Prime Big Deal Days started this morning and runs through tomorrow, October 7. If you’re watching orders come in today, good. But the date that decides your Black Friday is already on the calendar, and it’s closer than it looks.
What happened
Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday inbound cutoffs are set. Bulk stock going to Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) is due October 14. FBA shipments using minimal splits are due October 21. FBA shipments using Amazon-optimized splits are due October 28. Holiday peak fulfillment fees start October 15 and run through January 14, 2027.
The detail most sellers skip is in Amazon’s own Multi-Channel Fulfillment peak guide, posted September 16. Those cutoffs are arrival dates at Amazon’s receiving locations, not ship dates. Amazon says inbound processing typically takes two to three weeks, can stretch longer in high-volume periods, and recommends shipping at least three weeks before the cutoff.
Do that math from today. Three weeks before October 28 is October 7. That’s tomorrow. Three weeks before October 21 was September 30. The AWD date failed that test back in September.
Amazon has also said its fulfillment centers focus on receiving holiday stock in September and October, then shift to processing customer orders in November and December, and that sellers may see lower capacity limits in October and November.
What it means for a growing brand
Two things.
First, if your Black Friday inventory is still at the factory, on the water, or stacked in your garage, the cushion Amazon recommends is basically gone. The deadline isn’t gone. The cushion is. You can still ship, but every day in transit and every carton that needs relabeling comes out of time you don’t have.
Second, shipping on time doesn’t mean it all gets in. If your capacity limit is lower this month, some of what you planned to send won’t fit. That’s how brands end up with stock that’s ready to sell and nowhere to put it.
In my experience, what kills a late shipment usually isn’t demand. It’s the boring stuff. Amazon’s own checklist says missing box content information can disqualify a shipment from auto-receiving and trigger a manual processing fee. Delivery appointments should be booked at least seven days before the target arrival date, or 14 days out if you’re using Amazon’s partnered carrier program. Deal inventory should be packed in its own boxes, separate from everything else.
One more thing if you sell on your own site too. Amazon points out that your FBA inventory pool also fills your Multi-Channel Fulfillment orders. If your Shopify orders run through MCF, a short FBA inbound shorts your website at the same time.
What to do this week
- Split the catalog. Decide which SKUs absolutely have to be at Amazon by October 28: your top sellers and anything you’re running a deal on. Everything else can come later.
- Check Capacity Monitor before you build shipments. Build shipments around the limit you actually have, not the one you had in the summer.
- Get the prep right the first time. Correct FNSKU labels, box contents entered in Send to Amazon, deal stock boxed separately, and the appointment booked at least seven days out. A shipment that bounces in late October doesn’t get a second try before Black Friday.
- Have a plan for the overflow. Stock that doesn’t fit under your limit shouldn’t sit on a truck or in your garage. Keep it on the West Coast where it can go to Amazon in waves as space opens up, and ship your website orders straight from it so those sales aren’t waiting on Amazon.
- Put a January date on the calendar. Peak fees end January 14. Whatever doesn’t sell through the holidays needs a plan before storage costs take the margin.
Where Ship Depot fits
Our warehouse is in Palmdale, California. We do FBA prep, meaning labels, carton builds, and box contents, then send it to Amazon. We hold the overflow that doesn’t fit your capacity limit, and we can ship your Shopify and website orders from that same inventory. If your freight is coming in through the LA or Long Beach ports, we can pick it up there.
I won’t promise every shipment beats Amazon’s clock. Some of it is already late, and I’d rather tell you that on a phone call than after you’ve paid for it. What we can do this week is look at what you’ve got and tell you straight: what can still make October 28, what goes in a second wave, and what ships direct to your customers.
Call me at 818-510-1499, or request a quote on our Amazon FBA prep page.
— Argin, Ship Depot