calculator and FBA Restock Inventory tool.
It also walks sellers through the entire FBA process—enrolling products, prepping shipments, using the Send to Amazon workflow, and managing inventory efficiently. For new or growing sellers, FBA offers a powerful way to improve customer experience, drive sales, and streamline operations both on and off Amazon.
Amazon’s marketplace is now a vibrant ecosystem driven by millions of third-party sellers who account for over half of all products sold and generate significant revenue. These independent merchants—from individual side-hustle sellers to established private label brands—leverage Amazon’s infrastructure to scale, access Prime customers, and compete alongside Amazon itself.
For Amazon sellers, understanding this landscape is key to differentiating yourself, choosing between FBA vs. FBM strategies, optimizing inventory and fees, and navigating intense competition in real-time. As the marketplace continues evolving, staying informed on performance metrics, international expansion, and automation tools can help carve out a stronger position.
Q4 is the most critical season for Amazon sellers, often driving up to 40% of annual sales, and those who begin planning in August gain a huge competitive edge. The article outlines a month-by-month roadmap from August to January, detailing tasks like listing audits, FBA shipment timing, advertising deadlines, and Prime deal submissions.
It highlights common pitfalls like stockouts, suppressed listings, and shipping issues—and how to avoid them using tools like Profit Bandit and Sellery. Sellers are encouraged to automate repricing, optimize for Buy Box performance, and analyze past trends to maximize profit during this high-stakes period.
Amazon sellers are already reporting early signs of FBA capacity issues, with some experiencing reduced storage limits and blocked replenishment for top-selling SKUs. These constraints may stem from tariff-related inventory surges and Walmart’s recent decision to allow Amazon MCF for Walmart orders, increasing warehouse pressure.
Sellers are particularly concerned about October limits, as many rely on this period to stock up for the holiday rush. Amazon’s peak fulfillment fees from October 15 to January 14 further emphasize the need for early, strategic inventory planning.
John Aspinall lays out nine bold truths about the current and future state of Amazon advertising. He argues that PPC has shifted from marketing to math, SEO is mostly paid, and success on Amazon depends more on data and precision than creativity or low CPCs.
For Amazon sellers, this is a wake-up call to rethink their ad strategies — using smart bidding, precise targeting, and pricing adjustments to stay competitive. Aspinall also predicts that by 2026, traditional PPC agencies will be replaced by CVR-focused agencies blending creative and ad performance.
Todd’s Top Tip: Boost Sales with New-to-Brand Sponsored Brands Ads
Sellers, here’s a practical strategy for 2025: Sponsored Brands campaigns targeting new-to-brand customers.
These ads target shoppers who haven’t purchased from your brand in the past year, appearing in high-visibility spots like search result headers and product pages.
Sellers report consistent results, with some seeing 30-50% sales increases in categories like fitness, beauty, and pet supplies.
Your plan:
In Seller Central, set up a Sponsored Brands campaign with “New-to-Brand” targeting to focus on new customers.
Select 3-6 top-performing ASINs, such as durable pet beds or quality tech gadgets.
Write a clear, engaging headline, like “Explore Durable Fitness Gear for Your Workouts.”
Use tools like Jungle Scout or Helium 10 to identify high-intent keywords, such as “best yoga mat for beginners” or “organic skincare for sensitive skin.”
Set initial bids at 2-5% of the product’s retail price (e.g., $0.40 for testing or $1 for a $20 product for key ranking keywords). For high-performing keywords from existing Sponsored Products campaigns with strong new-to-brand sales, create a Sponsored Brands version and apply a 50% or higher bid increase for new-to-brand traffic.
Monitor the New-to-Brand sales metric in Campaign Manager, aiming for a ROAS of 3:1 or better.
This approach leverages proven keywords to build a broader customer base and drives steady sales growth across Amazon’s platform.
Stay sharp—this is one of those weeks where the landscape is shifting fast. Whether it’s AI tools, new marketplaces, or global tariffs, the opportunities (and risks) are massive.
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