Amazon have issued a reminder that since the 1st of January 2020, battery manufacturers and distributors must provide a lithium battery test summary as stipulated by a United Nations standard known as UN 38.3. When selling on FBA, you are responsible for obtaining this test summary for any ASIN that you sell.
This global requirement applies to lithium batteries and products containing lithium batteries. The standard includes eight tests: Altitude Simulation; Thermal Test; Vibration; Shock; External Short Circuit; Impact; Overcharge; and Forced Discharge.
The reason you’ll want to be aware of this requirement is that failure to provide a lithium battery test summary could prevent you from selling on Amazon. Even worse, any stock you have in Amazon FBA could be disposed of without notice at your expense. Please double check you have met the lithium battery test summary requirements before sending in your Q4 stock as it would be heartbreaking to see it all destroyed.
Three main types of Lithium Battery
- Lithium-ion batteries
Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion or LIB batteries) have lithium compounds as the electrode material, and are rechargeable. Li-ion batteries are widely used in portable electronic products such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, MP3 players and cameras.
- Lithium-metal batteries
Lithium metal batteries have lithium metal as an anode and are generally not rechargeable. They come in different shapes and forms, including the flat, round batteries used in watches. They are also commonly used in products such as calculators or torches.
- Lithium-ion polymer batteries
Lithium-ion polymer batteries, often called lithium polymer batteries (Li-poly, Li-Pol, LIP, PLI or LiP), are rechargeable batteries usually composed of several identical secondary cells in parallel. They are used in some portable electronic products and fall under the family of lithium-ion batteries.
Amazon’s eligibility status for lithium-ion batteries depends on energy content in watt-hours (Wh) and marketplace so double check because what’s allowed in the UK might not be allowed in other territories around the world. You can upload any applicable lithium battery test summary and find more information in Seller Central here.
One Response
Amazon have issued a reminder that since the 1st of January 2020.’
Why issue a reminder, is this not being enforced then ?
Surely after 9 months, nearly all sellers who are affected by this would know.
What’s going on here?