In the ever-evolving landscape of Amazon selling, the cost of doing business is a key lever of profitability. On October 2025, Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) announced its 2026 updates to U.S. Referral and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees with modest increases but meaningful operational implications.

For sellers, especially those working through agencies like yours (MoizIT) or managing Amazon FBA, this means recalibrating cost models, adjusting pricing strategies, and optimizing fulfilment and inventory flows to preserve margin. Below, I walk through key components of the changes, dissect what they mean in practical terms, and offer structured recommendations tailored for the Amazon FBA seller ecosystem.

1. What’s Changing in 2026?

1.1 Average Fee Increase

• Amazon states that the average FBA fee will increase by about $0.08 per unit sold, which amounts to less than 0.5% of the average item’s selling price in the U.S. marketplace.

• Importantly, this follows no increases in U.S. referral or FBA fees in 2025, meaning 2026 represents the first modest uptick in a period of stability.

• Third-party reporting corroborates size-tier variation in the increases: for example, for small standard items priced above $50, Amazon indicates an increase of about $0.51 per unit, whereas large oversize items below $10 may see no change.

1.2 No New Fee Types

• One welcome piece of news: Amazon is not introducing new fee categories for U.S. sellers in 2026. The existing fee types remain.

• This means no additional “surprise” program fees or brand-new surcharges (at least in the 2026 announcement) good for budgeting predictability.

1.3 More Granular Fee Structure

• Amazon is shifting toward greater granularity in its fee structure. What does that mean?

  • Where Amazon’s cost to fulfil is lower, sellers may benefit from lower fee tiers.

  • Where Amazon provides enhanced services (faster delivery promises, high-velocity fulfilment, complex returns handling, etc.), fees may be higher.

• Examples: different size tiers, different price bands, inbound shipment cost models are becoming more refined. For instance, inbound placement service fees for bulky/oversize items are being updated.

1.4 Effective Date & Notice Period

• The fee changes are scheduled to become effective January 15, 2026, unless otherwise noted.

• Amazon is providing at least 90 days’ advance notice to sellers ahead of any increase taking effect.

1.5 Tools & Seller Support Enhancements

• To help sellers understand and adapt to the new rates, Amazon is updating its supporting tools:

  • The Revenue Calculator will reflect 2026 rates.

  • The Fee & Economics Preview Report will include upcoming changes and allow sellers to model impact.

  • And a new Profit Analytics Dashboard is being rolled out to provide unit-economics views per product/ASIN so you can see how fee changes impact each SKU.

1.6 Why the Increase?

• Amazon points to continued inflation, logistics cost tailwinds, labour/transportation cost pressure. However, their messaging emphasises that they have “driven innovation and efficiencies” (automation, improved forecasting, inventory placement, returns processing) to keep the increase modest and below the cost increases seen in other major U.S. carriers (3.9%-5.9% over the last two years).

2. How These Changes Impact Your Business

Given your role in supporting Amazon FBA sellers and helping clients optimise listings, profitability and logistics, let’s examine the operational and financial impacts you’ll want to monitor and the proactive steps to mitigate margin risks.

2.1 Margin Compression Small but Real

• An average increase of ~$0.08 might seem negligible, but for high-velocity SKUs (tens of thousands of units) or margin-thin products (e.g., <$10 SKUs) every cent matters.

• For example: if you sell 10,000 units of an ASIN with a 3% margin, an extra $0.08/unit translates to $800 additional cost annually for that ASIN.

• Products with higher service requirements (oversize, high priced, special packaging) may see larger increases (e.g., +$0.51 as per third-party reporting) which can have outsized impact.

2.2 Pricing Strategy & Sell-through Implications

• Sellers will need to revisit pricing strategy: do you absorb the fee increase, pass it to the customer, or offset via cost reduction?

• Risk: If you attempt to increase list price, you may trigger adverse effects on conversion or Buy Box competitiveness particularly in highly competitive categories.

• Opportunity: If you can reduce product cost or fulfilment cost (via inbound optimisation, packaging optimisation, inventory health) you may maintain or even improve margin.

2.3 Inventory & Fulfilment Efficiency Matters More

• Because Amazon’s message emphasises cost-to-serve alignment, operational levers become more critical:

  • Optimise inbound shipments: using lower-cost shipping lanes, consolidating shipments, selecting efficient packing. Amazon referenced that you can “select lower cost inbound shipment options” to benefit.

  • Packaging: Smaller dimensions, lighter weights = lower fulfilment fee bands. Amazon explicitly pointed to “updating your product packaging” as an opportunity to achieve lower fee options.

  • Inventory health: Avoid long-storage, overstock, and slow-moving products. Healthy sell-through reduces storage fees and risk of aged inventory surcharges (which are outside the core FBA fee increase but still part of the profit model).

  • Removals & returns: Amazon is investing in “faster removals processing” and reducing defects (missing/damaged inventory). Sellers who manage returns and removals proactively reduce hidden cost leakage.

2.4 Catalog & Product Selection Implications

• For lower-priced items (for example <$10), margin buffer is tighter. The increase, though small, can shift profitability thresholds.

• For high-priced items, while margin may be higher, fulfilment costs often escalate (due to weight/size) and Amazon’s size/price tier increases may hit you more. As per the table, a small item above $50 might see +$0.51.

• If you have a broad catalogue, now is a good time to run SKU profitability audits identify which SKUs are borderline profitable and adjust strategy (cost reduction, packaging change, price increase, or phase-out).

• Sellers who rely on multi-channel fulfilment (MCF) or use their own fulfilment might compare alternative models if FBA fee increases place margin pressure.

2.5 Analytics & Forecasting Becomes Critical

• The availability of new tools (Profit Analytics Dashboard) means sellers should not rely on rough estimates but dig into unit economics, factoring in the new rate structure.

• Use Amazon’s Revenue Calculator and Fee & Economics Preview Report to model changes before they hit. This allows you to test “what‐if” scenarios: price increase vs cost reduction vs fulfilment model change.

• Because notice is 90 days, now (Q4 2025) is the time to simulate and prepare for the Jan 15, 2026 effective date.

3. Strategic Checklist for Sellers & Agencies (like MoizIT)

Here is a structured checklist of steps you (and your clients) should undertake in order to convert this update from a risk into a strategic optimisation opportunity:

4. Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)

Q: Will the referral fee percentage change in 2026?
A: From the announcement, the key highlighted change is the FBA fulfilment fee increase. The referral fees in the U.S. are not being increased per se in this announcement.

Q: Are there any new fee types being introduced for 2026?
A: No — Amazon explicitly states that they will not introduce new FBA fee types in 2026.

Q: Does the fee increase apply to all size/weight/price tiers equally?
A: No — although the average is quoted as ~$0.08/unit, published third-party breakdowns show variation depending on size and price tier (e.g., small standard above $50 ~ +$0.51; large product below $10 may have no change).

Q: When exactly will the changes take effect?
A: Unless otherwise noted, changes are effective January 15, 2026, with at least 90 days notice.

Q: Does this affect international Amazon marketplaces (EU, Canada, etc.)?
A: The announcement pertains to the U.S. (“U.S. Referral and Fulfilment by Amazon Fees”). Sellers operating in multiple marketplaces should check each region’s specific updates this announcement does not cover EU markets.

5. Implications for MoizIT’s Clients & Service Offerings

Given your role at MoizIT supporting Amazon FBA sellers (listing optimisation, PPC & DSP, inventory/logistics management, international localisation), here are additional insights tailored to your service offerings:

• Listing & Pricing Advisory: Include a “2026 fee update” module in your audit deliverables highlight how each client’s SKU portfolio will be impacted, and recommend pricing/packaging adjustments accordingly.

• PPC / DSP Budget Planning: As unit cost (fulfilment + referral) edges up slightly, margin cushion reduces — ensure your PPC & DSP ROI models reflect the new baseline cost.

• Packaging Strategy: With Amazon signalling packaging optimisation as a lever to reduce fees, build a consulting offering: packaging redesign prioritised for size/weight reduction, cost-benefit analysis for smaller dimension tiers, inbound shipping negotiation.

• Inbound Logistics & Shipment Planning: Advise clients on batching shipments, selecting cost-effective shipping lanes to Amazon fulfilment centres, minimising split shipments, and being strategic about fulfilment centre placement to reduce long-haul internal logistics cost (which factors into Amazon’s cost base).

• Inventory Health & Storage Risk: Incorporate inventory-age dashboards and sell-through metrics in your client deliverables. Reconcile the fee increase effect with storage cost avoidance strategies (e.g., removal, liquidation, bundling slow movers).

• International Expansion / Multi-Marketplace Planning: For clients expanding to EU markets or Canada, emphasise that while Europe may have separate fee updates, the U.S. update sets a precedent — cost pressures likely increase across geographies.

• Profit-Analytics Coaching: Since Amazon is rolling out the Profit Analytics Dashboard, integrate training for clients to use that tool effectively teach them how to interpret unit economics, SKU sensitivity to fee changes, and integrate that into broader profitability modelling.

6. Key Take-aways for Sellers

• The fee increase for 2026 is modest on average (~$0.08/unit) but meaningful in aggregate and for margin-thin SKUs.

• No new fee types in 2026 gives sellers predictability, which is valuable.

• The fee structure is becoming more granular, meaning individual SKUs will have differential impact based on price, size, weight, category.

• Operational levers (packaging, inbound shipping, inventory health, returns & removals) now matter more than ever in controlling cost and preserving margin.

• Use the 90-day buffer before Jan 15, 2026 model the impacts early, update cost models, and roll out action plans for Q4 2025.

• Agencies like MoizIT must elevate their value-add: not just listing or PPC optimisation, but full-scope cost optimisation consulting (logistics, packaging, unit economics).

• Sellers facing heavy competition, low price points, or oversize items should act sooner rather than later margin pressure will accelerate in 2026 if ignored.

7. Final Thoughts

The 2026 fee update by Amazon is not a dramatic shock but in the Amazon FBA business, incremental cost shifts compound quickly. For ambitious sellers (and agencies serving them, like MoizIT), the real opportunity lies not in reacting, but in proactively optimising operations, packaging, inbound logistics, and product selection so that the fee increase becomes a manageable cost rather than a profit leak.

By layering the cost-increase awareness into listings, pricing strategy, marketing budgeting, and logistical flow now, you set the foundation for resilient profitability through 2026 and beyond. The tools Amazon is providing (Revenue Calculator, Fee & Economics Preview Report, Profit Analytics Dashboard) offer the data to support this transition your value as a consultant or agency partner is applying that data to client-specific strategy and action.