Amazon Seller Marketplace News: Fulfillment By Amazon Barcode Requirements Changing
For sellers that use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), changes are coming to how sellers are required to manage their barcodes in March 2026. In this blog, we discuss those changes and discuss how sellers can seek reimbursement for lost FBA inventory.
Amazon’s Previous FBA Barcode Policy
Previously, Amazon used “commingling” for inventory to ensure fast delivery of the materially same product. This meant that if a seller purchased an item from you, they could receive an identical item from another seller in FBA’s inventory. While this was beneficial to customers, it frustrated sellers who created workarounds to avoid being commingled.
The major consequence of commingling was that a single policy violation on a grouped inventory would lead to policy violations for all sellers. This led many brand owners and resellers to look for ways to differentiate their inventory to avoid unnecessary violations from other sellers.
Sellers were able to avoid commingling by using Amazon’s FNSKU barcodes to create a separately labeled inventory. By having both the manufacturer barcode and Amazon barcode, FBA would not ship inventory to other sellers’ customers.
Amazon Seller Policy News: Changes to FBA Barcode Requirements
The incoming changes to FBA inventory barcodes will impact both resellers and brand owners. Now, brand owners are not required to use Amazon’s barcodes to differentiate their inventories as Amazon is no longer using commingling. All products will now only be shipped to customers from the seller they purchased from.
For resellers on Amazon, you are now required to use Amazon FNSKUs on all of your resold products. While this does prevent commingling, it is important to set up systems to ensure all FBA products are properly labeled to ensure compliance with the updated barcode policy.
Note that existing inventory shipped prior to the March 31st date will be grandfathered into the new requirements. After that date however, all mislabeled inventory will not be eligible for reimbursement if shipped without proper labeling. If you are concerned that you have shipped improperly labeled inventory, check the “Inbound Performance Dashboard,” which will be updated with the status of your shipments.
FBA Lost Inventory Reimbursement
For many sellers using FBA, lost inventory has created confusion on what the best course of action for reimbursement is. Filing reimbursement claims is often the first step, but if a warehouse has lost larger quantities of inventory, they are more likely to resist full reimbursement of your products
Under Amazon’s Business Solutions Agreement (BSA) you cannot sue Amazon in claims court for your lost inventory. You are instead required to handle disputes through arbitration – a private legal proceeding where decisions are issued by an arbitrator. This can actually be beneficial to sellers, arbitration is typically much faster than litigation and the act of filing for arbitration can resolve many smaller claims.
Arbitration Against Amazon
Filing for arbitration is done through the American Arbitration Association, who will assign an independent arbitrator to the case. Amazon Sellers Lawyer has often seen the threat of arbitration, which moves your claim to Amazon’s legal department, is enough to get an amicable resolution.
If your case reaches a hearing, your legal team will present their argument much the same way as a traditional court room setting plays out, with the arbitrator reaching a legally binding decision by the end.
How Amazon Sellers Lawyer Can Help
For the past decade, Amazon Sellers Lawyer has been focused exclusively on helping ecommerce sellers with their disputes on Amazon. We help with everything from creating suspension appeals to arbitration against Amazon. If you are facing problems like lost inventory, contact us today at our online form or 212-256-1109.
About the Author
CJ Rosenbaum, Esq.
CJ Rosenbaum is the founding partner of Amazon Sellers Lawyer. He’s been practicing law since 1995, and since 2016 his firm has focused exclusively on Amazon sellers – issues like suspensions, intellectual property disputes, and love inventory.
CJ has written six books on Amazon seller legal issues including the Amazon Sellers’ Guide to Copyright Law. He has spoken at major industry events like the Prosper Show, Global Sources Summit, Retail Global. CJ also works with the Amazon Sellers Lawyer team to provide free content for Amazon sellers. This is available through their online blog and YouTube channel, frequently covering major Amazon updates and important topics relevant to the seller space.
Through BrandProtectionAmazon.com, the firm also supports brands in protecting their products. This gives the team the unique opportunity to learn from case wins on both sides of the fence, strengthening protection for both the sellers and brands that Rosenbaum & Segall P.C. represents.
Amazon repeatedly rejecting your Plan of Action? Amazon Sellers Lawyer handles suspension appeals and account reinstatement cases – including arbitration against Amazon when they’re withholding seller money. Contact us to discuss your situation and figure out the best path forward.