Overview

Starting in 2025, Amazon will no longer accept inbound delivery appointments that are booked through any external carrier or warehouse portal. All self‑ship (FBA) appointments must be created inside Seller Central’s “Send to Amazon” workflow, and the system will allow sellers to reserve slots up to 21 days ahead of time. This change forces sellers to shift their booking processes now to avoid rejected shipments later in the year.

Key Points

• Unified booking portal — The new requirement consolidates every self‑ship appointment into the Seller Central interface, removing the need for separate carrier‑specific scheduling tools.
• Legacy portals retired — Any third‑party or carrier portal that previously handled appointments will be ignored by fulfillment centers after the 2025 cutoff.
• Embedded in inbound creation — Appointment selection is now a built‑in step when you generate a “Send to Amazon” shipment plan.
• Three‑week advance window — Sellers can view and lock in delivery windows as far as 21 days before the intended arrival date.
• 48‑hour cancellation rule — Changes or cancellations must be submitted at least two days before the booked slot, or the appointment will stand.
• Real‑time slot visibility — The platform shows live availability for each fulfillment center, preventing double‑booking and reducing guesswork.

How the New Appointment System Works

1. Open the FC Appointments screen — From the Seller Central homepage, click the “Inventory” dropdown, select “Manage FBA Shipments,” and then choose “FC Appointments.” For example, a seller of home décor items logs in, navigates to this screen, and sees a list of all their pending inbound shipments.
2. Create a new inbound shipment — Click “Create shipment” and follow the guided steps to specify product SKUs, quantities, and the target fulfillment center. In a typical scenario, a seller of organic teas selects 5,000 units of three different SKUs and chooses the Dallas FC as the destination.
3. — As soon as the shipment draft is saved, the system displays a calendar with open 30‑minute or hourly windows for both small‑parcel and LTL (less‑than‑truckload) deliveries. For instance, the tea seller sees that the Dallas FC has a 10 am–12 pm LTL window open on March 14, which is within the 21‑day window.