Prime Day Fulfillment Strategy: How to Maximize FBA Wins

Coming at an as-of-yet unannounced date in July, Prime Day is one of the biggest sales events of the year. And if you’re like most sellers, you’re already planning how to make the most of it.

FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) is the default for fast, reliable Prime Day fulfillment, offering speed, visibility, and Prime eligibility. But leaning too hard on FBA without the right support can cause just as many problems as it solves.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the critical FBA timelines, the risks of going all-in without a backup plan, and how to reinforce your Prime Day strategy with smart support plays—so you can scale your order fulfillment wins and sidestep the chaos.

Why FBA Is Table-Stakes for Prime Day (and That’s OK)

Prime Day represents a major sales opportunity with intense competition and tight operational timelines. To keep up, most sellers use Fulfillment by Amazon or FBA.

FBA permits Amazon to store your products in its warehouses and handle picking, packing, and shipping. It’s a major advantage as your products become eligible for the Prime badge, which signals fast, reliable delivery and boosts customer trust.

Additionally, you have a chance at winning the Buy Box—the default purchase option shown on a product listing that dominates over 80% of all sales.

However, to qualify and maintain a Prime badge through FBA, you need to meet strict criteria as well as inbound deadlines. 

Amazon uses these deadlines to ensure inventory is received, processed, and distributed across its network in time for the surge in demand. Missing them can result in delayed delivery times, lost Buy Box eligibility, or stockouts during the peak sales window.

Alternative fulfillment methods like Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) and Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) are also available: 

• FBM means you store and ship the product yourself or through a third-party partner.
• SFP allows sellers to offer Prime shipping from their own facilities, but maintaining eligibility requires consistently high performance.

That said, both options account for a smaller fraction of Prime Day fulfillment. FBM sellers can’t even qualify for Prime membership unless they are also qualified for Seller Fulfilled Prime. 

Additionally, Amazon doesn’t publicly release specific percentages, but the company’s stronger focus on FBA and tighter criteria for FBM and SFP indicate that FBA is largely non-negotiable for sellers on Prime Day if they want to suceed. 

FBA vs FBM vs SFP

Each method has trade-offs worth understanding, especially if you’re building a contingency plan or managing multiple channels. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of FBA, SFP, and FBM as general and Prime Day fulfillment methods. 

Critical Deadlines for Sellers: Don’t Miss Your Window

Upon evaluating fulfillment methods, it’s time to move on to a critical portion of prep: the deadlines.

Meeting Amazon’s inbound and promotional deadlines is one of the most important parts of successful Prime Day fulfillment. These cutoffs determine which products are eligible for Prime, how they’re distributed across Amazon’s network, and whether your deals get visibility during the event.

Missing even one date can lead to stockouts, shipping delays, or missed promotional opportunities. Here are the key deadlines to plan around:

• May 5, 2025: Prime-Exclusive Price Discounts submissions open. Note that this closes six hours before the event ends.
• May 15, 2025: The Amazon Warehousing & Distribution (AWD) Inventory Cutoff date. Products sent by AWD are Prime-eligible and guarantee that warehouses are stocked. 
• May 23, 2025: The deal submission deadline. This date applies to Lightning Deals and Best Deals, which are key components of a successful Prime Day.
• June 9, 2025: The FBA minimal splits deadline. Shipping inventory by this date allows Amazon to reduce regional inventory splits. This results in quicker delivery times and reduced shipping expenses.
• June 18, 2025: The FBA optimize-splits deadline. Shipping by this date gives Amazon time to place your inventory across its network, aiding delivery speed and Prime eligibility.

To maximize visibility and ensure products arrive where they need to be, sellers should aim to hit these dates early. Building in buffer time is essential, especially if you plan to send inventory in waves or rely on AWD.

The Hidden Costs & Risks of an FBA-Only Strategy

FBA is the most reliable way to win during Prime Day, but overreliance comes with downsides that can erode your margins, disrupt your operations, or leave you scrambling after the event.

Here are some of the biggest risks to watch for:

• Aged inventory fees: Inventory that doesn’t sell quickly gets hit with long-term storage fees after 181 days in FBA. Overcommitting ahead of Prime Day can result in costly carryover stock.
• Inbound cutoff misses bring expedited freight costs: If your shipments arrive late, you may end up paying for air freight to make sure inventory is received in time, often at a steep premium.
• Operational downtime for other channels: When all your inventory is locked in FBA, DTC, Walmart, or other sales channels may be left understocked or paused entirely.
• Return surges and reverse logistics: Prime Day often brings elevated return rates, especially from impulse buyers. While FBA handles the return process, sellers lose visibility into returned inventory status and disposition, which can create uncertainty and negatively impact margins.
• Limited control over packaging and customer experience: With FBA, you have little to no say in how products are packed or how your brand is represented. You also lose access to customer data, making it harder to remarket or re-engage.

Where Flowspace Fits Around FBA (5 Support Plays)

Over time, costs add up. FBA is important to Prime Day fulfillment, but it doesn’t need to operate in a vacuum. 

The key is to plan around these risks with added flexibility, visibility, and control. As a fulfillment operations platform, Flowspace supports and strengthens your FBA strategy. Through a mixture of hands-on operations and technology enablement, you can develop a more resilient, margin-conscious fulfillment plan around Amazon’s infrastructure.

Here are five major ways we help: 

1. FBA Prep Hubs

Unlike FBA, where prep services involve variable costs and inconsistent timelines, Flowspace offers predictable, reliable support. Facilities near Amazon fulfillment centers can handle labeling, compliance checks, and pallet builds.

You can not only meet Amazon’s requirements ahead of Prime Day, but you can also reduce receiving delays and accelerate replenishment. FBA prep covers everything from fragile items and bundles to boxed units, and more, protecting your products and improving the customer experience.

2. Overflow Buffer

Another major support element is storage. Brands can store excess inventory with Flowspace and send it to FBA gradually, based on how quickly products are selling.

Given the unpredictability of demand—Prime Day accelerates sales, but seasonal spikes can be hard to manage, especially when scaling—this approach helps you avoid long-term storage fees and keep stock moving even after the event.

3. Omnichannel Continuity

As the leading fulfillment operations platform, Flowspace combines execution, software, and support to enable omnichannel fulfillment.

Keep non-Amazon channels—like your Shopify store or Walmart listings—running smoothly. For example, Rukket Sports used Flowspace to centralize fulfillment across Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, maintaining visibility and inventory control while diversifying their sales channels.

“The biggest benefit of working with Flowspace is the ability to diversify sales channels without adjusting our inventory practices.” – Nick Newlin, VP, Rukket Sports

4. Rapid Repositioning & Returns Management

If products underperform, you can avoid the 181-day Amazon storage fee by submitting a removal order before the monthly cutoff (the 15th of each month).

From there, you can refurbish or reroute it to other channels like retail or DTC. Flowspace enables fast inventory repositioning through its connected network, helping you avoid long-term storage fees, reduce waste, and keep slow-moving stock productive.

5. Post-Prime Analytics

Once Prime Day ends, Flowspace provides a clear breakdown of fulfillment cost by channel. With full visibility into costs, performance, and inventory movement, you can make smarter, margin-conscious decisions heading into your next buy cycle.

Together, analytics and the aforementioned support plays help reduce risk, protect your brand experience, and bring flexibility to your Prime Day strategy, even within the structure of FBA.

Pre-Prime Day Preparation Checklist

A strong Prime Day performance starts weeks in advance. Use this checklist to stay ahead of Amazon’s deadlines, keep inventory flowing, and avoid last-minute bottlenecks:

• Forecast demand and secure FBA inbound capacity: Review historical sales, seasonal trends, and marketing plans to project order volume. Lock in your FBA shipping slots early to avoid cutoff stress.
• Ship your first FBA wave and stage overflow at Flowspace hubs: Get your initial inventory into FBA ahead of the split optimization deadlines. Store surplus with Flowspace for controlled, post-launch replenishment.
• Optimize product listings and finalize your promo calendar: Refresh product detail pages with updated images, bullet points, and keywords. Align deal submissions with your marketing timeline.
• Secure ad budgets across Amazon and off-Amazon platforms: Set aside budget for Sponsored Products, retargeting ads, and any influencer or paid media you plan to run around Prime Day.
• QA your customer service macros and returns workflows: Prep your support team with updated response templates for shipping questions, late deliveries, and return inquiries. Ensure return policies are clear and customer-friendly.

Next Steps: Prep Smarter with Flowspace

Prime Day brings opportunity, but it also introduces complexity that can strain even the most seasoned operations. Relying solely on FBA may get you in the game, but building a support system around it is what sets high-performing brands apart.

Flowspace helps sellers prepare smarter, respond faster, and maintain control before, during, and after the event. Whether you’re looking to streamline prep, avoid aged inventory fees, or keep your other channels running strong, we’re here to help you deliver.

Ready to prep? Talk with a Fulfillment Consultant today about bolting Flowspace onto your Prime Day FBA plan.

Written By:

Maria Helena Mikkelsen

Maria is the content marketing specialist at Flowspace, where she drives brand awareness, engagement, and lead generation for omnichannel ecommerce fulfillment. Backed by over 4 years of experience writing and editing for B2B SaaS companies, Maria supports organic marketing efforts and creates content to educate, build trust, and improve the buyer journey.