Amazon CEO Andy Jassy just told staff what no one wants to hear: AI isn’t just a tool—it’s your future replacement. His latest memo warns employees to skill up fast or risk getting left behind as the company leans harder into generative AI.
And it’s not just employees feeling the pressure, sellers are seeing the ripple effects too:
- Sellers are backing out of Prime Day 2025 🛑
- Sell on Walmart by July for back-to-school wins 🎒
- FBA dashboard glitch wiped out inventory 📉
- Sellers call foul on Amazon’s stolen goods rule ⚖️
HOT TOPIC
Amazon is reportedly stretching Prime Day into a four-day sales marathon this summer. More days, more deals... right?
Not quite.
According to Retail Brew, instead of racing to offer discounts, many FBA sellers are pumping the brakes. With tariff uncertainty looming and margins under pressure, brands are tightening their grip on pre‑tariff inventory like it’s liquid gold.
🥒 Why Prime’s in a pickle
Brands are prioritizing profitability over participation. Agency heads report:
- Deal submissions for Lightning and Best Deals are down year-over-year
- Product prices have jumped 15–20% due to tariff-related cost hikes
- Amazon’s pushing for deeper discounts—and many brands just can’t swing it
- Aged inventory surcharges are being lifted as Amazon clears warehouse space
- Sellers are testing smaller promos that protect margins and preserve Q4 inventory
“There has been a greater focus on inventory preservation and margin this year given larger macroeconomic factors,” said Kyle Olson of Podean.
🧠 Less flash, more strategy
This year’s Prime Day is shaping up to be more of a chess match than a clearance bin. For many sellers, it's not about going big, it's about staying smart.
TL;DR: Amazon wants its biggest Prime Day ever. Sellers? They're playing it safe with fewer deals, tighter margins, and eyes on Q4.
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BITES OF THE WEEK
- Smart Search 2025: Discover why top advertisers still win with Search ads in this upcoming webinar.
- Australian Investment: Amazon plans to invest AU$ 20 billion to expand data center infrastructure by 2029.
- Maersk’s YouTube Playbook: Shipping Giant Maersk's YouTube channel attracts more than 30 million views — here's how.
- Profitable Beauty: For Amazon's beauty brands, success goes beyond listings - it's about being chosen.
TRENDING TOPIC
Amazon FBA dashboard crashed and erased inventory data
If you logged into your FBA dashboard around June 16–17 and thought your entire inventory disappeared, you weren’t hallucinating.
A post in Seller Central sounded the alarm after a widespread system glitch wiped critical FBA data from many accounts. Sellers lost visibility into sales, inventory levels, and inbound shipments.
🌀 Dashboard gone rogue
It started with one seller posting about missing data. Within hours, dozens more jumped in to confirm the chaos:
- SKUs across the board showed zero stock, even with shipments en route
- Listings locked sellers out of replenishment, showing only the “Edit Listing” option
- Some accounts had partial outages, with random ASINs disappearing while others remained
- Seller support cases flooded in, but responses were hit or miss—“Please wait while we escalate” was the theme of the day
Amazon reps eventually joined the thread asking for case numbers and assuring sellers that engineers were working on a fix.
A few updates trickled in with reports of restored data, but no official statement was issued.
🛠️ When the data disappears
Glitches like this aren’t rare, especially during backend updates. But when your dashboard goes dark, here’s your play:
- File support cases on multiple fronts—forums, chat, and direct contact
- Document everything—screenshots, ASINs, timestamps
- Check the forums—they’re often faster than Amazon support for real-time updates
Even better: don’t wait for a glitch. Make dashboard audits part of your routine.
AMAZON NEWS
Sellers slam Amazon's new stolen goods policy over fairness
Amazon is rolling out a new standalone policy targeting stolen goods starting June 30, 2025.
eCommerceBytes reported that the move isn’t about a new rule—it’s about repackaging an old one under regulatory pressure.
BUT it’s igniting fresh heat over what counts as “legitimate sourcing”… and whether sellers get the same protection as buyers.
📃 What’s changing (and what’s not)
The policy reaffirms Amazon’s long-standing ban on stolen items—but this time, it’s formalized under its own dedicated policy page. Enforcement remains serious:
- Offenders risk listing removal, account suspension, inventory destruction, or legal action
- Sellers must prove product traceability—all the way back to the manufacturer
- Amazon’s Responsible Sourcing policy emphasizes receipts—not just any receipt, but one that proves direct manufacturer sourcing
That last bit is a pointed message: store receipts from OA/RA won’t cut it. And sellers know it.
💬 Cue the chaos
The announcement kicked up long-simmering OA/RA tensions.
- Some sellers are pressing Amazon for clarity: if OA and RA aren’t permitted, why not say it outright?
- Sellers of used goods are also on edge: if they can’t produce invoices, are they exposed too?
- Comments flooded in pointing to a familiar complaint: strict sourcing rules for sellers, leniency for fraudulent buyers and listing hijackers.
This policy is meant to build buyer trust—but sellers say trust should be a two-way street.
