A launch on hold for a missing sheet
The stock is on its way. The listing is written. Then the product is flagged for dangerous goods review because it contains a lithium battery, or a small bottle of cleaning fluid, or a fragrance. Amazon asks for a safety data sheet or an exemption sheet. Your supplier's sales contact goes quiet. When the document arrives, it is out of date, in the wrong language or for a slightly different product code, and the review starts again.
Meanwhile the cartons arrive at the fulfilment centre and cannot be made available for sale, or they cannot be sent at all.
Why this catches sellers out
Dangerous goods classification is not obvious from the product type. A torch with a built-in battery, a candle set, a bike lubricant or a hair styling spray can all need documents. The seller adding the product often does not know until Amazon asks, and by then the product is already ordered.
- Nobody asks the dangerous goods questions when a product is first sourced.
- Safety data sheets sit in suppliers' inboxes, not yours.
- Documents go out of date or refer to an older formulation.
- The same product sold in several marketplaces may need documents in different languages.
- Nobody tracks which products already passed review and which are pending.
We are not dangerous goods specialists, and nothing here is a view on how any product should be classified. That is a matter for Amazon's review, your supplier and, where needed, a qualified adviser. What we can fix is the paperwork chase around it.
The cost of a stalled launch
Stock sitting in a fulfilment centre without being sellable still takes capacity and may attract fees. The launch window you planned, perhaps timed for a season, passes. Advertising budget set aside for the launch is unused or wasted on a listing that cannot sell. And the team spends days on emails with a supplier who is not in a hurry.
If a product is classified differently from what you expected, the cost of storing and shipping it may change too, which affects whether it is worth selling at all. Finding that out after ordering is the expensive way round.
The document register we build
- A new product form, filled in when a product is sourced, that asks the questions that usually indicate dangerous goods review: batteries, liquids, aerosols, gases, magnets, flammable or corrosive contents.
- An automatic request to the supplier for the safety data sheet or other documents as soon as a product is flagged, with reminders until they arrive.
- A check of each document when it arrives: product name and code match, revision date, language, and whether all expected sections are present. Anything doubtful is sent to a person.
- A register per product showing documents held, their dates, which marketplaces they cover and the current review status on Amazon, read through the Selling Partner API where available.
- Alerts when a document is getting old, when a supplier changes a formulation or when a product's review status changes.
- A pack ready for upload to Seller Central, so the person doing it has the right files named correctly.
| Product type | Documents usually requested |
|---|---|
| Contains or ships with a battery | Battery information, sometimes a test summary |
| Liquids and gels | Safety data sheet |
| Aerosols | Safety data sheet |
| Fragrances and essential oils | Safety data sheet |
| Nothing hazardous but flagged | Exemption sheet from the supplier |
The table is a guide to what gets asked for, not a classification. Amazon decides what it needs for each product, and your supplier and adviser decide what the documents say.
New products afterwards
When your buyer adds a candidate product, the form asks the dangerous goods questions straight away. If there is a chance of review, the documents are requested from the supplier before the order is placed, while the supplier still wants your business. By the time stock ships, the pack is ready, and the listing goes through review without the usual weeks of chasing.
Existing products benefit too. The register shows which documents are old and which products were never checked, so gaps can be closed before Amazon asks.
The register is also useful beyond Amazon. Couriers, 3PLs and other marketplaces ask for the same documents, and now you can send them in minutes.
Is this slowing your launches?
- A product launch has stalled waiting for a safety data sheet.
- You find out about dangerous goods review after stock is ordered.
- Supplier documents are scattered across email threads.
- Nobody knows which of your products have passed review.
- Documents have been rejected for being out of date or for the wrong product.