1. What Amazon announced for 2027
On November 5, 2026, Amazon published its annual US fee update in a letter from Sunny Jain, Vice President, Worldwide Fulfillment by Amazon, together with updated Seller Central help pages. Amazon says it is sharing the changes now so sellers have more than two months to plan before most of them take effect on January 15, 2027.
The headline is an average FBA fulfillment fee increase of $0.19 per unit sold, roughly 0.8% of the average item's selling price. For comparison, the 2026 update averaged about $0.08 per unit. Amazon states that some products will pay more and others less, because each fee is being moved closer to the cost of fulfilling that product. That is why the average is a poor guide to your own account: your result depends on size tier, price band, inventory age and the services you use.
This article covers the US marketplace only. Sellers in the UK, Europe, Canada and other marketplaces should check the fee announcements for those stores, because rates and dates are set separately.
2. The 2027 fee timeline at a glance
Most changes land on two dates. Put both in your calendar, because each requires a different review: January 15 affects per-unit fulfillment cost, while February 1 affects storage and inventory planning.
| Date | What changes | Who should review it |
|---|---|---|
| Now until Jan 14, 2027 | Holiday peak fulfillment fees apply to FBA, Remote Fulfillment, MCF and Buy with Prime | Everyone selling through the holiday season |
| January 15, 2027 | New FBA fulfillment rate cards; Low-Price FBA narrowed to fewer fee categories; returns processing fee tiers updated for Apparel and Shoes | All FBA sellers, especially items above $50 and under $10 |
| February 1, 2027 | Storage utilization and aged inventory surcharges removed; single age-based storage rate; new low-inventory-level fee test; returns processing tiers for other high-return categories; AWD and MCD updates | Sellers holding slow-moving stock or running lean inventory |
| February 2027 onward | All promotion fees billed monthly | Sellers running coupons, deals and Buy X, Get Y promotions |
3. Fulfillment fees: where the $0.19 average hides the real spread
Amazon's rate cards keep the three price bands (under $10, $10 to $50, above $50) and raise standard-size items most where the price is highest. Independent analysis of the tables by PPC Land and Ecomsellertool reports average increases of about $0.40 per unit for small standard-size items at $10 to $50 and about $0.70 above $50. Large standard-size items rise less, by roughly $0.12 and $0.47 in those bands. Amazon explains the higher above-$50 rates as funding improvements to returns, missing inventory and removals for those products.
Amazon's own examples show how wide the spread is. A phone case under $10 moves from $2.49 to $2.72 per unit. A large standard-size iron moves from $7.13 to $7.32 in the $10 to $50 band. In the restructured oversize tiers, a 65-inch TV box falls from $48.57 to $36.55, while a 97-inch bulletin board rises from $50.93 to $69.75. All of these figures exclude the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge Amazon introduced in April 2026, which remains unchanged.
One practical consequence: in some small standard-size rows the new 2027 non-peak rate is higher than the 2026 holiday peak rate you are paying now. Do not assume your fees fall back after January 14.
- Most exposed: small, light items priced above $50 and products near the $50 or $10 price boundary.
- Possibly better off: some heavy large-bulky and oversize products under the new length-first tiers.
- Always check: whether a dimension change, packaging change or repricing moves a SKU into a different tier or price band.
4. Low-Price FBA: five fee categories lose the discount
Until January 14, 2027, every product priced under $10 automatically receives Low-Price FBA rates. From January 15, products in five fee categories will instead be charged the same rates as products priced $10 to $50: Automotive and Powersports; Compact Appliances; Musical Instruments and AV Production; Media (Books, DVD, Music, Software and Video); and Computers.
For low-priced items in those categories this is the largest percentage change in the update. PPC Land's calculation from Amazon's tables puts a $9.99 DVD at $3.78 per unit from January 15, up from $2.49. Other categories keep Low-Price FBA automatically, and their discount against the $10 to $50 band actually widens.
Note that the fee category is Amazon's fee classification, which can differ from the browse category shoppers see. Confirm the fee category for each affected ASIN in Seller Central rather than assuming from the product type.
5. Storage and the low-inventory-level fee from February 1
Amazon is simplifying storage after seller feedback that the costs were hard to predict. From February 1, 2027, the storage utilization surcharge is eliminated and the aged inventory surcharge is folded into monthly storage as a single age-based rate. Amazon says this means flat or lower fees for inventory that turns in under six months and higher fees for aged inventory. In practice, the penalty moves from how much space you use to how long units sit.
The low-inventory-level fee also changes. Today it is assessed using trailing 30- and 90-day sales. From February 1, it applies only when inventory falls below 28 days of supply, measured against actual shipments in both the four weeks before and the four weeks after the assessment date. Amazon says this reduces charges triggered by sudden demand spikes and by end-of-season or end-of-life products. Amazon also says it will reimburse low-inventory fees caused by its own excessive receiving delays.
There are no changes to the inbound placement service fee rate card, but Amazon is consolidating central inbound locations for standard-size products into the East region, reducing inbound regions from three to two.
| Inventory situation | Likely 2027 effect | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Stock that sells through in under six months | Flat or lower storage cost | Keep replenishment steady; storage utilization no longer penalizes stocking up for events |
| Units older than six months | Higher age-based storage cost | Plan liquidation, bundles, removal or price action before February |
| Lean stock on steady sellers | Fee still applies under 28 days of supply | Set reorder points above 28 days including inbound lead time |
| Seasonal or end-of-life SKUs | Less likely to trigger the low-inventory fee | Still track them; the test uses actual shipments, not your forecast |
6. Promotions, referral fees, returns and multi-channel
Promotions: Amazon is adding a $5 upfront fee plus a 2% variable fee, capped at $2,000, for Buy X, Get Y promotions, bringing them in line with deals and coupons. From February 2027 all promotion fees move to monthly billing; fees that would have been charged in January are postponed to the first February cycle. If you rely on Buy X, Get Y or BOGO offers, add this cost to your promotion economics.
Referral fees: the update contains only two referral changes, both reductions. A new 3D printer category pays 12% on the first $200 and 5% above that, effective November 5, 2026, and Amazon Renewed products in eligible categories get a promotional 10% referral rate through October 18, 2027. Other referral rates are unchanged.
Returns and MCF: returns processing fees for high-return products are being realigned to the 2027 size tiers, from January 15 for Apparel and Shoes and from February 1 for other categories. Standard Multi-Channel Fulfillment and Buy with Prime fees rise by an average of 3.5%, while expedited MCF fees stay the same on average.
7. A per-SKU review to finish before January 15
Amazon has added a Fee Change Comparison dashboard in Profit Analytics and an updated Revenue Calculator so each seller can see the impact at account and product level. Use those tools as your source of truth and work through your catalog in order of units sold, not alphabetically.
- Export your top SKUs by units and record the current size tier, fee category, price band and fulfillment fee.
- Compare each SKU in the Fee Change Comparison dashboard and note the per-unit change, including the 3.5% surcharge.
- Flag SKUs priced just above $50 or just under $10 and model whether the price band, not only the fee, has changed your margin.
- Re-measure packaging on high-volume items; small dimension changes can move a product into a cheaper tier.
- List every unit older than six months and decide on sell-through, bundles, removal or liquidation before February 1.
- Recalculate break-even ACoS and target TACoS for affected SKUs so advertising bids reflect the new contribution margin.
- Re-cost Buy X, Get Y and other promotions planned for Q1 2027 with the new fee and monthly billing.
8. What the fee change means for your Amazon PPC
A higher fulfillment fee lowers the contribution each sale leaves, which lowers the ACoS you can afford. For example, if a $25 product's contribution before advertising falls from $8.00 to $7.60, its break-even ACoS moves from 32% to about 30.4%. Campaigns that were marginally profitable in December can quietly become unprofitable in late January without any change in performance metrics.
That hypothetical is for illustration only; use your own landed cost, referral fee and new fulfillment fee. The practical step is to update the target ACoS or ROAS used by bid rules and dashboards at the same time the fee changes, rather than waiting for a monthly review to show a margin drop.
9. When to get a second pair of eyes
If your catalog is large, mixes size tiers, or relies on items near the $10 and $50 thresholds, a structured review is worth doing before the January peak period ends. Check that FBA reimbursements are being claimed as well; fee increases make lost or damaged inventory more costly.
