What’s waiting for you in 2026? Fee hikes

Ever wonder if your weekend to-do list secretly laughs at you while you nap?

Let’s dive in before it starts scheming.

• You can’t 10× with your setup, here’s why 🛠️
• 2026 just got expensive for sellers ⚡
• The secret stress test your orders already passed 📦
• Budget shoppers just picked their side 💳

BIG IDEA

Amazon said no fee hikes. Sellers heard “maybe later.”

Now it’s official: starting January 15, 2026, U.S. FBA fees are climbing, and margins will feel it if you’re not ready.

🍪 Quick bits

• Small standard >$50: +$0.31/unit (15.4% non-peak increase)
• $10–$50 products: +$0.08 to $0.25/unit, size-dependent
• Under $10 items: +$0.12/unit, biggest impact at scale
• New Small Bulky tier: Lower fees for former Large Standard items
• Fee cuts: Eligible SKUs see 21–23% reductions
  • Example: 10-lb item drops from $9.61 to $7.55
• Eligibility: 18–37 in longest side or 20–50 lbs
• Inbound placement: Fees rise for most items, up to +$0.72/unit
• SIPP: Cheaper enrollment; non-SIPP Bulky items +$1.50–$4/unit
• Overmax handling: $17–$25 for extra-large items

💬 SellerBites’ take

This is not just a fee increase. It is Amazon nudging sellers to get serious about operational discipline.

SKU sizing, packaging accuracy, and inbound planning now matter more than clever pricing. Sellers who ignore this will feel the squeeze all year.

TOGETHER WITH THREECOLTS

You can’t 10× your business on a broken stack.

You’re surviving Q4. You’re hitting your targets, but it’s chaos.

Thirty days of stress, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools that barely hold together.

❌ You can’t scale that. 

❌ You can’t hire a VA to manage five different apps.

❌ You’ve hit the ceiling of what your current setup can handle.

To grow, you might think you just need more tools. But no. 

You just need a better system.

Seller 365 is the unified operating system for your Amazon business.

It’s the all-in-one software bundle that scales with you, from your first sale to your first million and beyond.

Sourcing, accounting, repricing, reimbursements, and more. Every app you need, connected and working together.

This is what you graduate to when you’re ready to stop juggling and start building.

Try Seller 365 for free

BITES OF THE WEEK

• Seller Tip Sweepstakes: Amazon invites sellers to share holiday tips for a chance to win $100 gift cards.
• Tariffs Tamed: Off-price retailers offset tariffs using smart inventory and pricing, protecting margins through Q3 and Q4.
• Walmart Droning On: Walmart expands drone delivery in Atlanta, scaling faster last-mile fulfillment across major U.S. cities.
• Amazon Grip’s Germany: Two-thirds of German gift shoppers buy on Amazon, dwarfing physical stores and rivals.

TRENDING TOPIC

The lab breaking products so yours don’t arrive broken

In a warehouse south of Seattle, Amazon is putting boxes through their own extreme training.

The Packaging Innovation Lab tests products to survive bumps, drops, and shakes while cutting cardboard, plastic, and wasted space.

🍪 Quick bits

• Box stress tests: Stacked under a small car’s weight, and sides bowed under pressure.
• Vibration & impact: Tables mimic trucks and planes, and TVs strapped to incline impact machines simulate sudden braking.
• Packaging stats: 18M products certified to ship in their own packaging, and 12% of global shipments went packaging-free last year.
• Sustainability gains: Since 2015, 4.2M metric tons of packaging saved, and single-use plastics in NA shipments fell from 65% (2023) to 37% (2024).
• Plastic replacements: Hundreds of machines now make custom paper bags, replacing 15B plastic air pillows yearly.

💬 SellerBites’ take

Amazon is raising the bar for packaging efficiency and delivery safety while quietly making sustainability part of the standard.

Sellers who optimize their own packaging and invest in sturdy materials can reduce returns, protect margins, and align with a growing consumer expectation for eco-friendly shipping.

BIG IDEA

Who shoppers really trust when money is tight

Black Friday didn’t just test deals, it tested trust.

When wallets are tight, shoppers made it clear who they really count on, and the results reshaped the playing field for Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

🍪 Quick bits

• Amazon dominated Black Friday and became the budget magnet
  • Share jumped from 51% to 56%, driven by paycheck-to-paycheck shoppers and households under $50K
• Walmart stumbled when it should have glided
  • Participation dipped from 53.3% to 51.55%
  • Even budget shoppers and middle-income households pulled back
• Target opted out of the bargain battle
  • Struggling shoppers fell from 25% to 17.9%, Gen Z dipped slightly
  • Higher-income shoppers grew more loyal
• Opportunities shift
  • Inventory, pricing, and promotions need adjusting to match where demand actually moved

💬 SellerBites’ take

Black Friday didn’t just reward the biggest discounts, it rewarded clarity in who each retailer actually serves.

Sellers paying attention can use these shifts to position products where demand is actually growing instead of following last year’s assumptions. Timing, pricing, and targeting matter more than ever.