Amazon Raises Fulfillment Fees for Sellers
Sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon will face higher average fees and new storage rules starting January 15, 2027.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Retail
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Amazon is raising fees for sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon, with most changes taking effect January 15, 2027, and it will replace its aging inventory charge with a single monthly storage rate based on time in warehouses starting February 1. Independent merchants account for more than 60% of sales in Amazon's store, so the changes reach a large share of its third-party marketplace.
Why it matters
Amazon's fee structure sets the cost base for a large share of its marketplace, and sellers facing higher storage and fulfillment costs must reprice, reduce inventory or change how they stock warehouses. The timing follows a broader competitive push in retail logistics, including Walmart's expansion of drone delivery.
The average Fulfillment by Amazon fee increase equals about 0.8% of the average item's selling price, and independent merchants generate more than 60% of sales in Amazon's store. Walmart's drone program has completed more than 2 million deliveries and plans to add 300 U.S. sites under its Zipline agreement.
The players
Amazon
Amazon operates the largest U.S. online marketplace and its Fulfillment by Amazon service, which lets third-party sellers store and ship inventory from its warehouses.
Walmart
Walmart is the largest U.S. brick-and-mortar retailer, expanding its e-commerce and delivery operations, including its drone delivery program.
Zipline
Zipline is a drone delivery company that operates autonomous aircraft for commercial delivery and is partnering with Walmart on U.S. expansion.
The details
Starting February 1, Amazon will assess low-inventory status using actual shipments in the four weeks before and after an assessment to determine whether a seller fell below 28 days of supply. Sellers can use a new dashboard to see how the storage changes affect individual products. Amazon will also drop its storage utilization surcharge effective February 1 and keep its fuel and logistics surcharge in place.
Timeline
November 2, 2026: Amazon issues its Grocery Thanksgiving meal press release.
November 26, 2026: The Amazon Thanksgiving meal offer ends, while supplies last.
January 15, 2027: Most Amazon seller fee changes take effect.
February 1, 2027: Amazon's storage rules and low-inventory fee assessment change.
Market Landscape
Walmart's drone delivery program, which has completed more than 2 million deliveries and can arrive in as little as 30 minutes at eligible addresses, is expanding through a Zipline agreement covering 300 U.S. sites. Amazon's fee changes come as retailers compete on delivery speed, a dynamic in which purchase rates rise more than 20% when the promised wait drops from more than four days to two.
Sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon should model the 0.8% average fee increase and the new 28-day supply threshold against their inventory levels before January 15. Merchants should also review their storage and aging inventory exposure using the new dashboard before the February 1 change.
The takeaway
Retailers are investing in faster delivery because shorter promised wait times measurably lift purchase rates, so fulfillment cost changes will matter more for operators. Sellers should calendar January 15 and February 1, 2027, and use Amazon's dashboard to test how storage changes affect each product line.
What happens next
Most Amazon seller fee changes take effect January 15, 2027, and the storage rule changes take effect February 1, 2027.
Further reading
For broader context on how retailers are competing over fulfillment and delivery, see Retail coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by PYMNTS.
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