A disposal order instructs Amazon to permanently discard unsellable or excess FBA inventory. Learn when it makes financial sense, what it costs, and how to avoid racking up unnecessary disposal fees.
A disposal order is a request you submit in Seller Central instructing Amazon to permanently destroy specific units sitting in their fulfillment centers. Unlike a removal order—where inventory is shipped back to a return address you specify—a disposal order results in the units being discarded and is irreversible. Amazon charges a per-unit disposal fee for carrying out this service.
A removal order ships your inventory back to you, giving you options—refurbish it, sell it elsewhere, or donate it. A disposal order eliminates those options permanently. Disposal fees are lower per unit, but removal preserves the ability to recover value. For any inventory that still has resale or liquidation potential, removal is almost always the smarter financial move.
Amazon charges per-unit disposal fees that scale with product size. Standard-size items are cheaper to dispose of than oversized units. Fees may seem small in isolation, but disposing of hundreds of units at once adds up fast—especially for low-cost products. Always do the math: compare the total disposal fee against ongoing storage fees, liquidation revenue, or shipping-back costs before pulling the trigger.
The best way to minimize disposal costs is to avoid overstocking in the first place. Use demand forecasting, run timely promotions to clear slow-movers, and monitor your IPI (Inventory Performance Index) regularly in Seller Central. Staying aware of FBA restock limits, seasonal demand shifts, and aging inventory reports helps you maintain lean, cost-efficient stock levels.
