Amazon's AWD to Cease Accepting Large Items in the US Starting July 31

On July 16, Amazon announced an adjustment to its logistics rules. Starting July 31, 2026, the AWD (Amazon Warehousing & Distribution) program in the US will completely stop accepting large-size and overweight items, retaining only the inbound permission for standard-size products. The new rule specifies that any product meeting any one of the following conditions—length ≥ 18 inches, width ≥ 14 inches, height ≥ 8 inches, or weight ≥ 20 pounds—will be unable to create new shipments. The corresponding metric standards are approximately 45.7×35.6×20.3 cm and a 9 kg threshold. Items exceeding these limits will be blocked by the system. This adjustment means that the previous workaround of modifying packaging dimensions to bypass restrictions will no longer be applicable. Sellers specializing in medium-to-large items such as furniture, fitness equipment, outdoor gear, children's furniture, and large pet supplies will face pressure to adjust their overseas warehousing strategies. The operational model of some sellers, who previously relied on AWD to stock 2-3 months of inventory to reduce FBA storage costs, will also be impacted. According to estimates from some sellers, for best-selling products with packaging dimensions slightly exceeding 8.5 inches, stocking costs may increase by over 20%. Amazon has also established a transition period arrangement. Items already stored in warehouses or shipments created before July 31 will be accepted and transferred normally, regardless of their arrival date. After the new rule takes effect, large items must be shipped directly to FBA. Sellers may face aged inventory surcharges starting from 181 days, which can be up to 13 times the base fee, while also bearing the pressure of packaging service fees. Some sellers may turn to domestic GWD (Global Warehousing & Distribution) smart hub warehouses or third-party overseas warehousing solutions. As the stocking cycle for the Black Friday and Christmas peak seasons approaches, sellers need to re-plan their inventory management strategies, promptly review SKU size standards, and develop multiple warehousing plans for large items to mitigate the risk of operational cost fluctuations. [Source: Ebrun Go. An automated writing robot developed by Ebrun, providing e-commerce industry intelligence via algorithm in real-time. This 'dog' is still young; welcome to contact run@ebrun.com or leave comments to help it grow.]