Every time Amazon updates its fees, two things happen: half the industry cries disaster, and the other half doesn't even communicate with them. Both reactions cost money.
The 2026 update is, on average, modest. But the average is the least useful thing to look at when talking about margins: The bill varies greatly depending on what you sell, how big it is, and how long it stays in stock..
Let's look at the numbers and, above all, who really pays them.
The numbers of the 2026 update
Let's start from the facts, referring to the update communicated by Amazon for the US market and entered into force, unless otherwise indicated, on January 15, 2026:
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): average increase of 0.08 $ per unit sold, or less than 0.5% of the selling price of an average item. This comes after a 2025 in which American reporting and FBA fees had not increased.
- It is not uniform: small standard products increase on average by 0.12 $ per unit, those out of size of 0,31 $.
- Reporting fee (the percentage that Amazon takes from each sale): essentially unchanged, with the exception of the threshold on food, where products just above 15 $ pay significantly more.
- Fuel surcharge applied to logistics rates from April 2026.
A clarification that is worth more than everything else: These numbers concern the American marketplace. If you sell on Amazon.it, Amazon.de, or other European marketplaces, your rates follow their own tables. The official price list for your storefront in Seller Central is the only source you should rely on: everything else, including this article, is intended to help you understand your direction, not to help you compile a business plan.
Who really pays the increase?
For a seller with standard sized products and healthy rotation, average inventory age under 90 days, the net impact is below the 1% margin. It's background noise.
The numbers change in three situations, and they are always the same three:
1. Oversized products. An average of 0.31 $ more per unit on an item that perhaps already has a slim margin and high storage costs. At significant volumes, it becomes a budget item.
2. Slow moving stocks. A product that doesn't sell well pays twice: the accumulated storage costs and the surcharges on old, unsold stock. Rising logistics fees are the least of their worries, but they're what triggers the review.
3. Products on the border between two size ranges. This is the most annoying and easiest to fix. A two-centimeter-tighter package can lower a product's price range and affect its price much more significantly than the annual increase. It's worth measuring the packaging of the top twenty products by revenue: you often find one or two that are out of range by a fraction of a second.
What to do, in order of impact
A strategic review isn't necessary. It takes half a day with the cost file open.
Recalculate the actual unit margin on the first 20 products. Not the theoretical margin: the real one, including referral fees, logistics, storage, returns, and attributed advertising. In an average catalog, at least one product always pops up that sells well and earns zero.
Check the size ranges. Measure and weigh the actual packaging, not the one on the technical data sheet. This is the single intervention with the highest return.
Reduce inventory age before surcharges kick in. Better a discount today than a premium for old goods in six months.
Review prices selectively, not linearly. Reducing your entire price list by the same amount is the fastest way to lose ground on price-sensitive products and leave margin on the table for non-price-sensitive ones. Raise prices where demand holds up, and cut costs where they don't.
The right question is not “how much has it increased”
The right question is: on this product, how much do I have left in my pocket after all the costs, and at what speed does it run?
I've seen catalogs with two hundred items where thirty products made up 80% of the margin and fifty were at a net loss without anyone noticing, because the calculation was aggregated. Updating the prices, in those cases, isn't the problem: it's the opportunity to calculate the line-by-line calculation.
Those with healthy margins and a thriving inventory absorb these increases without realizing it. Those without them already had the problem, and the tariffs only made it more visible.
In two lines: The average Amazon fee increase for 2026 is small, but it impacts listings differently depending on size and turnover. Calculate by product, not by catalog: and always check your marketplace's fees, not the US ones.
If you want a margin analysis for ASINs on your catalog, write to me.
Sources
– Amazon Selling Partners: Update to US Referral and Fulfillment by Amazon fees for 2026
– Feedvisor: Amazon's 2026 fee update: 3 things to know
– Seller Snap: Amazon fee changes 2026
– AMZ Prep: Amazon FBA fees 2026 + April surcharge update
All prices quoted refer to the US marketplace. For European marketplaces, please consult the updated fee schedule in your Seller Central account.