Amazon's Updated SIOC Chargeback Eligibility Requirements

Amazon announced that it is updating the North American minimum packaging dimensions that will be subject to SIOC/FFP Chargebacks. This announcement is effective 2/1/2020 (yes - it’s backdated) and will be in a grace period through 8/1/2020.

What does this mean?

Before the change, if an ASIN had dimensions smaller than 8”x4.72”x0.375” it was small enough to require an overbox and was exempt from SIOC/FFP certification. As of today, Amazon is stating that it is reducing that minimum to 6”x4”x0.375”, a 2 inch reduction on the longest side, and roughly 3/4 inch reduction in width. Note: Non-sortable is something that is too large for conveyance (typically larger than 20" on the longest side and weighing more than 20lbs). Sortable FC's are for the majority of goods that flow through Amazon's network.

After 8/1/2020, qualifying ASINs will be subject to a $1.99 per unit chargeback if they are not FFP or SIOC certified.

To find out what ASINs are impacted and will need to be certified:

1. In the Operational Performance dashboard, select Ship In Own Container from the carousel.

2. Click under Non-compliant ASINs on the right hand side of the page.

3. On the next page, adjust the timeframe or refine your search. Enter the term DecertificationGrace in the text box and click Apply. Any ASIN that has been decertified will be shown as Defect with a financial charge.

4. To view more details, click on View 1 Issue on the top right of each ASIN block, and then in the resulting box, click on the issue ID number for more information. In the issue detail, you can see the Date Created, which is the date when the ASIN was decertified.

   • Note: Once an ASIN has been decertified, you are granted a 60 day grace period where SIOC chargebacks will be waived. You must re-enroll your ASIN for certification with a new ISTA 6 SIOC test report from a certified third party lab.

5. To view additional details on decertified products, you can export a CSV file to analyze in a spreadsheet.

What are the next steps?

ASINS that are impacted will need to pass ISTA-6 Amazon.com testing and then be certified as FFP or SIOC through Amazon’s certification process.

Submit your packaging certification through Contact Us > Amazon Packaging Certification. More information on the enrollment process can found at: https://www.aboutamazon.com/sustainability/packaging/certification

We are updating our packaging criteria as part of our global commitment to reduce waste and improve the customer experience.
We are making a reduction in the qualifying package dimensions for a product to require certification as Tier 1 – Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP) or Tier 2 – Ships in Own Container (SIOC).

Effective February 1, 2020, with a grace period until August 1, 2020, the minimum package dimensions that require certification of an ASIN as FFP or SIOC are 6" x 4" x 0.375" (previously 9” x 6” x 0.375”).

Any non-sort packaged item that is fulfilled through Amazon's fulfillment network with any one or more of its dimensions less than 6 inches on it longest side, or less than 4 inches on its median side, or less than 0.375 inches on its shortest side is excluded from the SIOC chargeback.

If you ship your products in a small and thin package (longest side <6”, shortest side <0.375” or median side <4”), you don’t need to do anything at this time. However, if your package exceeds any of these limits on any side and is fulfilled in Amazon’s non-sort network, you must certify it as FFP (Tier 1) or SIOC (Tier 2), which was introduced in September 3, 2019.

Non-sort

Non-sort is based on the 18x14x8 dimensions covering packaged items with at least one side greater than 18" on its longest side, more than 14" on its median side, and more than 8" on its shortest side, or greater than 20 lbs.

Products that remain uncertified will be subject to the $1.99 chargeback per received unit, for any ASIN that exceeds any of the new minimum packaging dimensional thresholds starting on August 1, 2020.

During the grace period, we will send you notifications of any non-compliance to give you time to fix any issues. To find out which of your ASINs will be impacted, we recommend you regularly review your ready-to-ship chargeback eligible portfolio from the Operational Performance dashboard under Ship in Own Container.

For more information on the FFP Vendor Incentive Program and certification, please visit our packaging website located at https://www.aboutamazon.com/sustainability/packaging/certification.

Help > About Frustration-Free Packaging/Ships In Own Container Chargeback