If you've been selling on Amazon for a minute, you know the drill. Every time you think you’ve finally mastered your margins, a new notification pops up in Seller Central. Well, the Amazon marketplace fee changes October 2025 are officially here, and honestly, they’re a bit of a mixed bag. While we aren't seeing massive, across-the-board hikes like in previous years, the holiday season always brings its own set of "surprises."
Basically, Amazon is leaning hard into two things: efficiency and predictability. They’ve realized that if they keep changing the rules every three months, sellers lose their minds. So, for the bulk of 2025, they actually kept things relatively steady. But don't let that fool you into getting lazy. October 15 marks the start of the holiday peak fulfillment window, and if you aren't paying attention to the specific dates and size tiers, your Q4 profits will basically evaporate into the Seattle fog.
The Big Peak Season Shift: October 15, 2025
The most immediate thing you need to worry about is the 2025-2026 holiday peak fulfillment fee. It’s officially live as of October 15, 2025, and it runs all the way through January 14, 2026.
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Now, there’s a massive "gotcha" here that most people aren't talking about. In the past, the fee was often tied to when the customer clicked "buy." This year, Amazon is sticking to a ship date rule. This is huge. If a customer orders a product on October 12, but for some reason, it doesn't leave the warehouse until the 16th? You’re paying the peak fee.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a headache for products with longer lead times or if you're using a 3PL that’s slow to get stuff into the FBA system.
What are the actual rates?
You’ll be happy to hear that the peak rates are largely consistent with what we saw last year. Amazon is trying to play nice to keep the marketplace stable. However, "stable" still means "expensive." For a small standard-size item weighing under 2 oz, you’re looking at an increase from the non-peak rate of $3.06 up to $3.25. That’s a 19-cent jump per unit.
It doesn't sound like much until you realize that if you move 10,000 units this Christmas, you just handed Amazon an extra two grand for the same service. For larger items, the bite is even deeper. A large standard item in the 2.75 to 3 lb range jumps to $7.03 during the peak window.
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Storage Fees Are the Real Profit Killer
If you’re sitting on "dead" inventory right now, you need to move it. Like, yesterday. October is the month where Amazon’s monthly storage fees go from "annoying" to "extortionate."
[Image comparing Amazon non-peak storage fees vs peak storage fees for standard size items]
From January through September, the standard-size storage fee was about $0.78 per cubic foot. Starting in October, that number triples to $2.40 per cubic foot. It’s basically a penalty for using Amazon’s warehouses as a long-term storage unit during their busiest time of the year.
I’ve seen so many sellers forget to audit their aged inventory before the October 1st cutoff. If you have products that have been sitting there for more than 181 days, you’re getting hit with the Aged Inventory Surcharge on top of the tripled monthly rate. It’s a double whammy that can turn a profitable SKU into a liability in just 30 days.
The "New Selection" Loophole You Should Be Using
It’s not all bad news, though. One of the more interesting aspects of the Amazon marketplace fee changes October 2025 is the expansion of the FBA New Selection program.
Amazon is desperate for new, fresh products. To encourage this, they’re waiving the Inbound Placement Service Fee for new parent ASINs. If you’re launching a new product right now, you can get the fee waived for the first 100 units.
Why this matters
The Inbound Placement Fee was a big point of contention when it rolled out earlier in the year. It basically charged you for sending all your stuff to one warehouse instead of splitting it up. By getting this waived for new launches, you're essentially saving between $0.21 and $0.68 per unit depending on size.
They’re also offering some serious "New Seller" incentives. If you’re a brand-new seller who just joined the fray, you can get up to $400 in inbound fee credits. It's sorta like a welcome gift, but one that actually helps your bottom line.
Referral Fees: The One Place We Got a Break
Believe it or not, referral fees (the percentage Amazon takes off the top of every sale) haven't changed for most categories in the US for 2025.
- Most Categories: Still 15%
- Electronics: 8%
- Clothing: They actually kept the lower rates for items under $20 (5-10%) to compete with Temu and Shein.
- Grocery: 8% for items under $15.
This stability is the only reason some sellers are staying afloat right now. With ad costs (PPC) going through the roof, at least the base "rent" for the platform hasn't spiked.
The Hidden SIPP Discount
If you haven't looked into Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP), you’re literally leaving money on the table. Amazon is pushing this hard. If your product is sturdy enough to be shipped without an extra Amazon brown box, they’ll give you a fulfillment fee discount.
We’re talking anywhere from $0.04 to $1.32 off per unit. For bulky items, this is a game changer. If you can certify your packaging, you bypass the new "packaging fee" that’s hitting non-SIPP bulky items starting in 2026 (but the incentives are already live now).
Looking Ahead to 2026 (The "Modest Reset")
While we're focused on October 2025, Amazon has already dropped the bomb about January 15, 2026. They’re calling it a "modest reset," but it’s basically an average increase of $0.08 per unit for FBA fees once the peak season ends.
Instead of the fees going back down to the old 2025 levels after the holidays, they’re going to settle at a slightly higher baseline. For example, standard-size products priced between $10 and $50 will see that 8-cent bump. It’s small, but it’s a sign that the "fee holiday" we enjoyed in 2025 is coming to an end.
Actionable Steps for the Next 30 Days
Don't just read this and go back to scrolling. You've got work to do if you want to keep your margins intact through the end of the year.
- Run a "Liquidate or Remove" Audit: Go to your FBA Inventory age report. Anything over 180 days needs to be gone. Run a "Black Friday" sale early or just create a removal order before the storage fees triple.
- Verify Your Size Tiers: Sometimes Amazon's scanners (Cubiscan) get it wrong. If a product is marked as "Large Standard" but it’s actually "Small Standard," you’re overpaying on every single shipment. Get it re-measured now.
- Check Your Ship Dates: If you're doing Merchant Fulfilled (FBM) to supplement your FBA, make sure your handling times are dialed in. Avoid having orders bleed into the peak fee window if you can help it.
- Enroll in SIPP: If your packaging is ready, get the certification. It’s the easiest way to lower your per-unit cost without changing your price.
- Prep for the January Reset: Build that extra 8-cent to 30-cent fee into your 2026 pricing models now.
Selling on Amazon is a game of pennies. The Amazon marketplace fee changes October 2025 might seem incremental, but they represent the difference between a profitable Q4 and just "working for Amazon." Keep your inventory lean, your packaging efficient, and your eyes on the ship dates.