Amazon is giving preference to essential items at warehouses amidst coronavirus

E-commerce giant Amazon is not accepting to stock certain items in its warehouses as it is already dealing with overwhelming demand for the household essentials due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Some of the third-party sellers of items which are non-essential can find it tough to ship the orders to the customers. The new measure is expected to be in place till April 5, 2020 and cover the warehouses across Europe and the US. Some of the items like toilet paper from many brands continue to be out of stock on the Amazon website.

The decision to restrict the warehouse stock has left some of the sellers disappointed. One of the seller said that their sales have doubled but Amazon has halted all of their shipments. Another seller called the decision as crazy as people are preparing for the worst. However, the third party sellers can list as well as sell items on Amazon but the catch is that they will have to do the packing and shipping of the products themselves. Amazon has given an explanation that they are currently giving priority to the house hold essentials which are staples and include medical supplies, and products which are high on demand that are coming to the fulfillment centres so they can receive, restock and deliver the products to the customers.

The e-commerce giant added that they understand that this is also causing discomfort for the selling partners and also appreciate their understanding. Another seller with Amazon defended the decision taken by the giant and said that it is doing the right thing. Many of the small businesses might be hurt but some might even go bankrupt if the supply chain disturbance extends to more than a month.

At the same time it is also important that Amazon prepares itself to be able to provide the essential items to people in the time of crisis.

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