AMAZON.COM CONFIDENTIAL 1 LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 2019
Born to Run Program Policy & FAQs
1) What is Born to Run?
Born to Run is an invite-only program that allows you to request orders for a product by telling Amazon
how many units of that product you expect to sell through in 10 weeks. Amazon will review your request
and – if approved – will buy up to that amount. Units that don’t sell through within 10 weeks are subject
to returns or retention fees (at your election).
2) What is a vendor example of Born to Run?
In Q3 of 2019, an Amazon vendor used Born to Run to maximize the sales of one of their promotional
ASINs. To address the low forecast on their ASIN, the vendor used Born to Run to support the promotion
with an additional 480 units of stock beyond what Amazon had ordered. The ASINs sold 1k units in the
first 3 weeks, and remained 97% instock due to their born to Run submission. The ASINs sold a total of
6.5k units over the 10 week period. Since the sellthrough exceeded the vendor’s initial submission, they
were not subject to a return or retention fee and were successfully able to leverage Born To Run to drive
topline sales.
3) Why should I use Born to Run?
Born to Run allows you to encourage Amazon to increase our inventory position in your products,
including during product launches or planned marketing campaigns. Doing so will decrease out of stock
risk and allow you to capture the full upside of a sales spike.
4) What is the 10 week “sellthrough period”? What happens if my product hasn’t sold after the period
ends?
You can use Born to Run to request an order quantity that you believe will sell through within 10 weeks-
called the “sellthrough period” The 10 week sellthrough period will start 20 days from your B2Run
submission date (to account for transportation lead time) and last for 70 days. At the time of Born To Run
ASIN submission, you choose what you want Amazon to do with any inventory that is unsold after the 10
week sellthrough period, choosing between the following preferences:
1. Amazon may return unsold units, taking into account weeks of cover and sell-through. In case any
such unsold units are returned by Amazon, you will refund 100% of the product cost for any units so
returned, plus 10% shipping and handling fees
OR
2. Amazon will keep unsold units. You will provide Amazon a ‘retention fee’ equal to 25% of the cost
of the unsold units. Note that Amazon’s standard terms for returning defective or damaged units still
applies.
AMAZON.COM CONFIDENTIAL 2 LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 2019
5) Will my Born to Run submission be the only POs my ASIN will receive in the 10 week sellthrough
period?
Not necessarily- if the ASIN receives sales traction before 10 weeks, Amazon systems will forecast/buy
into the ASIN normally. The Born to Run Program is simply meant to jumpstart this flywheel and help
prevent successful products from going out of stock.
6) What ASINs can participate? If my ASIN meets these parameters, how can I submit it to Born to
Run?
We operate an invite only program and we impose certain operational, profitability and other
requirements and checks which we continually iterate on in order to ensure that Born to Run provides the
optimal vendor experience and outcomes for us. You can submit new or existing products to Born to Run
by going to Vendor Central -> Orders -> Vendor Initiated Orders -> Born to Run. From there, you will
specify the ASIN and unit quantities you want to submit. Amazon will then evaluate your submission and
– if approved – a PO will be generated within 2 business days from that approval. We also provide you
with an option to launch a Self-Service Performance Advertising (SSPA) campaign automatically for your
submitted ASINs.
7) Where can I see if my submission was approved? Once it is approved, where can I track sales within
the 10 week “sellthrough period”?
Once an offer has been submitted, you can see it in the “Under Review” tab of Vendor Central. We will
review the offer at an ASIN level and, therefore, we may accept or reject offers for each ASIN submitted.
If we have approved an offer for an ASIN, you will see the approved quantity in the “Active Offers” tab
and will receive a PO for the submitted quantity of that ASIN. On the Active Offers tab, you can also click
“Go to Details” to see the sellthrough rate of each of your submitted Born to Run ASINs.
8) When should I expect a PO?
Before you submit an ASIN for Born to Run, please ensure (1) you currently have ample stock of the ASIN(s)
on hand and (2) your warehouse team is ready to process the order immediately. The timing of the PO
will depend on many factors, but the average Born to Run PO is generated on the same day (POs can take
up to 2 business days from approval).
9) Do I have to sign any Born to Run specific contracts?
During offer submission, you will need to select your preference on what should happen to any inventory
that is unsold after the 10 week sellthrough period (see FAQ 4 above for details on these preferences).
Your existing vendor contract with us will then be supplemented and amended by the preference you
have selected for the ASINs you have submitted into Born to Run. This amendment is only at PO Level and
for Born to Run offer ASINs and does not apply to other POs received by you. If you have selected the
retention fee preference, a separate “Straight Payment” agreement will also be generated and shared for
your confirmation and we will deduct the retention fee (25% of the cost of any unsold units) from the next
outgoing payment due to you.
10) Can I create brand new ASINs via Born to Run?
No, ASINs need to be created and approved before they are submitted to Born to Run.
AMAZON.COM CONFIDENTIAL 3 LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 2019
11) What will my Ship Windows be for the Born To run POs? Can you extend the Ship Windows on the
Born To Run POs?
The Ship Windows (SWs) will be in compliance with your regular replenishment PO SWs. SWs cannot be
extended by the Born To Run team.
12) What are the fees associated with the program?
There is no additional cost or fee for using the Born to Run Program but, depending on what you choose
to do with any inventory that is unsold after the 10 week sellthrough period, you will need to:
(i) refund 100% of the product cost for any returned units, plus 10% shipping/handling fees, if you
choose the return of all unsold units;
OR
(ii) provide us with a “retention fee” equal to 25% of the cost of the unsold units.
This is a choice you make during the offer submission process.
13) How many ASINs/Units can I submit per offer?
There is no ASIN or unit quantity cap per submission but we do impose certain operational, profitability
and other requirements and checks which may limit the ASINs or units we can issue a PO for. If such
limitation will apply, the ASIN offer submission will be rejected.
14) When will returns for my Born To Run inventory be initiated?
Assuming you have selected the return preference for unsold inventory, we will assess whether to return
any unsold inventory at the end of the 10 week sellthrough period depending on our inventory health. If
we decide to return any unsold inventory to you, the returns can start as soon as the week following the
end of the 10 week sellthrough period.
15) Why is my BTR ASIN showing as OOS? I have already shipped the inventory.
This means we are seeing higher demand than what we have on hand and in transit. Your Born to Run
ASIN should show as instock on our systems as soon as we have the units from open POs received in our
warehouses.
16) Can I negotiate offers on unsold inventory after sellthrough period so I don’t get returns or get
charged a retention fee?
No, any unsold inventory at the end of the 10 week sellthrough period will be subject to the preference
you would have selected on submission to the Born to Run program.
17) I want access to the Born To Run program.
We operate an invite only program and we impose certain operational, profitability and other
requirements and checks which we continually iterate on in order to ensure that Born to Run provides the
optimal vendor experience and outcomes for us.
AMAZON.COM CONFIDENTIAL 4 LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 2019
18) Who pays freight for product being shipped to Amazon? Is it Amazon or the vendor?
This will be in compliance with your existing Freight terms.
19) Who pays return freight for items going back to the vendor that did not sell?
You will refund us for 10% shipping/handling fees on returns of any unsold Born To Run inventory if this
is the preference you have chosen.
20) Is Born to Run only for new product launches?
No, it can also be used for cases where you believe our usual level of PO quantities for an existing ASIN
should be higher for reasons such as a planned marketing campaign.
21) Is advertising still a requirement for participation?
No, it is not a mandatory requirement but we do recommend this in order to drive sellthrough. For this
reason, we provide you with an option to launch a Self-Service Performance Advertising (SSPA) campaign
automatically for your submitted ASINs.
22) When POs get issued, will it be going to only one warehouse or will POs be issued to ship to
multiple warehouses?
The POs will be issued in compliance with your existing Freight terms.
23) Can I get some help in forecasting the quantity for Born to Run?
With Born to Run you can tell Amazon how much you expect to sell of an ASIN in 10 weeks. You are free
to make your own determinations on the right Quantity Offered, however in case you need help, here are
a few tips:
• Product completely new to Amazon: you can check the forecast for a similar product you are
already selling on Amazon through amazon brand analytics (ABA) and review your off-Amazon
demand (if available).
• Product already selling on Amazon: you can review the forecast for the product through ABA and
adjust it based on your expectations
• Demand spike expected: in case you are expecting demand spikes due to upcoming media
advertising, you could apply the sales lift you are expecting to the existing forecast