Amazon Returned Products Landfill No Longer: FBA Liquidate, Grade And Resell

This week Amazon announced two new Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) programs meant to improve the dirty business of unsold and returned products. One is an "FBA Liquidations" program, the other is the "FBA Grade and Resell" program. Amazon is still a long way away from solving issues created by the immense amount of waste created by their shipping programs*, but making moves to acknowledge and deal with returned and unsold products is a step in the right direction.

This is not the first time Amazon has announced a program such as this. In August of 2019, Amazon announced their Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Donations system. That system was meant to assist sellers in donating their returned and/or unsold products. *They announced Shipment Zero in February of 2019 as well, aiming to push half of their deliveries to "net zero carbon" over the next decade.

Amazon suggested that the current way of dealing with returned products is to either have products shipped to a seller's designated address or have products donated by Amazon on their behalf.

FBA Liquidations gives sellers the option to "use Amazon's existing wholesale liquidation partners and technology to recoup potential losses on returned and overstock inventory." The FBA Liquidations program is "now live" in several countries: Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the USA, and "soon the UK."

FBA Grade and Resell is another new program launched by Amazon in an effort to reduce waste. The FBA Grade and Resell program "gives third party sellers the option to sell returned products on Amazon as "used" items instead of having the items sent back to them or donated.

Amazon suggested again this week that they're aiming for maximum sustainability throughout their company. Amazon's "The Climate Pledge" represents the company's "commitment to net zero carbon by 2040, and 100% renewable energy by 2025."