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Amazon News: FBA Fee Hikes, New DD+7 Payouts, Prime Growth & Q4 Deadlines
Published 13 days ago • 7 min read
This Week's Top Amazon Seller News
Hey Reader,
This week’s updates dive into Amazon’s new Seller Challenge benefit, FBA fee increases for 2026, Prime membership growth, and emerging marketplaces like Ulta and Walmart expanding their reach. We’ll also cover regulatory headlines from Temu, hiring signals for Q4, and some key Seller Central updates that could impact your profitability and visibility. Join us live today at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific!
We’ll discuss the latest Amazon news and how it impacts your business. Tune in for valuable insights to help you stay ahead. Catch the live stream on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.
Amazon has launched the Seller Challenge feature, giving Account Health Assurance (AHA) sellers a new way to dispute enforcement decisions after standard appeals fail. This allows sellers to request a prioritized review within 48 hours, offering a faster path to reinstate important listings.
Sellers get three challenge slots every 180 days and must use them strategically, as only listing-level enforcement cases qualify and denied challenges can’t be retried for six months. For Amazon sellers, this is a valuable but limited opportunity to protect high-performing ASINs during peak seasons—especially when unfair suspensions can hurt revenue.
Amazon will increase FBA fulfillment fees starting January 15, 2026, with an average rise of $0.08 per unit, alongside adjustments to storage, removal, and aged inventory fees. While some bulky product tiers will see small fee reductions, Multi-Channel Fulfillment, Buy with Prime, and AWD West region costs are all increasing.
Sellers will also face slower delivery promises for products with low supply and sales velocity, as Amazon prioritizes faster-moving inventory in its decentralized fulfillment network. For Amazon sellers, this means tightening margins, the need for more precise inventory planning, and potential price adjustments ahead of Q1 2026.
Ethan Mollick shared research showing that large language models (LLMs) can predict actual purchase intent with up to 90% accuracy by simulating customer personas, viewing product images, and generating feedback. The models outperformed traditional machine learning methods—without any fine-tuning or specialized training.
For Amazon sellers, this breakthrough could revolutionize product testing, ad optimization, and listing strategy by allowing AI to forecast buyer reactions before launch. It points to a future where sellers can validate product-market fit instantly using AI-driven customer simulations.
According to new data from CIRP, Amazon Prime has reached 200 million U.S. members as of September 2025—a 6% increase from last year. Growth has been steady but is beginning to plateau as Amazon nears market saturation among American shoppers.
For Amazon sellers, this milestone signals both opportunity and competition: a massive, loyal Prime customer base continues to drive high purchase intent, but it also means sellers must keep optimizing for Prime eligibility and fast fulfillment to stay visible. Expect Amazon to push new incentives to convert shared Prime users into paying accounts, potentially increasing ad and marketing exposure for sellers.
Amazon announced plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers across its U.S. fulfillment and transportation network, matching last year’s levels as it braces for another busy Q4. Despite concerns about cautious consumer spending and slower online growth, Amazon expects e-commerce demand to continue outperforming overall retail sales.
For Amazon sellers, this signals that Amazon is preparing for strong order volumes and prioritizing fulfillment speed during the holidays. The company’s $1B investment in higher wages and reduced healthcare costs also suggests greater staffing stability—helping sellers maintain fast delivery promises and Prime eligibility throughout peak season.
Walmart is expanding into the collectibles market with a new partnership with Shortboxed, adding over 10,000 comic books to its marketplace and featuring exclusive collaborations with major publishers like DC, Marvel, and Image. The retailer aims to position itself as the most trusted and accessible place to buy collectibles through technology upgrades, verified transactions, and exclusive in-person events like New York Comic Con.
For Amazon sellers, this signals a growing opportunity—and competition—in niche categories like comics and collectibles, as Walmart leverages authenticity and exclusivity to attract hobbyists. Meanwhile, Amazon’s recent ban on “Collectible” condition listings in Toys & Games further widens the competitive gap between the two marketplaces.
Germany’s antitrust regulator has launched an investigation into Temu for allegedly influencing how third-party merchants price their products on its marketplace. Authorities suspect that Temu may be imposing restrictions that limit competition and could lead to higher prices across other platforms.
For Amazon sellers, this highlights increasing global scrutiny on e-commerce pricing practices—especially around price parity and control over third-party listings. As regulators target aggressive marketplace tactics, Amazon sellers should expect continued policy tightening and greater oversight in Europe and beyond.
Ulta Beauty has officially launched UB Marketplace, an invitation-only online platform built with Mirakl that introduces over 100 new beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands. The curated marketplace integrates fully into Ulta’s site, offering unified checkout, rewards, and returns—though customers can’t redeem points on marketplace items.
Unlike Amazon and Walmart, Ulta’s model excludes open third-party sellers, focusing instead on direct brand partnerships to ensure authenticity and maintain quality control. For Amazon sellers, this highlights how major retailers are pivoting to more selective, brand-driven marketplaces that emphasize trust, curation, and customer experience over volume.
Amazon sellers have until October 28, 2025, to submit Best Deals, Lightning Deals, and Prime Exclusive Discounts for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Best Deals require at least a 15% discount with a $1,000 flat fee, while Lightning Deals need a 20% discount and cost $500 per deal.
Prime Exclusive Discounts offer event badging for $245, and sellers can also use coupons for flexible promotions with a $5 setup fee plus 2.5% of sales. For Amazon sellers, now is the critical window to lock in holiday visibility—missing the deadline means losing placement in Amazon’s most lucrative shopping events of the year.
Amazon has rolled out a new AI-powered Video Generator that automatically creates ad-ready videos using your product detail page content—at no extra cost. Sellers can generate and edit videos within minutes, customizing fonts, text, calls-to-action, and logos directly inside the Video Builder tool.
This feature removes the need for costly video production, helping sellers boost Sponsored Brand and Product Ad performance with engaging visual content. For Amazon sellers, it’s a fast, budget-friendly way to compete in a marketplace increasingly driven by video advertising.
Amazon is extending the holiday return window for items purchased Nov 1–Dec 31, 2025 to Jan 31, 2026 (Apple products until Jan 15, 2026). The policy applies to FBA, FBM, and Amazon Retail orders, with category eligibility rules unchanged.
For sellers, plan for longer return exposure that can impact cash flow, inventory forecasting, and Q1 profitability. Tighten QC, document serials/packaging, and set clear post-purchase messaging to reduce misuse and speed resales of returned units.
Stranded inventory is FBA stock that’s physically in Amazon warehouses but unsellable because it’s disconnected from an active listing—draining cash flow, incurring storage fees, and hurting your IPI and organic rank. Common triggers include suppressed or deactivated ASINs, compliance or pricing flags, SKU mismatches, and deleting listings before inventory hits zero.
Sellers should monitor Inventory > Manage Inventory > Stranded Inventory weekly, use the Fix Stranded Inventory tool, and be ready to relist, rebuild SKUs, or open support cases; if unrecoverable, remove stock promptly to avoid long-term fees. Prevention tactics: keep listings policy-compliant, reconcile FBA vs. live offers biweekly, never delete listings with on-hand FBA units, enable alerts, and prioritize critical ASINs during peak to protect velocity and margins.
Amazon’s meltable policy restricts FBA storage/fulfillment for temperature-sensitive items (think chocolate, gummies, wax, certain beauty products) during Apr 15–Oct 15; approved meltables can be sent Oct 16–Apr 14 only. “Meltable” generally means products that degrade above 75°F (24°C), and missing the cutoff can lead to uncompensated disposal, returns, and account health hits.
Sellers should audit ASINs against Amazon’s annual meltable list, prep with insulated/expedited shipping, maintain climate-controlled storage, and keep FDA/CoA/SDS and stability docs ready (Amazon may ask for proof of stability up to 155°F/68°C). If misclassified, request an exemption with manufacturer letters and lab data; otherwise pivot to FBM during the restricted window, or remove inventory before April 15 to protect margins and IPI.
Starting March 12, 2026, Amazon will delay seller payouts for FBA orders until seven days after delivery, shifting from the current post-shipment model. This new “DD+7” policy impacts all sellers, slowing fund availability and creating potential cash flow challenges during busy periods.
Sellers should adjust their budgets, increase cash reserves, and plan inventory and ad spend around this delay. Tracking payout timelines, focusing on tracked deliveries, and pre-stocking fast sellers will help reduce financial strain and maintain business momentum.
Todd’s Top Tip: Submit Q4 Deals Immediately for Black Friday Success
Sellers, here’s a practical strategy for late October 2025: submit products for Black Friday deals right now.
With mid-October passed, act fast on events like Prime Big Deal Days and Black Friday by offering Lightning Deals or Best Deals, which can drive 20-30% sales increases in categories like toys and electronics.
With stable fees in 2025, immediate preparation ensures inventory readiness and competitive pricing for the holiday surge.
Your plan:
In Seller Central, navigate to “Advertising” > “Deals” and submit products for Lightning Deals or Best Deals immediately for upcoming Q4 events.
Select 3-5 high-demand ASINs, like toys or tech gadgets, ensuring they meet Amazon’s deal guidelines (e.g., 20%+ discount).
Optimize listings with holiday keywords like “Black Friday gift” in titles and backend fields.
Layer in Sponsored Products ads to promote deals, monitoring performance in Campaign Manager.
Track sales lifts in the Sales Dashboard, adjusting prices and stock weekly through November.
This approach positions your business for steady Q4 growth in a competitive season.
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