IPI below 400: what happens and what to do
Direct answer: IPI is Amazon’s 0–1000 score of how you manage FBA inventory. A score under 400 typically restricts replenishment storage. It updates weekly. Excess inventory, sell-through, stranded units, and in-stock rate are the levers. Raising PPC bids will not lift IPI — and selling into a storage cap makes Q4 worse.
Thresholds operators actually use
| IPI | What usually happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 500+ | Headroom | Keep excess off the node. Do not rest on it into peak. |
| 400–499 | Buffer, not safety | Treat 450 as a weekly alert. Excess and stranded are the first cuts. |
| Below 400 | Storage limits | You may not be able to send inbound when you need it. Pause “rank at all costs” on bloated SKUs. |
Amazon publishes the storage-limit threshold in Seller Central. Confirm the current number there — it has been 400 for a long time, and some operators run a 450 alert so they are not surprised.
What to do this week if you are sliding
- Open Inventory Planning. Note excess, aged, stranded, and in-stock on hero ASINs.
- Remove or liquidate aged units that cannot sell through before the next IPI snapshot.
- Fix stranded listings before you buy more traffic into them.
- Do not raise bids on a SKU you cannot replenish. Rank without inbound is a one-week sugar high.
IPI is a weekly operating number, not a monthly report. Check it the same day you read Account Health.
FAQ
Is the limit still 400?
That is the long-standing storage-limit threshold. Confirm on Inventory Performance in Seller Central; run an internal alert at 450 so you are not surprised.
Will more ads raise IPI?
Only if they sell through excess without creating a stockout you cannot inbound. Most of the time IPI is an inventory job, not a bid job.
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