The Grocery team is excited to announce the launch of our
Precision Inventory Tracking Program, which enables us to order short shelf life products previously prohibited at Amazon fulfillment centers. As of Aug 1, vendors can now upload grocery products that have a minimum shelf life of 30 days and do not require temperature control. Examples of items that meet this
new requirement include: fried snacks and baked goods.

Time Limits for Chargeback Disputes 
Beginning August 2, 2013, the time limit for disputing chargebacks will be reduced from 120 days to 30 days after the receipt of an infraction notice. We believe that this accelerated timing will help us to resolve your disputes faster. If you discover chargebacks that you believe to be caused by Amazon, please file a dispute in Vendor Central within 30 days, and provide supporting documentation to reverse the chargeback.

On-Time and Fill
Rate Non-Compliance Chargebacks 
We have recently improved our ship/delivery date expectations for purchase orders (POs) and re-evaluated our chargeback policy. As a result, we are phasing out Cancelled PO Units chargebacks in favor of new On-Time Non-Compliance and Unfilled by Cancel Date chargebacks. These changes require that you pay close attention to the
ship/delivery windows on POs so you can ensure that you have enough inventory to meet expectations and avoid penalties. The following new chargebacks will replace the Cancelled PO Units chargeback:

• On-Time
  Non-Compliance chargeback - Applies to non-compliant Early or Late events that occur prior to the order cancellation date.


• Unfilled by Cancel Date chargeback - Applies to confirmed items (including
  backordered line items) that you do not ship or that do not arrive before
  the order cancelation date. Vendors are notified by email and in Vendor
  Central in advance of upcoming order cancellations.


• What is the timeline for this change?
  

 

• April 2013 - We will notify     you about potential On-Time Non-Compliance and
  Unfilled by Cancel Date     chargebacks so you can make adjustments in your
  processes. The charges     will be waived until June 2013.


• June
  2013 - On-Time     Non-Compliance and Unfilled by Cancel Date chargebacks begin.
       Additionally, Cancelled PO Units chargebacks will end.

How
can you avoid these infractions? Follow these best practices when
confirming POs:

• Items
  immediately available     for fulfillment




• For
  collect orders,      ensure a routing request is submitted with the order ready
  for pickup      date within the ship window.


• For
  prepaid orders,      ensure your carrier is requesting an appointment to the
  Amazon warehouse      within the delivery window.

• Items
  not immediately     available




• If
  backorders are      allowed for the PO, confirm with a backorder acknowledgment
  code and      provide an estimated ship date (for collect orders) or estimated
  delivery      date (for prepaid orders). Update the estimated ship or delivery
  date for      backordered items if this date changes. Note that excessive
  backorder      rates will result in the revocation of backorder privileges.
  


• If
  backorders are not      allowed for the PO and you are unable to fulfill the
  item within the      window, reject the line item.


• Items
  with unknown     availability - Reject the line item.

Where can I get more information? Go to
Vendor Central > Resource Center > Operations > Chargeback Fee
Schedule and Info.

U.S. Product Suppression Due to Missing
Images Customer experience is our most important tenet. In fact,
research shows that images improve the shopping experience by making it easier for customers to find, evaluate, and purchase products. In the continuing effort to improve this experience, beginning Thursday, June 27, 2013, we will suppress from search and browse any U.S. product that does not have a main image. Please note the following conditions of this
initiative:
  To avoid being suppressed, your products must have a valid main image. This requirement applies to the parent SKU for main listings and to the child SKU for each color and  size variation. Products in the Automotive, BISS, and Media (Video, Books, Software, Video Games, DVD, and Music)  categories are excluded. This initiative does not    
affect the existing chargeback program.

New
Fee for Receiving Checks Beginning July 1, 2013, U.S. vendors whom we pay by check will
be assessed a fee of $15 per check. This fee only applies if you are currently
receiving checks from us, and if you sell physical inventory goods (this
excludes MP3, digital video, etc.) To prevent this fee, please update your
payment method to electronic funds transfer (EFT), by clicking Contact
Us at the bottom of any page in Vendor Central, then clicking
Accounting > I would like to update my remittance address or banking
information. As long as you submit your EFT change request by July 1,
2013, you will not be charged this fee, even if your request is not yet
processed. If you wait until after July 1, your account will be subject to the
check fee until we process your request. If you want to continue to receive
physical checks from us, but you do not want to change to EFT, no action is
needed, but you will be charged the $15 fee per check.

Update
to Prep Labeling, Boxing, and Bubble Wrap Chargebacks
Beginning July 1, 2013, the Prep - Barcode
Labeling chargeback will be phased out and combined with the Boxing and Bubble Wrap charges, as follows: 
Prep - Barcode
Labeling:     This chargeback will be phased out as a separate charge and combined with the Boxing and Bubble Wrap charges. 
 Prep -
Boxing: When we need to box an item, we also need a barcode label;
therefore, the Barcode Labeling and Boxing charges will be combined. Charges per item will     increase from $1.20 to $1.44. 
Prep - Bubble
Wrap: If we must remove anitem
from a box, package it in Bubble Wrap, then place it back in the      same box, the internal Bubble Wrap fee is charged. The charge per item remains unchanged at $0.70. 
If we must wrap the outside of a box in Bubble Wrap to prevent breakage, a new barcode labelis needed. The external Bubble Wrap charge per item will increase from $0.70 to $1.00. 
 No Barcode
on Item: If we receive an item without a barcode, the No Barcode on
Item charge will remain unchanged, at $5.00 per line item plus $1.00 per unit.
Chargeback
Extended to Small Parcel Shipments 
Our transportation
policy requires vendors who have collect freight terms to provide routing requests for all shipments. Starting July 2013, we will extend the current No Routing chargeback to small parcel shipments. The No Routing fee is charged when we receive collect shipments without a routing request.
Notifications of infractions will begin July 1, but you will have until August 31 to make corrections before the chargeback goes live. The fee will be $5 per infraction. 
 

Have your latest
products been enrolled in the Amazon Vine customer reviews
program? Start today to generate product buzz for the summer season. Whether for July 4th, a product launch, or an overall marketing effort, you can purchase regularly priced Vine enrollments for 25% off between
May 14 and June 14! Amazon Vine is a program that enables a highly ranked group of Amazon customers to post opinions about new and pre-release items to help fellow customers make educated purchasing decisions. These Vine Voices are invited based on the trust they have
earned in the Amazon community for writing insightful reviews. Vine provides members with free products that have been submitted to the program by vendors. 
As a Vine vendor, you no longer have to wait to generate buzz and get customer feedback. Voices receive early access to products that might not be available in the marketplace, so your product detail page will benefit from having Vine reviews featured on the same day as launch. Start enrolling your products into Vine
todayIf you have questions,
click Contact Us at the bottom of any page in Vendor Central,
then select Promotions and Merchandising (Co-op, Vine, SPA,
etc.) > Vine program: Interest in joining.



Note: This offer
applies only to new, regularly priced enrollments and cannot be used on previous
enrollments or enrollments covered by an existing Vine-related agreement. Offer
expires 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) June 14, 2013. Amazon may modify or cancel
this offer at any time. All other Vine-related fees and rules remain unchanged.
Any existing Vine-related agreements supersede this promotion. You must accept
the Vine Program terms and conditions. Amazon does not influence the opinions of
Amazon Vine members, nor do we modify or edit their reviews.

On-Time and Fill
Rate Non-Compliance Chargebacks 
We have recently improved our ship/delivery date expectations for purchase orders, and re-evaluated our chargeback policy. As a result, we are phasing out Cancelled PO
Units chargebacks in favor of the new On-Time Non-Compliance and Unfilled by Cancel Date chargebacks.
Why are
we making this change? Due to the dynamic nature of Amazon's e-Commerce business, variability in vendor prep and ship lead times can result in a lack of inventory, and subsequently, lost sales. Therefore, we ask you to pay close attention to the ship/delivery windows on your POs so you can ensure that you have enough inventory to meet expectations.
What are
the benefits of this change for you? By reducing your lead times, you will
improve inventory availability and increase your sales. The goal of this change is to improve the customer experience related to your products, and by extension, your product sales.
What is the timeline
for this change?

• April
  2013 - We will notify     you about potential On-Time Non-Compliance and
  Unfilled by Cancel Date     chargebacks so you can make adjustments in your
  processes. The charges     will be waived until June 2013.


• June
  2013 - We will begin     On-Time Non-Compliance and Unfilled by Cancel Date
  chargebacks.     Additionally, Cancelled PO Units chargebacks will be
  removed.

For more information,
go to Vendor Central > Resource Center > Operations Section >
Chargeback Fee Schedule and Info.