The Amazon Small and Light Program is a good option for FBA sellers who offer small, inexpensive, and lightweight products. It helps reduce the cost of fulfilling orders for eligible products. This enables brands to improve their margins and pass more savings along to customers. With Small and Light, Amazon provides fulfillment and customer service for your orders, including processing customer returns. Enrolled products are available with free shipping for Prime customers and standard shipping for non-Prime customers.
Amazon Small and Light Program Eligibility
Only products in new condition that measure 18 x 14 x 8 inches or less, weigh 12 oz or less, and are priced at $7 or less are eligible for the Amazon Small and Light Program. The product types below are ineligible (note: crushable products, such as potato chips and glass, are eligible if they are properly packaged):
- Restricted products
- FBA prohibited products
- Adult products
- Dangerous goods (hazmat)
- Temperature-sensitive products (such as chocolates)
- Slow-moving products (ASINs offered on Amazon for more than 90 days that have sold fewer than 25 units in the last four weeks)
On June 1, 2021, Amazon implemented the following changes to the Small and Light Program:
- The weight limit for FBA Small and Light items increased from 10 to 12 oz.
- The size limit of the longest side increased from 16 to 18 inches, the median side increased from 9 to 14 inches, and the shortest side increased from 4 to 8 inches.
- Amazon eliminated the packaging weight adjustment to its rate card calculation.
- Amazon increased the fulfillment fee per unit to the following:
How to Enroll in the Amazon Small and Light Program
It’s easy to stay competitive on your small, low-priced products with the Small and Light program. Amazon’s self-service registration page makes product enrollment quick and simple with the following steps:
- Sell on Amazon and choose FBA
If you have a Seller Central account, choose Fulfilled by Amazon as your shipping method.
- Select items
Create new offers for your products or enroll existing SKUs in the Small and Light program. Only ASINs with sales of 25 units or more in the trailing four weeks are eligible for the FBA Small and Light program.
- Enroll in Small and Light
Amazon will provide an Enrollment Guide to help you.
- Ship to Amazon
Package and ship your products to a specified Amazon fulfillment center. A minimum quantity of 24 units per product is required.
Sample Results from a Client Enrolled in the Amazon Small and Light Program
The primary benefit of Amazon’s Small and Light Program is reducing your FBA fees for eligible products. However, this translates to an increase in profit margin. Low-priced products typically have small margins after factoring in Amazon’s fees. Enrolling in the Small and Light Program is a great way to increase profitability for items that might not otherwise be worth selling via Amazon FBA. Below are actual changes in FBA fees and profitability for a Channel Key client’s SKU that was recently enrolled in Amazon Small and Light:
- 29% Decrease in FBA Fees
Standard FBA Fee = $3.31
Small and Light FBA Fee = $2.35
- 87% Increase in margin
Old Average Margin = $0.38
New Average Margin = $0.72
Common Enrollment Errors and Solutions for the Amazon Small and Light Program
As most brands know, problems often arise when selling on Amazon. To help you overcome challenges, we have compiled the most common error messages (and solutions) you might encounter when enrolling products in the Amazon Small and Light Program.
- Error: We are temporarily unable to enroll this product into the Small and Light program. Please try enrolling this product again later.Solution: This message occurs during system error. Wait 24 hours and try enrolling this product again.
- Error: The product is categorized as Hazmat.Solution: You may submit to standard FBA.
- Error: The product is missing package dimensions in the selected marketplace.Solution: Submit a feed as a partial update under the correct item category, fill in the correct dimensions, and upload.
- Error: To help keep fees low, we currently do not allow commingling in the Small and Light program. Please create a new seller-fulfilled SKU and enroll that SKU into the program. Once successfully enrolled, our system will automatically convert your SKU into a non-commingled Small and Light offer.Solution: Please create a new seller-fulfilled SKU and enroll it into the Small and Light program using the enrollment page.
- Error: Existing inventory for this offer needs to be sold through or removed before enrollment. You may also create a new SKU and resubmit the product.Solution: The Small and Light program does not allow you to enroll SKUS that have existing inventory in another fulfillment center. Either create a removal for the units (removal fees apply) or create a seller-fulfilled SKU and enroll it into the Small and Light program via the enrollment page.
