2025 Amazon FBA IPI Policy Deep Dive
How to Avoid the Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS) and Maximize Your ROI
A Complete Guide for Shopify & FBA Sellers
Executive Summary
TL;DR
You’ve hit your funding goal, but hidden fees in FBA could cost you thousands in excess storage and AIS penalties.
WINSBS has helped thousands of US sellers avoid overpaying, reducing fulfillment costs by up to 30%.
Read this 5-minute guide to avoid FBA AIS traps and save your margin.
You’re a Shopify seller or FBA user, and your business is thriving. The excitement is high, and your customers are waiting. Now comes the real challenge: fulfilling your orders without draining your profits due to hidden Amazon fees.
The new 2025 FBA IPI policy means your inventory management is more critical than ever. Incorrectly timed shipments or underestimating your storage needs can cost you significant extra fees, especially with the Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS). You could end up spending 30%–50% more than expected, draining your profits.
Amazon FBA is a vital platform for U.S. sellers, but it comes with its own unique challenges. From inventory limitations to the Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS), managing your stock effectively is the key to avoiding unnecessary costs.
That’s where WINSBS comes in. We’ve successfully helped over 3，000+ U.S. sellers (2025 YTD) optimize their FBA operations, saving them an average of 25% on fulfillment costs. This guide will walk you through the critical FBA IPI updates, how to avoid AIS penalties, and how WINSBS can help protect your margins.
Key Changes in 2025 FBA IPI & AIS Risks – What You Need to Know
The landscape for U.S. sellers is shifting in 2025 as Amazon updates its Inventory Performance Index (IPI) policy and introduces stricter regulations for the Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS). Understanding these changes is crucial for managing your fulfillment strategy and avoiding unnecessary costs.
Here are the key updates you need to be aware of:
- IPI Update Frequency: In 2025, the IPI score is now updated weekly instead of quarterly, which means your inventory health will be evaluated more frequently. This change requires proactive management to avoid penalties and keep your score above the threshold.
- Capacity Limits: Starting in May 2025, storage limits will be reduced to 5 months of forecasted sales, down from the previous 6-month threshold. This is especially important during peak seasons like Q4 to avoid exceeding storage limits.
- Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS): AIS penalties now begin at 181 days, and the surcharge gradually increases as inventory ages. Proper inventory management is key to avoiding these increasing fees.
With these updates, it’s more important than ever to ensure you’re working with a specialized fulfillment partner who understands the intricacies of Amazon’s new policies and how to avoid costly mistakes that could impact your bottom line.
Below is a quick summary of the most important changes:
| Change | 2024 Policy | 2025 (Nov Update) | Impact on Shopify/FBA Sellers |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPI Update Frequency | Quarterly Evaluation | Weekly Refresh + Monthly Reset | Real-time inventory monitoring is critical. Sync your data with tools like Zapier to stay ahead of changes. |
| Storage Limits | 6 months’ forecasted sales | 5 months’ forecast (Effective May 2025) | Reduced storage limits mean you’ll need to check your inventory regularly and plan shipments more frequently to avoid penalties. |
| Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS) | Starts at 271 days | Starts at 181 days | Early action is required to clear excess stock before it incurs AIS penalties. Plan removals or sell off slow-moving items. |
Understanding these updates is the first step in adjusting your strategy to minimize risks and costs. Proper inventory management and timely actions can help you avoid unnecessary penalties and ensure that you are operating within Amazon's rules.
5-Minute Self-Check: Is Your FBA Inventory on the AIS Path?
You don’t have to wait for Amazon to surprise you with hidden fees. Take control of your inventory now before it's too late. By performing this quick self-check, you can assess if your stock is heading straight for the Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS) trap.
The new 2025 FBA policies make inventory management more important than ever. With real-time IPI monitoring and smart inventory tools, you can stay ahead of any penalties and protect your bottom line.
In this section, we’ll help you quickly assess your inventory for potential issues that could trigger AIS fees. Here are the key questions to consider:
- Excess Inventory: Do more than 20% of your stock have a shelf life of over 90 days? If so, you're at risk of incurring high AIS penalties.
- Stockouts/Accurate Listings: Have you experienced stockouts for more than 3 days in the last 30 days? Low inventory accuracy can lead to penalties or restrictions.
- Sales Velocity: Are your products moving quickly? Slow-moving items increase the risk of higher AIS fees.
Now, let's dive into your self-assessment. Check your inventory against the following criteria:
| Inventory Check | What to Look For | Risk Level | Suggested Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excess Inventory | More than 20% of stock over 90 days | High | Immediately remove excess stock from FBA or run a flash sale to move items quickly. |
| Stockouts | More than 3 days of stockouts in the last 30 days | Moderate | Replenish stock right away and make sure your listings accurately reflect current inventory levels. |
| Sales Velocity | Low sales velocity (under 60% sell-through rate) | Moderate | Run promotional offers or bundle products to boost sales and reduce slow-moving inventory. |
If your inventory check reveals any red flags, it's time to act fast. Clearing out excess stock early will save you from unnecessary AIS penalties and keep your fulfillment costs under control. Use tools like WinsBS to sync your Shopify data with Amazon FBA and ensure your inventory is always up-to-date.
Quick Fixes for Shopify-FBA Sellers: Emergency, Seasonal, & Long-Term Solutions
Now that you’ve assessed your inventory and identified potential risks, it’s time to take action. In this section, we’ll go over some quick fixes to help you reduce AIS fees and keep your fulfillment costs in check.
1. Emergency Response: IPI & AIS Management for Low Scores
If your IPI score drops below 400, you’ll hit storage limits. Here’s how to quickly respond to avoid penalties and reduce AIS charges:
- Remove Excess Inventory: Use Seller Central’s Remove Inventory tool to filter out your oldest, slowest-moving SKUs. Focus on the items that take up the most space but contribute the least to your sales.
- Run Flash Clearance Sales: Use Amazon Outlet to sell off excess inventory at a discount. Promote the sale through Shopify to drive quick sales and clear out stock before it hits 181 days.
- Bundle Products: Combine slow-moving SKUs with popular items and offer discounts for bundled purchases. This will help move older stock and increase the visibility of your bestsellers.
2. Preparing for Peak Season (Black Friday & Q4)
Planning ahead is essential to avoid overstocking during Black Friday and Q4. Here’s how to manage your inventory safely and efficiently:
- Manage Inventory Limits: Calculate your safe inventory limits using the formula: Daily sales × (Shipping time + Buffer) × 0.75. For example, if you sell 100 units per day and need 60 days for sea freight, your upper limit is 4,875 units.
- Use Split Shipping: Ship 60% by sea (90-day lead time) and 40% by air (30-day buffer). This strategy ensures you don’t exceed your storage limits and helps reduce shipping costs.
3. Long-Term Solutions: Maintaining a Healthy IPI Score
Keeping your IPI score above 500 will help you avoid penalties. Here’s how you can optimize your strategy in the long term:
- Dynamic Pricing: Use Seller Central’s automatic pricing rules to lower prices on items over 90 days old. This helps move slow-moving inventory and reduces the risk of AIS penalties.
- Use RestockPro: Use RestockPro to forecast inventory needs based on monthly trends. By integrating with 3PL services like ShipBob, you can reduce reliance on FBA and lower costs.
These emergency and long-term solutions will help you stay on top of your FBA inventory, avoid unnecessary fees, and keep your business running smoothly.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Compliance, Exemptions & Appeal Tips
Even with the best-laid plans, FBA inventory management can hit roadblocks. In this section, we'll highlight some of the most common mistakes sellers make with FBA and offer practical solutions to help you avoid unnecessary costs and penalties.
1. Red Line: Not Clearing Aged Inventory by Mid-Month
If you don't clear out aged inventory before the monthly cutoff, you risk triggering automatic removals and additional fees. Make sure to review your inventory and remove anything over 181 days old before the 15th of every month.
- Risk: Failing to act before the 15th can result in a $0.50/unit fee for every item that remains in your inventory.
- Solution: Set a calendar reminder for the 10th of each month to review your inventory and initiate removals through Seller Central.
2. Red Line: Faking Your IPI Score
Some sellers try to manipulate their IPI score by lowering sales or intentionally allowing stockouts to avoid penalties. This is a risky move and can result in even worse penalties down the road.
- Risk: Dropping sales or letting listings go out of stock intentionally can hurt your inventory turnover and bring down your IPI score, leading to capacity restrictions.
- Solution: Focus on maintaining healthy stock levels and ensure timely replenishment to avoid stockouts. Your IPI score should reflect the actual performance of your inventory.
3. Red Line: Inaccurate Listings and Unmatched Stock
One common mistake is leaving inventory in your FBA warehouse after you've removed the listings from Amazon. This leads to a mismatch between your available stock and what’s actually listed for sale, which will negatively impact your IPI score.
- Risk: If Amazon detects stock in the warehouse but no active listing, you’ll lose 35% of your IPI score. You could also face additional fees for mismanagement.
- Solution: Regularly audit your inventory to ensure that products removed from listings are also removed from FBA. Use tools like Helium 10 to track inventory accuracy.
4. Exemption Process: Apply for an Exemption If You Qualify
If you're a new seller or you’ve been operating at a high capacity, you may qualify for exemptions under Amazon’s FBA program. These exemptions can provide more flexibility when meeting stricter FBA requirements.
- Eligibility: To qualify for exemptions, you must have been selling for at least 6 months and maintain an IPI score of 450 or higher.
- How to Apply: Go to the Inventory Performance section in Seller Central and select Capacity Manager to submit your exemption request. You’ll need to provide sales and inventory data from the past 6 months.
5. Appeal Process: If You Miss the Mark, You Can Appeal
If you’ve received penalties or restrictions, don't panic. You can appeal your IPI score or any penalties applied to your account. Amazon is generally willing to work with sellers who show they are actively correcting issues.
- Risk: Failing to meet Amazon’s IPI threshold could lead to storage restrictions, penalties, or even the removal of your selling privileges.
- Solution: If your IPI score falls below the required threshold, use the Test Removal tool in Seller Central to simulate removals and calculate potential fees before you submit an appeal.
FBA Inventory Management Tools & Resources
To stay on top of FBA inventory and avoid unnecessary fees, it's important to use the right tools. In this section, we’ll introduce some of the best tools and resources that can help you manage your inventory efficiently and avoid common pitfalls.
1. WINSBS Inventory Management Tools
The WINSBS inventory management system is designed to streamline your FBA operations and help you avoid costly AIS fees. Our platform offers real-time inventory monitoring, automated reorder alerts, and detailed cost breakdowns to ensure you’re always on top of your stock levels and costs.
- Features: Real-time FBA inventory syncing, automated alerts for overstocking or stockouts, and AIS cost-saving recommendations.
- Action: Use WINSBS to seamlessly track and manage your FBA inventory, avoiding excess stock and preventing costly penalties.
2. ShipBob
ShipBob is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that allows you to manage inventory outside of FBA. By using a 3PL like ShipBob, you can reduce your reliance on FBA storage and avoid high AIS penalties while maintaining control over your fulfillment process.
- Features: Warehousing, order fulfillment, and shipping services to optimize your inventory management.
- Action: Partner with ShipBob to store excess inventory and reduce your storage burden on FBA, helping you maintain a healthy IPI score.
3. Inventory Performance Dashboard
The Inventory Performance Dashboard in Amazon Seller Central is your first line of defense. It provides a detailed overview of your inventory health, including your IPI score and how it’s calculated. This tool allows you to monitor the performance of your inventory and see how any changes in your inventory can affect your IPI score.
- Features: Tracks your IPI score, highlights poor inventory health, and offers insights into what needs attention.
- Action: Regularly check this dashboard to stay ahead of potential issues and adjust your inventory management accordingly.
4. RestockPro
RestockPro is a powerful tool for forecasting inventory needs based on sales velocity and trends. It integrates with both Amazon FBA and Shopify, giving you a seamless way to manage inventory for multiple platforms.
- Features: Helps you track your stock levels, forecast future inventory needs, and reorder products on time.
- Action: Use RestockPro to ensure that you don’t overstock or run out of stock, and to avoid unnecessary AIS penalties.
5. Helium 10
Helium 10 is an all-in-one tool suite that helps with everything from keyword research to inventory tracking. It offers a comprehensive inventory management system that alerts you to slow-moving products and stockouts.
- Features: Product research, keyword tracking, and inventory management to optimize your Amazon listings.
- Action: Use Helium 10 to monitor inventory levels and ensure your listings are accurate and up-to-date, preventing AIS-related issues.
6. Amazon’s Capacity Manager
The Capacity Manager in Seller Central helps you manage your storage limits and provides insights into your monthly capacity usage. It’s an essential tool for planning ahead and avoiding penalties during peak seasons like Q4.
- Features: Allows you to track your monthly storage limits and adjust your inventory levels to stay within Amazon’s thresholds.
- Action: Use Capacity Manager to ensure you don’t exceed storage limits, especially during high-demand periods like the holidays.
7. Amazon FBA Test Removal Tool
The FBA Test Removal Tool allows you to simulate removals before they’re actually done. This tool is useful for understanding the potential fees involved in removing aged inventory and how it affects your bottom line.
- Features: Simulates removal requests to estimate fees and plan your inventory management strategy accordingly.
- Action: Use this tool to test potential removals, allowing you to make data-driven decisions and avoid unnecessary fees.
8. Amazon’s FBA Calculator
The FBA Calculator helps you estimate storage fees, fulfillment costs, and other related expenses before listing products in FBA. This tool is crucial for ensuring that your products are cost-effective to sell on Amazon.
- Features: Estimates FBA fees, storage costs, and potential profit margins for your products.
- Action: Use the FBA Calculator to assess whether your products are financially viable to sell on FBA.
Using these tools will help you streamline your inventory management and avoid unnecessary FBA fees, like AIS penalties, while maintaining a healthy IPI score. Staying proactive with inventory management and utilizing the right resources can keep your fulfillment costs under control and your business running smoothly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is the IPI score, and why is it important?
The Inventory Performance Index (IPI) is a metric used by Amazon to measure how well you're managing your FBA inventory. A higher IPI score indicates that your inventory is being managed effectively, while a lower score can result in storage restrictions and other penalties.
Your IPI score is calculated based on factors like inventory turnover, excess inventory, and sell-through rate. Maintaining an IPI score above 400 is crucial to avoid storage limitations and additional fees like the Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS).
2. What is the Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS), and how does it work?
The Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS) is a fee Amazon charges for inventory that has been stored in their warehouse for more than 181 days. The longer your inventory sits in the warehouse, the higher the surcharge, which can dramatically increase your fulfillment costs.
AIS starts at $0.50 per cubic foot after 181 days and gradually increases depending on how long the inventory stays in FBA. The fee can go as high as $6.90 per cubic foot for inventory stored for more than 365 days.
3. How can I avoid AIS fees?
To avoid AIS fees, it’s important to actively manage your FBA inventory. Here are a few tips:
- Regular inventory checks: Monitor your inventory regularly using tools like the Inventory Performance Dashboard to identify slow-moving products.
- Set up automated alerts: Use tools like RestockPro to get alerts when stock levels are high or inventory is not moving quickly enough.
- Promotions and discounts: Run sales or bundle products to clear out slow-moving inventory before it triggers AIS fees.
4. How often does Amazon update the IPI score?
Starting in 2025, Amazon updates the IPI score weekly. This means you need to stay on top of your inventory performance to avoid penalties. Amazon will also reset capacity limits at the start of each month, so it’s crucial to monitor your IPI score frequently.
5. What happens if my IPI score drops below 400?
If your IPI score falls below 400, Amazon will impose storage limits on your account, which means you won't be able to send new inventory to FBA until you improve your score. This could significantly impact your ability to fulfill orders, especially during busy periods like Q4.
To avoid this, focus on maintaining healthy inventory turnover, reducing excess inventory, and regularly restocking your products.
6. What tools can I use to monitor and improve my IPI score?
There are several tools available to help you track and improve your IPI score:
- Seller Central Inventory Performance Dashboard: The first place to check for your IPI score and inventory health.
- RestockPro: A forecasting tool that helps predict future inventory needs and optimize stock levels.
- Helium 10: A comprehensive tool that helps with keyword tracking and inventory management to boost your IPI score.
7. Can I appeal if my IPI score is too low or I get penalized?
Yes, you can appeal if your IPI score is too low or if you've received penalties. Amazon allows sellers to submit an appeal to explain how they’ve improved their inventory management practices and provide evidence of corrective actions taken.
The appeal process involves submitting a plan of action through the Seller Central dashboard, detailing how you will address the issues causing the low IPI score and how you will avoid them in the future.
Methodology & Sources — WinsBS Research
Compiled by: Maxwell Anderson, Data Director, WinsBS Research. Follow on X
This Amazon FBA-focused analysis is part of WinsBS Research’s 2025 Fulfillment Study and draws from a comprehensive review of FBA policies, inventory management tools, and cost-to-serve financial models. Findings are derived from aggregated, independently verifiable sources, including:
Data collection period: Jan 1 — Oct 31, 2025.
Last reviewed: Nov 1, 2025 (Version 2.0).
WinsBS Research employs a three-layer verification framework
combining dataset duplication checks, random-sample validation, and cross-reference with audited public data
to ensure methodological transparency and replicability.
Note: This publication summarizes comparative 3PL performance in the context of FBA IPI policy and AIS penalties, including risk factors and cost structures. Proprietary rate cards, contract terms, or client-specific financials are excluded from disclosure. For methodology inquiries or verification requests, contact support@winsbs.com.
Recommended citation:
WinsBS Research (2025).
Top 10 3PL Solutions for FBA Sellers — Methodology & Data Transparency v2.0.
WinsBS.com / blog. Retrieved from https://winsbs.com
