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Beat the heat: Mastering Amazon’s meltable season for FBA success
As an Amazon FBA seller, one of our jobs is to understand when and where we can send certain items into Amazon fulfilment centres. One of the most crucial times of year is “meltable season” – this time of year is when Amazon implements special handling requirements for products that could melt or spoil in warm weather. Understanding these restrictions and planning your inventory is mega important.
What is Amazon’s meltable season?
Amazon’s meltable season typically runs from approximately mid-April through to mid-October, though exact dates can vary. During this period, Amazon restricts the shipment of items classified as “meltable” to their fulfilment centres to prevent product damage during transit and storage.
What items are classed as ‘Meltable’?
- Chocolate
- Some Sweets
- Wax-based items such as; Candles & Lip Balms etc.
- Some supplements that require certain temperatures
- Certain cosmetics
- Certain health and personal care items
How can we tell if items are ‘meltable’?
If you use a deal analysis tool such as SellerAmp SAS. There will be a warning on the alerts panel saying ‘M’ which means meltable. When it comes to meltable season, it’s best to use a common-sense approach and avoid things that you know could be affected by the heat, such as candles and wax type products.
Why does Amazon have these restrictions?
- Quality Control: Amazon wants to maintain the highest of product quality and prevent damaged items from reaching customers, which in turn puts Amazon’s reputation at risk.
- Operational Efficiency: Damaged inventory creates additional work at the fulfilment centres
- Customer Satisfaction: Melted products lead to returns, negative reviews, and poor customer experience
- Seller Protection: The policy helps protect sellers from inventory losses and returns.
How do we prepare for meltable season?
To effectively manage your inventory timeline during Amazon’s meltable season, start planning your summer inventory needs in March-April, ensuring you complete final shipments of meltable products to FBA warehouses by early May before restrictions take effect.
From April through until October, implement your alternative fulfilment methods, like merchant fulfilment (FBM). By September, begin preparation to start gearing up for Q4. Finally, as restrictions lift in October, resume normal FBA shipping operations, allowing you to smoothly transition back to standard fulfillment processes while positioning your business for strong Q4 performance with such items like Candles and other wax-based products.
Whether you self-prep or have a prep centre that does your shipments for you, planning ahead is paramount.
Conclusion
Amazon FBA implements a “meltable season” typically running from mid-April through mid-October, during which they restrict shipments of products that could melt in the warmer weather (if the UK sees a good summer). These include chocolates, certain sweets, wax-based items (candles, lip balms), temperature-sensitive supplements, and various cosmetics and health care products.
These restrictions exist to maintain Amazon’s quality control standards, improve operational efficiency, ensure customer satisfaction, and protect sellers from inventory losses and negative reviews.
To successfully navigate this period, FBA sellers should plan their inventory needs by March-April and complete all meltable product shipments to Amazon’s fulfilment centres by early May. During the restriction period (April-October), sellers must switch to alternative fulfilment methods, such as fulfilled by Merchant (FBM). By September, sellers should begin preparations for Q4, and once restrictions lift in October, they can resume normal FBA operations for these temperature-sensitive products, positioning themselves for strong holiday season performance.
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