Amazon Seller Fees Stack Up in 2026 as Washington Targets Marketplaces

Amazon's 2026 fees came in three rounds

Amazon did not raise third-party seller costs once in 2026. It raised them three times. Each change was small, and together they add up to a real increase. The first came on January 15, when fulfillment-by-Amazon (FBA) fees rose by an average of about $0.08 per unit. US referral fees stayed the same, and Amazon announced no new fee types13. Amazon put the increase at less than 0.5% of an average item's selling price18.

The second came on April 17, when Amazon added a 3.5% "fuel and logistics" surcharge to fulfillment fees in the US and Canada and on Remote Fulfillment from the US into Canada, Mexico and Brazil16. The surcharge was extended to Buy with Prime and Multi-Channel Fulfillment on May 220. Amazon linked it to fuel costs driven by the Iran war and has not said when it will end. At least one seller-side analyst expects it to stay even after fuel prices fall19.

The third round is under way now. Peak holiday rates run from October 15, 2026 through January 14, 2027 and add about $0.32 per unit on average. That premium is the same as the past two years, but this year the April surcharge is charged on top of it, so peak-season fulfillment costs more than it did in 202519. Standard-size storage also rises from $0.78 to $2.40 per cubic foot between October and December11.

The $0.08 average hides a lot

The coverage agrees on one point: Amazon's headline average describes very few real sellers. One repricing-software analysis found the January change ranged from nothing for large items under $10 to $0.51 per unit for small items priced above $5020. Fulfillment fees are now published in three price bands (under $10, $10 to $50, and over $50) instead of one fee per weight tier16. Sellers of low-priced goods did see some relief: the Low Price FBA program now gives an average discount of about $0.86 per unit on products under $1016.

The fuel surcharge adds roughly $0.15 to $0.35 per unit depending on size tier, and it stacks on the January increase15. Other changes made the bill more complicated. The old Large Bulky tier was split into Small Bulky and Large Bulky, and the inbound placement rate card was reset17. A new aged-inventory band starts at 456 days11. The low-inventory-level fee is now measured for each individual product variant (each FNSKU, Amazon's per-variant inventory code) rather than for the whole listing, and it now covers bulky items too16.

The fee guides do not always agree on details. Most say the low-inventory fee still applies below 28 days of supply1617. One says the threshold moved to 35 days18. Sellers should check Seller Central directly rather than rely on any one summary. Reports also differ on whether Amazon added new fee types. One tracker says none were introduced for 202613, while another lists sustainability handling fees and higher inbound defect fees12. These may simply be different counts of the same rate card, but the disagreement shows how hard the fee schedule has become to follow.

My reading is that the main problem in 2026 is complexity, not any one fee level. Each item on the bill is small, but they compound, and some of them push in opposite directions. The aged-inventory surcharge penalizes holding stock too long, and the low-inventory fee penalizes holding too little18. Sellers who check their minimum prices once a year will catch one of the three changes and miss the other two20.

The policy changes may matter more than the fees

Several non-fee changes may affect sellers' finances more than the fee increases. As of June 1, independent resellers must prove they are authorized to sell a product before creating a new listing. Sellers with existing listings have typically had 30 days to comply or risk suspension14. Under Amazon's DD+7 policy, payouts are released seven days after confirmed delivery. Amazon says this gives customers time to inspect and return items, but many sellers report it hurts their cash flow14. Amazon also ended inventory commingling, so resellers must label their stock with their own barcodes. Sellers largely welcomed that change14.

Advertising is a growing complaint. Sellers have criticized rising ad costs and a series of policy changes, and some top merchants have withheld ad spending in a boycott23.

Walmart sells itself on simpler fees

Walmart is pitching sellers on a simpler fee structure. It charges no setup or monthly fees, only a referral fee on items sold8. Amazon's Professional plan costs $39.99 a month, and its Individual plan charges $0.99 per item1. Walmart's referral fees are mostly flat rates of 8%, 10%, 12% or 15%, and in several categories the rate drops as the price rises1. Its fulfillment service (WFS) charges $0.75 per cubic foot per month for storage, with higher rates for inventory held more than 365 days as of June 30, 20261.

One comparison notes that Walmart has no equivalent to Amazon's fuel surcharge4. Walmart's New-Seller Savings program offers new sellers who go live after February 1, 2026 discounts on referral fees plus credits for fulfillment and advertising7. Reports give the total as up to $75,0007 or up to $72,000 in referral savings9.

Walmart is not cheap for every product. Low-priced items pay heavily there too. In one worked example, an $8 pet-supply item using WFS paid about 71% of its sale price in fees once the $1.00 surcharge for items under $10 was added1. Walmart also began enforcing seller standards for return rates, items not received and negative feedback in April 20269.

Scale also limits the comparison. Estimates put Walmart at about 150,000 third-party sellers and roughly $65 billion in third-party sales, against about 2.3 million sellers and $750 billion for Amazon4. Another guide says Walmart has passed 200,000 active sellers7. Either way, Walmart works well as a second channel but cannot yet replace Amazon. One industry estimate puts sellers' total cost of selling, including ads, at 37% to 51% of revenue on Amazon and 20% to 32% on Walmart for comparable catalogs. That estimate is a third-party model, not official data4.

Regulators are moving on three fronts

Washington's response falls into three separate efforts, and none has changed seller contracts yet.

The antitrust case. The FTC and 17 states sued in September 2023, alleging Amazon illegally maintains monopoly power, including in the market for marketplace services that sellers buy21. Judge John H. Chun has set a bench trial for March 29, 2027, and dispositive motions were due October 16, 202621. An older account still lists an October 2026 trial date, but that schedule has been replaced22. In September 2026, Amazon said it would ask to postpone the trial25. No court has found Amazon liable and no injunction has been issued, so Amazon's marketplace rules remain fully in force21.

The advertising case. On August 31, the FTC and 22 state attorneys general sued Amazon. They allege that a 2019 change to its ad auction added an undisclosed "soft reserve price" and that Amazon may have collected more than $20 billion from advertisers through hidden surcharges23. The complaint says Amazon inflated the cost of Sponsored Products ads for more than a million brands and marketplace sellers26. Amazon called the suit misguided and said its auction systems saved advertisers $8 billion between 2021 and 202523. Opinion on the case is split. A Forbes columnist argued that sellers, not Amazon, set ad bids and that the FTC misunderstands how the auction works24. For sellers, though, the complaint officially frames ad spending as an extra cost imposed by the platform, which is what boycotting merchants have been arguing.

Legislation. On July 21, Rep. Becca Balint introduced H.R. 9799, the Online Sellers' Bill of Rights Act of 2026, with Rep. Nydia Velázquez. It has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee30. The bill would require dominant platforms to prove a violation before suspending a seller. It would generally limit holds on inventory and funds to 30 days and require written notice within 72 hours of a hold30. It would also have the FTC write rules for the process and require 30 days' notice before policy changes27. Amazon and Walmart appear to be the main targets. However, the bill does not define what makes a platform "dominant," so it is unclear whether eBay or Etsy would be covered29. It sits in committee and currently changes nothing30.

What it means for sellers

Taken together, Amazon is charging more for each service, and regulators are focused on how Amazon treats sellers more than on what it charges. The antitrust case, the ad lawsuit and the House bill all address platform control: who sets ad prices, who can hold inventory and cash, and on what evidence. None of them targets FBA rates directly. In the short term, that leaves sellers paying the stacked fees while trials and hearings play out. The trial is more than four months away and could be delayed further25, so the practical approach is to recheck prices with each fee change, model Walmart as a margin hedge, and assume Amazon's current rules will stay in place through at least the 2026 holiday season.