What to Do With Amazon Removal Orders: A Complete Guide for Sellers

An Amazon removal order is a request, either triggered by Amazon or made by you as the seller, to pull inventory out of Amazon's fulfillment centers. Amazon then either ships it back to you, disposes of it, or in some cases liquidates it through their own in-house program. You get a removal order for all kinds of reasons: customer returns that Amazon can no longer sell as new, damaged units, expired products, or simply stock that has sat too long and is racking up long-term storage fees.

If you sell on Amazon or Walmart long enough, removal orders become a normal part of doing business. The question is not whether you will get one, it is what you do with the inventory once it lands on your plate.

Why Sellers Get Removal Orders

Customer Returns

When a customer returns an item, Amazon inspects it. If it is not in new condition, it usually cannot go back on the virtual shelf. That unit becomes part of your unsellable inventory pool, and eventually gets rolled into a removal order.

Stranded Inventory

Sometimes a listing gets suppressed or removed for a policy reason, and the inventory tied to it becomes stranded. It is sitting in a warehouse with nowhere to sell.

Excess and Slow-Moving Stock

Products that are not moving fast enough start accumulating long-term storage fees. At some point it becomes cheaper to remove the stock than to keep paying Amazon to store it.

Amazon's 2026 Removal and Disposal Fee Changes

In March 2026, Amazon shifted removal and disposal fees to a per-unit billing model, with rates ranging roughly from $0.84 to $14.32 per unit depending on size and weight, and fees are charged as items actually ship out rather than in bulk. This made the old habit of just clicking dispose noticeably more expensive, and it is a big reason more sellers are now actively researching better options.

Your Four Options When a Removal Order Lands in Your Inbox

Option 1: Have It Shipped Back to You

Amazon will ship the inventory to your address. This sounds simple, but now the problem is fully yours. You need somewhere to store it, a way to list and sell it yourself, and you are paying shipping twice: once to get it back, and again if you resell it somewhere else. Most sellers who choose this option end up with boxes of returns sitting in a garage or storage unit for months.

Option 2: Dispose of It

Amazon will destroy the inventory for a per-unit fee. You recover exactly $0. This only makes financial sense for products that genuinely have no resale value anywhere, such as expired consumables or items that failed a safety check.

Option 3: Liquidate It

Liquidation companies buy your inventory in bulk, usually sight unseen or with only a rough description, and pay accordingly. Because the buyer is taking on the risk of not knowing the exact condition of every unit, liquidation typically recovers only 1 to 15 percent of what the inventory originally cost you. It is fast, but it is also the option that leaves the most money on the table.

Option 4: Use a Returns and Removal Order Resale Service

This is the option most sellers have never heard of, which is exactly why it is worth explaining clearly. A returns and removal order resale service, like Emerald Management, receives your inventory at their own warehouse, inspects each item individually rather than treating it as one bulk lot, and lists it for sale on eBay and other marketplaces at a price that reflects its actual condition. When an item sells, you get a share of the profit. You never have to store the inventory, list it, handle customer questions, or ship anything to a buyer yourself.

Why this matters

The difference between liquidation and a resale service comes down to one thing: liquidation sells your inventory blind, in bulk, to someone who has to guess at its value. A resale service inspects and lists each item individually, so it sells much closer to what it is actually worth.

Removal Order Options Compared

Option	What You Recover	Effort Required	Time to Payment
Ship back to yourself	100% of the inventory, 0% guaranteed cash	High, you store, list and ship it	None, you still own it
Dispose	$0	None	N/A
Liquidation	Roughly 1 to 15% of original cost	Low	Fast, single payout
Resale service (Emerald)	Fair market value, split with you, often far more than liquidation	Very low, we do the work	Ongoing, paid out monthly

Why This Matters More for Name-Brand Sellers

If you sell private label products, your brand recognition disappears the moment an item leaves Amazon, which limits what it is worth on the secondary market. If you sell name-brand products, the opposite is true. Your inventory already has proven demand on eBay and other marketplaces, because shoppers recognize and search for those brands directly. This is exactly the gap Emerald Management focuses on. Learn more about our removal order and inventory removal service for name-brand Amazon and Walmart sellers.

How the Process Actually Works

In simple terms, you send us your removal orders and unfulfillable inventory, we inspect and list it, it sells, and you get paid. For a full step-by-step breakdown of exactly what happens at each stage, read our guide on how returns resale services work.

What Happens If You Just Ignore the Removal Order

Some sellers leave removal orders unaddressed simply because they are busy running the rest of the business. This is understandable, but it is also the most expensive path of all. Inventory that is not removed keeps accruing long-term storage fees in Amazon's warehouse every single month it sits there. Those fees do not pause while you decide what to do, they keep adding up in the background.

On top of the ongoing storage cost, that inventory represents capital you already spent and cannot use anywhere else in your business. It cannot fund your next purchase order, it cannot cover ad spend, and it cannot help you take advantage of a good supplier deal. Every week it sits untouched is a week that money is doing nothing for you.

How to Decide Which Option Is Right for a Given Batch of Inventory

Not every removal order needs the same treatment. A simple way to think about it is to ask three questions. First, does the item still have resale value anywhere, even outside Amazon? If genuinely not, disposal is the only realistic option. Second, do you need cash back quickly and are you comfortable accepting a lower amount for that speed? If so, liquidation may fit. Third, is the product name-brand with recognizable demand on eBay or other marketplaces, and are you willing to wait slightly longer for a bigger payout? In that case, a resale service is usually the strongest option.

Many sellers end up using more than one option depending on the batch. A pallet of expired or damaged goods might go straight to disposal, while name-brand electronics or apparel returns go to a resale service instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What counts as an Amazon removal order?

A removal order is a request, either automatic or seller-initiated, that tells Amazon to send inventory out of its fulfillment centers because it is unsellable, stranded, aged, or no longer wanted in FBA.

Q: Is it better to dispose of or liquidate my inventory?

Disposal returns zero dollars and only makes sense for genuinely worthless inventory. Liquidation returns a small amount quickly. For a full cost comparison, see our removal order vs disposal vs liquidation guide.

Q: Can Walmart WFS sellers use a resale service too?

Yes. This model works for any seller with returned or unsellable inventory, whether it came from Amazon FBA or Walmart WFS.

Q: How much of my inventory's value can I actually recover?

It depends on which option you choose. A resale service that lists items individually typically outperforms liquidation by a wide margin. See how capital recovery actually works.

Q: How long does it take to receive payment once inventory is sent to a resale service?

Payouts are typically issued on a regular monthly cycle, along with a statement showing exactly what sold and what your share was for that period.

The Bottom Line

A removal order does not have to mean a loss. Disposal guarantees you get nothing back, liquidation gets you a small amount fast, and a resale service, when your products are name-brand, is usually the option that puts the most money back in your pocket without asking you to do any of the work yourself.

If you want to see exactly what your removal orders and unsellable inventory could recover, get a free quote from Emerald Management and find out.