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With many turning to Amazon to get the things that we can’t find in the store, it’s no wonder so many are panicking at the thought of Amazon suspending shipment. Yes, they are prioritizing “essential items” but that doesn’t mean that you can’t order what you need.
The Truth about Amazon Suspending Shipments
Shops around the world are closing their doors, and Amazon is making changes to keep up with demand. The good news is, this change doesn’t impact what’s being shipped out already, but it could result in some of your favorite things being out of stock a little longer than you had hoped.
The Announcement from Amazon
Here’s the email that Amazon sent out:
“We are seeing increased online shopping, and as a result, some products such as household staples and medical supplies are out of stock. With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers.
For products other than these, we have temporarily disabled shipment creation. We are taking a similar approach with retail vendors.
This will be in effect today through April 5, 2020, and we will let you know once we resume regular operations. Shipments created before today will be received at fulfillment centers.
You can learn more about this on this Help page” – Glamour
Can we still place orders?
Yes! According to Glamour, “The e-commerce giant said it would be “temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock and deliver these products to customers.
The precaution mainly affects third-party sellers, who can still sell nonessential items independently but will not be able to use Amazon’s warehouses—leaving them with an unforeseen excess of up to 60 days’ worth of inventory. It also means they’ll have to figure out an alternative packing and shipping method if their products aren’t already in, or on their way to, an Amazon warehouse as of today.”
What is considered to be a PRIORITY to Amazon?
Well, according to TechCrunch, which Amazon responded to via email, regarding the shipping suspension, these categories are considered essential, and have priority for shipment:
- Baby
- Health
- Household
- Beauty and Personal Care
- Grocery
- Industrial and Scientific Supplies
- Pet Supplies
Can you get it from Amazon’s Third-Party Sellers?
As of now, Amazon warehouse deliveries should be back to normal by April 5th, 2020. Sellers can still list their items and choose another delivery service or warehouse to store their items, right now there is a mad dash to keep up with the influx of online shoppers, and those preparing for possible lockdowns of their neighborhood.
With many at home due to schools closing, businesses having employees work from home, and the overall state of the world, Amazon is taking on a huge burden. They aim to provide essential items to the public both in the United States and the world over.
Amazon has hired more employees to help
Amazon announced that they are hiring more people:
“We are opening 100,000 new full and part-time positions across the U.S. in our fulfillment centers and delivery network to meet the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon’s service during this stressful time, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public.
Company will invest over $350 million globally to increase pay by $2/hour in the U.S., C$2 in Canada, £2/hr in the UK, and approximately €2/hr in many EU countries for employees and partners who are in fulfillment centers, transportation operations, stores or those making deliveries so that others can remain at home.” AboutAmazon.com
How will this temporary change impact shipping policies?
Amazon is no taking a break on shipping the products for many of these third-party sellers. Amazon sellers who utilize the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, which allows sellers to store their items at Amazon’s storage facility and ship out from there, will no longer have the option to ship nonessential items to the Amazon warehouse.
Many sellers have full-time day jobs but are now at home trying to earn more through their Amazon e-Commerce stores. Sellers have the option to ship their items or to locate another shipping company to assist with the storage of goods.
So… the good news is that YES, you can still order from Amazon! The bad news is that you might have to wait a bit to get what you need.
I hope that helped to clear things up a bit!
Thanks for the great info!
You’re so welcome, Nadia, thank you for taking the time to comment.