Amazon’s FBA Small and Light program was the go-to option for sellers selling small, cheap, and lightweight products not more than $12.
However, on June 29, 2023, Amazon announced that they’d be retiring Small and Light in the US for good by August 29, 2023. To offset the loss of the program, Amazon is opting to drop FBA rates for all items priced below $10.
What was the Amazon Small and Light Program?
The Small and Light program was a cost-cutting program that reduced fulfilment costs for sellers, allowing you to pass the savings on to your customers. It was considered one of the best ways sellers could be profitable if they were selling small, cheap, and fast-moving products.
The criteria for a product to be eligible in Small and Light needed to tick the following boxes:
- It had to weigh 3 lbs or less
- Measured 18 x 14 x 8 inches or less
- Items must cost less than $12
- Must be in brand new condition
- Items with existing ASIN must have sold at least 25 units in the past month
Of course, even if an item does meet the criteria above but is under Amazon’s list of restricted products, it will still not be eligible for Small and Light. If your products are eligible for this program, you can enrol them and reap some serious benefits, but, as we’ll discuss later on, it’s not without a few drawbacks.
Items enrolled under FBA Small and Light also receive lower fulfilment costs that allow for a higher volume of low-cost goods to be sold at a faster rate.
For example, say we have a product that weighs and falls within the 18 x 14 x 8-inch limit (but is larger than 15 x 12 x 0.75 inches). Under FBA Small and Light, shipping out the item would cost $2.66 per unit, whereas, in the standard FBA, shipping would set you back $3.86.
Why Did Amazon Choose to End the Small and Light Program?
In a statement from Amazon, the change was made to make it easier for sellers to fulfil orders while paying lower FBA fees. Enrolling new products into the program will end after July 17, but items that do qualify for Small and Light still get to enjoy the benefits until August 29.
Amazon explained that since products enrolled in Small and Light were provided with slower shipping speeds compared to the standard FBA, they decided to lower the shipping rates of all items that cost below $10 regardless of size and weight to accommodate faster delivery speeds that their customers love.
What Were the Advantages and Disadvantages of Amazon Small and Light?
Advantages
As mentioned earlier, the biggest advantage of the Small and Light program was the savings it could create for both buyers and sellers.
Going back to our example, paying $2.66 for shipping instead of $3.86 doesn’t seem like much ($1.18 to be exact), but if you sold 1,000 units of this item in a month, that’s more than $1,000 of savings! The extra dollar in savings for sellers clears the path for them to offer their products at a lower price to further incentivize customers.
In addition, products in Small and Light also become Prime-eligible. However, since shipping will normally take 3 to 5 business days instead of the 2-day guarantee, it could hurt you in the long run.
Disadvantages
Amazon’s Replacement to Small and Light
The new program offered by Amazon to replace Small and Light has been simply coined Low Price FBA fees. In exchange for faster delivery speeds, Amazon says that items under $10 enrolled in Small and Light will now pay roughly $0.30 more per item.
On the other hand, if your product was under $10 and failed to qualify for Small and Light, the change means you would now pay $0.77 less per item.
The best part of Low Price FBA fees is that brands don’t have to change anything on their account. Eligible products will automatically receive the low-price rates and will not be subject to 2023 holiday peak fulfilment fees that will start from October 15, 2023, through January 14, 2024.
Low-price FBA rates have reduced fulfilment fees when compared to FBA while utilizing the standard FBA prep and packaging requirements.
Final Thoughts
In summary, Amazon’s new Low Price FBA fees mean if you sell products under $10 on Amazon, they’ll now get to have the same shipping speed as higher-priced products. The disadvantage is that sellers who had products on Small and Light will now pay $0.30 more per item.
