Amazon Nudges Fulfillment Fees for Independent Sellers

Amazon is increasing its fulfillment fees for independent sellers on its eCommerce platform.

Starting next year, Referral and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees will increase by an average of $0.08 per unit sold, or less than 0.5% of an average item’s selling price, the company said in a Wednesday (Oct. 15) blog post.

The news came after no fee increases in 2025.

Sellers have at least 90 days before any fee increases take effect, according to the blog post.

“We have been working hard to drive innovation and efficiencies that keep costs down, which helps keep fee increases low for you,” Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of worldwide selling partner services at Amazon, wrote in a letter to merchants. “Our fee changes are significantly less than inflation and less than the 3.9%-5.9% annual cost increases from other major U.S. carriers during the last two years.”

The company has worked to reduce fees where costs are lower and raise them in areas where it provided enhanced service or added value, Mehta said. That includes investments in improved forecasting, inventory placement, automation and returns features.

“We continue to focus on providing you with stability by minimizing your operational burden and costs,” Mehta said in the letter. “There will be no new FBA fee types in 2026, and we’re providing earlier notice and improved tools to make it easier for you to optimize your sales and profitability.”

Mehta directed merchants to Amazon’s revenue calculator and fee and economics preview report to determine how these changes will affect their businesses.

The company also offers a profit analytics dashboard so sellers can “get a detailed view of [their] unit economics, including the ability to see how fee changes impact each of [their] products,” the letter said.

Amazon’s new fees and tools are coming as artificial intelligence poses new challenges for eCommerce sellers. A projection from Bank of America said ChatGPT will handle roughly 20 billion shopping-related messages this year, underscoring how deeply AI has been embedded into the commerce journey.

“Last year’s holiday season saw global retail sales surge to $1.2 trillion, including $282 billion in the United States, as AI chatbot and agent engagement jumped 42%,” PYMNTS reported Oct. 3. “But the same systems fueling that growth are melding discovery and checkout into a single step, widening exposure to fraud, chargebacks and questions of consumer trust. Those pressures will shape this holiday season.”