Good morning, sellers! Welcome to February 12, 2026’s edition of your daily Amazon briefing.
Today we’re covering FBA Capacity Manager constraints that are quietly forcing operational changes, critical policy updates, fresh opportunities in Home & Kitchen, and the compliance changes you need to know before they hit your account. Let’s dive in…
Data timestamp: February 12, 2026 — 9:42 AM ET
1. TOP STORY OF THE DAY
What happened:
Seller Forum moderation and official responses continue to confirm a hard constraint: if you are over your FBA capacity/storage limit, you can be blocked from creating new shipping plans—even when the inventory would arrive months later. In one recent thread, an Amazon representative stated sellers “will not be able to create a new shipment until your inventory level drops below your limit,” and warned that units sent above limits “may be refused” at the fulfillment center. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Why it matters:
- Inventory decisions: You can’t “stage” Q1/Q2 production by building shipping plans early if you’re currently over limit—this pushes you into late planning, higher air freight risk, or missed windows. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Cash flow & margin: Being forced into removal orders (return/dispose) to get under limit can create immediate per-unit cost spikes and liquidation leakage. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Operational risk: This is no longer “just a restock limit issue”—it’s a workflow blocker that hits sourcing timelines.
Expert take:
Amazon’s real lever here is behavioral—capacity constraints aren’t just throttling inbound volume, they’re forcing sellers to prove sell-through before planning inbound. The second-order effect: sellers who rely on long-lead-time manufacturing get squeezed hardest unless they adopt buffer warehousing (AWD/3PL) or keep a cleaner aged-inventory profile.
Action items:
Do now (today):
- If you’re blocked: create a removal order plan immediately for the slowest movers—Amazon explicitly lists sell-through, return, or disposal as the only paths to reduce FC inventory and restore shipment creation. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Review pending Capacity Manager requests—Amazon evaluates availability “every 3 to 4 days” and allocates based on highest reservation fee per cubic foot until capacity runs out. If you’re low in the stack, you can cancel and resubmit at a higher fee. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Wait / hedge:
- Don’t over-request capacity you won’t use—Amazon warns unused granted capacity can impact IPI and you’ll owe remaining balance after credits. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Sources: (sellercentral.amazon.com)
2. AMAZON POLICY & PROGRAM UPDATES
A) Selling Policies & Terms
- Unavailable — No verified Seller Central announcement surfaced in the last 48 hours via accessible sources.
B) FBA & Fulfillment
- FBA Capacity Limits / Shipping Plan Block — Amazon forum response confirms shipment creation is blocked while you’re over limit; excess inventory “may be refused.” (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Capacity Manager Allocation Mechanics — Availability evaluated “every 3 to 4 days”; approvals start with highest reservation fee per cubic foot; sellers advised to compare their bid vs granted bids and resubmit if needed. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
C) Advertising & Marketing
- Unavailable — No verified Amazon Ads change published in the last 48 hours found in current sources.
D) Compliance & Safety
- CPSC Recall—PurSteam Travel Steamers (Burn Hazard) — Aterian recalled ~75,400 PurSteam Elite Travel Steamers (PS-510) and ~119,000 PurSteam Mighty Lil Steamers (PS-550) due to hot-water expulsion risk; sold online including Amazon.com. (cpsc.gov)
E) Payments & Financial
- Unavailable — No verified seller-facing disbursement/reserve update surfaced in the last 48 hours.
2A. FALSE ALARMS & NOISE FILTER
What’s circulating but NOT verified:
- “AWD appointment booking is still broken across lanes”
Status: Monitoring (forum anecdote; not confirmed by Amazon). (reddit.com)
Why it matters if true: AWD becomes the default hedge when FBA capacity blocks shipments.
What we actually know: Only seller discussion; no official operational notice located. (reddit.com) - “Invoices directly from manufacturer still don’t ungate brands”
Status: Unverified (single thread; not an Amazon policy bulletin). (reddit.com)
Why it matters if true: Documentation risk elevates Account Health exposure for resellers.
What we actually know: A seller claims prolonged gating despite documentation; no updated Amazon policy text found today. (reddit.com)
3. MARKETPLACE OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS (Verified Only)
Threat: CPSC recall exposure can cascade into ASIN suppression + account scrutiny
Setup: CPSC recalled specific PurSteam steamers sold on Amazon.com; remedy requires proof of cord cut and refund process. (cpsc.gov)
Math: If you’re holding recalled units at FBA, your downside is not just stranded inventory—expect removal/disposal + suppressed listing + potential reimbursement disputes (case-by-case). (Direct Amazon enforcement mechanics: Unavailable—no Amazon bulletin located.)
Who this fits: Any seller in Home & Kitchen, small appliances, travel steamers—plus any reseller running RA/OA where catalog contamination is common.
Window: Recall date February 5, 2026—immediate action expected; missed action increases safety/compliance risk. (cpsc.gov)
Execute:
- Audit catalog for “PurSteam” and model terms “PS-510” / “PS-550”; check stranded/suppressed inventory. (cpsc.gov)
- If you have units: pause replenishment; create removals if needed; document lots/date codes where possible (date codes listed by CPSC). (cpsc.gov)
- Prep customer support macro: recall acknowledgment + redirect to manufacturer recall portal (don’t improvise safety claims).
Sources: (cpsc.gov)
4. TOOLS, SOFTWARE & AUTOMATION UPDATES
- Unavailable — No verified, workflow-relevant tool update >20% pricing change or platform-level change surfaced in the last 48 hours from accessible sources.
5. ADVERTISING & PPC INSIGHTS
- Unavailable — No verified Amazon Ads release/change in the last 48 hours located in current sources. (If you want, tell me your top 3 categories and I’ll narrow-source a category-specific PPC scan next run.)
6. INTERNATIONAL & CROSS-BORDER
- FBA Capacity Limits expanding (MENA/TR/SG marketplaces) — Amazon announced that on January 1, 2026 it replaced quarterly storage limits with monthly capacity limits in UAE, KSA, Egypt, Türkiye, and Singapore—aligning with systems already in place in US/EU/UK/JP/CA. (Not “new today,” but recently crawled; included only as an operational parallel for global sellers.) (sellercentral.amazon.eg)
If you’re US-based only: actionable impact today is low.
7. SELLER COMMUNITY PULSE
Pattern recognition from forums:
- Early warning signals: Sellers hitting hard blocks on shipment creation due to current capacity overages—even when inbound won’t arrive until late February 2026. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Workarounds in action: Community discussion converges on removals + selling through + (unverified) AWD/3PL fallback. Officially, Amazon reiterates sell-through/removal/disposal as the levers. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Mistake patterns: Sellers assume they can build shipping plans “in advance” while over limit—current workflow blocks that. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Practical Q&A:
- “Can I create shipping plans now if the shipment arrives later and I’m currently over limit?” → No—Amazon staff response says you can’t create a new shipment until inventory drops below the limit; excess can be refused at FCs. → Resource: Removal order workflow in Seller Central. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- “How often does Capacity Manager allocate, and how are approvals decided?” → Amazon evaluates availability regularly (example: every 3-4 days) and approves from highest reservation fee per cubic foot downward until capacity is allocated. → Resource: track granted vs your submitted fee; cancel/resubmit if needed. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
8. COMPLIANCE & ACCOUNT HEALTH ALERTS
- CPSC Recall—PurSteam steamers — If you sell recalled items (even as a reseller), treat this as immediate compliance exposure: suppress listings, pull inventory, and preserve sourcing docs in case of authenticity/safety follow-ups. (cpsc.gov)
- Broader enforcement backdrop: CPSC has previously asserted Amazon’s responsibility as a “distributor” for hazardous products sold via FBA, increasing platform sensitivity around recalls and remediation actions. (Not new in the last 48 hours; included as context only.) (cpsc.gov)
9. DEALS, EXITS & ACQUISITIONS
- Unavailable — No verified aggregator/exit market datapoint published in the last 48 hours found in current sources.
10. LOOKING AHEAD
- If you’re operating near capacity: expect Capacity Manager allocation cycles every few days—plan removals and sell-through with that cadence so you don’t lose another week. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Recall monitoring: set alerts for your top 20 selling SKUs’ subcategory keywords on CPSC (small appliances are active this week). (autodiscover.cpsc.gov)
11. KEY METRICS SNAPSHOT (when available)
- Unavailable — No last-7-days benchmark datapoints (CPC/ACOS/storage rates) found in current verified sources.
CLOSING
Tomorrow’s Watch List:
- Any new Seller Central notice tying Capacity Manager reservation fees to updated credit rates or limit calculations. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Additional CPSC recall drops relevant to Amazon-heavy categories (Home & Kitchen, Kids, Tools)—recall feed is active. (autodiscover.cpsc.gov)
- Seller-reported shipment refusal patterns following “over limit” inbound attempts (needs verification).
Question of the Day:
What % of your FBA cubic feet is tied up in SKUs with <1.0 monthly turns, and what’s your per-unit removal/disposal break-even versus 30-day price cuts?
Quick Win:
Pull a “capacity unblock” removal list → Reduce shipment-creation lock risk within 24-72 hours → Seller Central > Manage Inventory > filter aged/low sell-through SKUs > create Removal order (return or dispose) for the slowest movers. (sellercentral.amazon.com)