New year, new fees.
Amazon will tack on its “Peak Fulfillment Fees” once again during the holidays, the e-commerce giant confirmed last week. However, sellers can expect to see another surcharge this year.
While the fulfillment fee is the same as 2025 — averaging out to roughly 32 cents per item — the 3.5% “fuel and logistics” surcharge will also be applied as the online retailer first rolled out the charge back in April.
The e-commerce behemoth added the extra rates as a short-term measure to help offset the increased operating costs it was experiencing. Fees primarily affect Amazon sellers who use Amazon’s fulfillment services, not shoppers.
Many sellers will absorb the extra cost, taking the hit for their customers while others typically raise their prices to counteract the higher fulfillment costs. So while the two charges are applied to sellers, they may be passed onto the shopper.
Amazon said folks will likely see 32 cents more per item on average plus the existing 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge. This means if the company normally charges $4.50 to fulfill an item, sellers will pay around $4.82, plus the 3.5% surcharge during the holiday period.
“Similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing,” Amazon’s Seller Central website said.
This year’s peak season will be the same as last year’s starting on October 15, 2026, and lasting until January 14, 2027.
The fees will impact Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Remote Fulfillment with FBA, Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) and Buy with Prime. Amazon urged sellers to secure inventory earlier — by October — so all Prime, Black Friday and Cyber Monday orders can be delivered on time.
“To maximize your sales during the holiday season, send inventory early. Our fulfillment center teams focus on receiving holiday shipments in September and October, then shift to processing customer orders in November and December,” the company said.
“So, you may see lower capacity limits during this time. The sooner your products are in the network, the easier it is for them to reach customers during peak demand,” they added.
Amazon dropped some inventory deadlines sellers may want to consider.
Prime Big Deal Days
- September 2: Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) shipments
- September 9: FBA shipments with “minimal shipment splits” option selected
- September 16: FBA shipments with “Amazon-optimized shipment splits” option selected (most sellers select this option)
Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday
- October 14: AWD shipments
- October 21: FBA shipments with “minimal shipment splits” option selected
- October 28: FBA shipments with “Amazon-optimized shipment splits” option selected (most sellers select this option)
Sellers can expect the October Fulfillment by Amazon fees to hit when shipments leave the fulfillment centers — on or before October 15.
It’s not all extra costs, Amazon said it is bringing back the early submission discount where sellers can submit their Prime Big Deal Days deals by August 5 and Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday deals by September 5 to save $50 on the upfront promotion fee.
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