Notes on the specific mechanics of selling on Amazon: not general advice, the parts that actually trip sellers up.
The Sales Dashboard, Business Reports, Payments, and Ads show different totals because they measure different events on different timelines, not broken reports.
The formulas behind units ordered, sessions, unit session percentage, Featured Offer percentage, ACOS, TACOS, days of inventory, and return rate, read together.
Reserved inventory isn't one thing. Customer-order units are already sold, FC-transfer units may still be purchasable, and FC-processing units may need review.
Stranded inventory sits inside Amazon's network racking up storage charges while the offer is inactive. Here is what causes it and how to fix it fast.
IPI runs 0 to 1,000, based on excess inventory, sell-through, stranded stock, and in-stock performance. A lagging metric, not worth chasing past a safe number.
Amazon's sell-through metric divides units shipped over 90 days by average FBA inventory, a ratio, not a percentage, that can differ from spreadsheet math.
Search Catalog Performance starts with the ASIN, not the query, showing which products have a search-funnel problem and where they lose shoppers along the way.
SQP shows how a customer search moves through impressions, clicks, cart adds, and purchases, revealing exactly where your brand's share collapses at each stage.
SAFE-T claims are often decided at the return bench. Inspect promptly, photograph before restocking, and file within the deadline shown in Manage SAFE-T Claims.
Amazon reimburses lost or damaged FBA inventory based on sourcing cost, not retail profit. Dispute windows run about 60 days, so reconcile weekly, not monthly.
AWD is not just cheaper FBA storage, and a 3PL is not just a pricier warehouse. They are different control systems, and confusing them can cause stockouts.
Capacity is measured in cubic feet, but profit comes from units. A capacity request should be modeled at the SKU level, not judged by the cubic foot alone.
