When your inventory is stranded, it’s costing you twice, once in storage fees, and again in lost sales.
Amazon stranded inventory occurs when your FBA products are sitting in fulfillment centers but aren’t linked to an active, buyable listing. It’s one of the main factors that impacts your Inventory Performance Index (IPI) and can even lead to account health issues if left unresolved.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to fix Amazon stranded inventory step-by-step, understand what causes it, and discover preventive measures to protect your IPI score and compliance standing. We’ll also walk through common Amazon notifications, how to interpret them, and what to do before Amazon removes or disposes of your stock.
Stranded inventory refers to FBA products stored in Amazon’s fulfillment centers that can’t be sold because their listings are inactive, incomplete, or missing.
When this happens, Amazon sends a warning in your dashboard that might look like:
Notification: “ASIN B0XXXXX — Listing inactive due to missing attribute: condition_type. Inventory stranded in FC.”
In short, your inventory is sitting in a warehouse, but customers can’t buy it. Every stranded unit accumulates storage fees and lowers your IPI score because it represents “non-moving” inventory.
Amazon’s algorithm uses several metrics to assess seller performance, one of them is the Inventory Performance Index (IPI). Stranded inventory directly affects this score because it reduces your sell-through rate, a critical component of IPI.
A poor IPI can trigger:
By keeping your stranded inventory under 1% of total FBA units, you safeguard both your operational efficiency and account health rating.
Stranded inventory can occur for many reasons: some technical, some policy-related. Understanding the cause is key to fixing it efficiently.
If your ASIN isn’t connected to an active offer, Amazon flags it as stranded. This often happens after catalog merges or detail page updates.
Fix: Relist your product or contact Seller Support to re-link the ASIN.
Closing a listing makes it inactive but doesn’t remove stock. Amazon then marks that inventory as stranded.
Fix: Relist the SKU under the same ASIN or remove the stranded units.
If your price exceeds Amazon’s fair-pricing thresholds, your listing may be deactivated.
Fix: Adjust the price range (set a min/max limit in “Manage Inventory”) to stay compliant.
Items flagged for restricted claims or expired shelf life (for consumables) will be automatically stranded.
Fix: Submit compliance documentation or create a removal order.
Some ASINs become stranded after a revoked brand or category approval.
Fix: Re-apply through the approval workflow or remove inventory if denied.
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Once you understand the cause, you can take targeted action. Here’s the step-by-step process.
Example:
“Stranded due to Missing Condition”
“Stranded due to Closed Listing”
“Stranded due to Restricted Product Policy”
If the issue is technical (closed or inactive listing), click “Relist” beside the affected ASIN. Amazon’s automatic feature can also relist stranded inventory after a set number of days (you can define this in Automatic Action Settings).
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If your listing is incomplete or non-compliant, open the product in Edit Mode and update missing fields (e.g., product type, condition, bullet points).
Common fields that trigger stranded warnings:
If you can’t relist the item (for example, due to expiration or discontinued product lines):
Note: Amazon gives sellers 30 days after notification to act before automatic removal.
If stranded status persists after corrections, open a case:
Path: Help → Get Support → Products and Inventory → Fix a Listing Issue → Stranded Inventory
Provide:
Related: How to Write An Amazon Appeal To Successfully Reinstate A Product Listing
The best way to fix stranded inventory is to avoid it altogether.
Check your Fix Stranded Inventory dashboard and address alerts immediately.
Download and monitor:
These identify early warning signs before Amazon sends account notifications.
Ensure all SKUs have:
Example Amazon message: “Your ASIN B0XXXXX has been deactivated due to a listing policy violation. Inventory in FC may become unsellable if unresolved.” These alerts often appear days before inventory is stranded, giving you time to act.
Overstocking beyond your restock threshold can delay check-ins and create stranded units in transit.
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Stranded inventory is more than just an operational hiccup, it’s a compliance and performance issue that affects your IPI, account health, and profit margin.
By keeping your listings clean, monitoring your inventory dashboard, and acting fast on system alerts, you can prevent stock from sitting idle and protect your account health rating.
If you’re seeing repeated stranded inventory alerts or ASINs stuck for weeks, it’s time for a professional audit.
Online Seller Solutions helps sellers identify root causes, recover stranded ASINs, and implement prevention systems that stabilize their Account Health long-term: Contact us for a diagnostic review of your account health.
We are your Amazon experts who provide comprehensive solutions and guidance to drive e-commerce businesses closer to success.
