It’s no secret that Amazon is an eCommerce giant, shipping to over 100 countries and regions. With millions of products and a fast-moving ecosystem, it’s a powerful platform for growing your business. But to keep things running smoothly, Amazon constantly updates its policies and regulations.

For sellers, that means one thing: keep up, or risk penalties and missed opportunities. So, let’s take a closer look at where Amazon stands today and the latest updates every seller needs to know to stay ahead.

What’s Changing for Amazon FBA Sellers This Year

Amazon constantly updates its platform, and this year is no exception. In fact, there are some important updates you need to know. Staying on top of them is a must if you want to keep your account in good standing, stay competitive, and avoid any unexpected issues down the line.

Let’s see what’s new and what’s changed:

Tighter control on bundling

In January 2025, Amazon introduced a stricter Consumables Product Bundling Policy that affects several categories, including grocery, pet supplies, health and beauty, and baby products. This move is part of Amazon’s effort to reduce confusion, prevent unauthorized product bundles, and keep customers safe.

So, what’s changing? The updated policy focuses on three major areas:

1. Manufacturer-only bundles: Only bundles created and packaged by the same brand are allowed.
2. Repackaged bundles need authorization: Sellers need a Letter of Authorization from brands if they plan to make their own bundles
3. Gift-ready bundles must be professionally packaged: Bundles with products from different brands are still allowed, but only if they are clearly packaged as gift sets

Not following the new rules could lead to real problems, like having your listings taken down or putting your account health at risk. To avoid that, review your current bundles and make sure your listings meet the new requirements.

Listings must follow new rules

Amazon also rolled out new rules for product titles, which took effect on January 21, 2025. The goal? To make listings easier to read and give shoppers a cleaner, more consistent experience across the platform.

Here’s what the update includes:

• Titles must be 200 characters or less, including spaces
• No special characters like !, $, {}, or ? (unless they’re part of your brand name)
• You can’t repeat the same word more than twice, unless it’s a short word like “and” or “the”

If your titles break the new rules, Amazon will suggest edits in the Review Listing Updates tab, and you have two weeks to update them. If not, Amazon will take over and make the changes.

Inventory and payments are changing

Amazon also updated how it handles inventory reimbursements. For lost or damaged items in their warehouses, the process for getting paid back has changed.

As of March 31, 2025, Amazon no longer reimburses based on the product’s selling price. Instead, they now reimburse based on manufacturing cost, which means:

• Amazon’s estimated manufacturing cost, based on similar products sold on Amazon, by other sellers, and through wholesale channels, or
• Your own manufacturing cost, if you choose to submit it

For inventory, Amazon has also introduced a Storage Utilization Surcharge. Basically, if you’re holding more than 26 weeks of inventory, you’ll get charged extra. And they’ve also moved up long-term storage fees, kicking in after 271 days instead of 365.

Advertising has stricter rules

Amazon Ads has rolled out multiple key updates this year to give sellers more control, better targeting, and deeper insights. Here are the most recent updates:

• Bid changes by placement: Advertisers can now change how much they’re willing to pay, up to 900% more, depending on where their ad shows up, like at the top of search results or elsewhere. This helps them improve how well their ads work.
• Ads just for business buyers: Amazon now lets advertisers show certain ads only to business customers. These ads can use special settings just for business needs, like different budgets or keywords.
• Track long-term sales: Advertisers can now see reports that show how much money their ads might make over the next year, especially from people who haven’t bought from their brand before.
• New forecast tool: Amazon released a tool that helps advertisers guess how their ads might perform. It shows how much they might spend and how many people might see or click the ad.
• Goodbye to Amazon Posts: Amazon is shutting down its Posts feature by July 31, 2025. Advertisers should start using other types of Amazon ads instead.

Seller scores matter more

Last year, Amazon upgraded the Feedback Manager dashboard to include key metrics that help sellers monitor performance closely. They look at:

• Preventable contacts: How many customer problems could you have prevented
• Average contact response time: How fast you reply to customer messages
• Buyer dissatisfaction rate: How many customers are unhappy with their orders

These things affect your seller score. A low score can lead to problems, like losing the chance to appear in the Buy Box or having less space to send products to Amazon’s warehouses.

This 2025, Amazon uses your Inventory Performance Index (IPI) score to decide the storage space you get. Drop below 400, and Amazon may cut your storage limits.

FBA storage is tighter

Amazon made the FBA process stricter and costlier in 2025. You now have to follow their exact shipping rules. If you don’t, they’ll charge you extra. Before, you could split your shipments partly your way and partly theirs, but that option is gone.

Here’s what to expect:

• Lower fees for large or bulky items
• Higher costs for standard-size items if you don’t follow Amazon’s warehouse shipping plan
• Increased prep fees if Amazon has to bag or label your items, making it cheaper to prep yourself or use a 3PL

10 Strategies Every Amazon Seller Needs to Stay Compliant and Competitive

Amazon updates its policies often, and if you’re not careful, you could get hit with penalties or even have your listings removed. To avoid these surprises and keep your business growing, here are 10 smart strategies you should stick to:

1. Team up with people who know Amazon inside out

Have Amazon experts on your side and see a massive difference in your operations. With their experience and up-to-date knowledge of Amazon’s constantly changing policies, they can help you navigate the platform more smoothly.

Of course, as an Amazon FBA seller, it’s still important to stay informed. But working with an expert gives you extra confidence that you’re not missing anything critical, so you can focus on growing your business while they handle the platform’s complexities.

2. Keep tabs on Amazon’s latest rules

Staying informed about Amazon’s policy changes can be the difference between keeping your listings up and getting them taken down. While teaming up with an Amazon expert definitely helps, it also pays to understand the basics yourself. Knowing what’s required, what’s changing, and where to find updates lets you stay aware and in control.

3. Follow product listing guidelines

Amazon has strict rules when it comes to how product listings are created. If you don’t follow them, your listings could be flagged or removed. To stay compliant, make sure you include all the required product info and follow these product listing guidelines:

• Your product details should match the quality and accuracy of what you show on other sales channels
• Don’t use false product IDs or misleading information
• Avoid adding the following to your titles, bullet points, descriptions, or images:

• • Offensive or inappropriate content
  • Contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, URLs)
  • Links to external ordering sites
  • Reviews, testimonials, or requests for positive feedback
  • Ads, promotional content, or watermarks
  • Time-sensitive details like tour dates or events

4. Use authorized branding and packaging

On Amazon, you cannot put different products together and sell them as one bundle. If the products have a brand name, you need permission to sell them that way. This means:

• You must use the correct packaging that the brand allows
• You can only create a bundle if you own the brand, you’re the manufacturer, or the brand gave you written permission
• You can’t just decide to combine items and sell them under a brand’s name without approval

5. Get documentation in order

Amazon can ask you to prove that your products are genuine and allowed. To avoid delays or issues, make sure you:

• Keep your invoices from suppliers
• Save any letters that show you’re allowed to sell a brand’s products
• Store any safety or compliance certificates your products need

Having these documents ready helps you respond quickly and keep your listings active.

6. Pay attention to what customers are saying

Customers aren’t always right, but listening goes a long way. Take the time to understand their concerns, investigate the issue, and find a way to improve things.

Amazon pays attention to how you handle customer complaints, and poor responses can hurt your account health. More importantly, excellent service builds trust. When you treat customers well, they’re more likely to come back and even recommend you to others.

7. Stay within pricing policies

Amazon has a Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy and lets sellers set their own prices, but it closely monitors them. If your prices are found to be too high compared to other sites or listings, Amazon can hide your listing or even suspend your account.

Misleading reference prices, overpriced bundles, and excessive shipping fees are all examples of pricing practices that can result in penalties.

8. Know what you can and can’t sell

If you try to sell restricted (or “gated”) items without permission, Amazon can:

• Remove your listings
• Suspend your account
• Ban you from selling altogether

You could lose your money, your stored inventory might be destroyed, and there could even be legal consequences. That’s why it’s always good to check which products or categories are gated in the marketplace you’re selling in, and make sure you’re compliant before listing anything.

9. Take warnings seriously and respond the right way

If you want to maximize selling on Amazon, the last thing you need is a suspended or removed listing. That’s why it’s essential to stay alert to any issues.

When something comes up, act fast! Respond quickly and submit any needed documents to resolve the problem before it gets worse.

10. Always appeal suspended listings

Think your listing was suspended by mistake? You can always appeal. Don’t just let it slide! After all, every day you wait is a missed opportunity.

In business, time matters. The sooner you take action, the faster you can get back to selling and avoid losing more sales and momentum.

Strengthen Your Amazon Operations for Long-Term Success with MyFBAPrep

It’s not even halfway through the year, and Amazon has already rolled out a wave of updates and policy changes. For sellers who want to keep thriving on the platform, staying compliant isn’t optional—it’s a must. The best way forward is to stay up to date, consistently, and proactively.

Feeling overwhelmed by all the changes? Experts at MyFBAPrep can help. Our team of Amazon professionals will guide you in staying compliant, streamlining your operations, and monitoring updates, so you can focus on growing your business.

Connect with our team today to get started!