5 Helpful Tips When Moving Your Amazon Business
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Moving can be stressful! I did it recently and took a few notes that I hope you will find helpful when moving your business!
Here’s what we will cover -
Manage Inventory
Vacation Mode
Protect Important Documents
Change Your Address
Save Your Boxes!
Manage Inventory (4-6 weeks from moving)
When moving you want to pack and move as little as possible. That includes your inventory!
Moving is the perfect opportunity to clean up and organize your inventory.
Take a few days to go through every single bit of inventory you may have lingering around your home or office. Make a decision for each item. For example -
Are you storing seasonal inventory? Pack these items first and label them.
Do you have inventory you want to send FBA? Send these items to Amazon ASAP.
Do you have inventory you want to sell FBM? List these items immediately, in effort to get them sold ASAP.
Are you selling some items on another marketplace? List these items immediately, in effort to get them sold ASAP.
Do you have some items you are donating or giving away? Drop them off ASAP.
Damaged, Expired inventory? Trash
Will you be using some of your old inventory for yourself? Add those items to your personal stash.
Here is an inventory spreadsheet that will help you understand what you have, how much, when it expires and more. This spreadsheet is customizable… so jazz it up if you’d like. (File>Make a Copy. This will allow you to edit the spreadsheet)
Taking inventory may feel a little overwhelming at first, that is why I recommend starting early. And remember… you’ve got this!
Vacation Mode (1-2 weeks before moving)
If you are selling Amazon FBM you will need to set your account to vacation mode 1-2 weeks before moving. This will prevent you from having to fulfill any FBM orders.
Keep in mind, you will still need to respond to any buyer messages while on vacation mode so be sure to check your email or account daily.
Another thing to be aware of is that your Amazon FBA sales will not be paused while on vacation mode which is great for you! As long as you have FBA inventory available, you will still be able to make sales while you’re in the process of moving. That’s cool!
When you decide to set your account to vacation mode is entirely up to you and your situation. Simply take your account off vacation mode when you are ready to start selling and fulfilling FBM orders again!
Protect Important Documents (1 week before moving)
Receipts, EIN documents, Tax Exemption, and other important business papers should be organized all year round… but that doesn’t always happen. Oops!
If you haven’t already, be sure to find all your important documents and pack them in a very special, clearly labeled and protected box before you move.
I was fortunate enough to find a very large FREE filing cabinet next to a dumpster. SCORE!
If the dumpster gods haven’t blessed you with a giant free filing cabinet yet, or maybe you don’t need a giant filing cabinet, one of these portable filing boxes should work perfectly!
Change Address (within a week after move)
Last but not least, if you use your personal address for your business you will need to update that. This should be done as soon as you move in!
If you are interested in taking this opportunity to update your address to a private address, I recently wrote a blog how to do just that! Just click the button below to read that blog.
Keep in mind, if you are updating your Amazon business address you will need to to through the verification process with Amazon. This may temporarily give you a “your account is at risk of deactivation” warning.
But don’t worry, the warning should clear up once you have successfully completed the verification process!
Save Your Boxes (After Move)
One last tip before I go! This one is probably a no brainer for every Amazon seller. Be sure to keep all your moving boxes and packing paper.
They will come in handy when shipping out your next FBA order!
And that’s it!
With these four tips in mind, I wish you the best of luck with your move, and may this transition mark a new chapter of success for your business!
