For the upcoming holiday season, the Amazon peak season fulfillment fees 2025 will remain unchanged from last year’s rates for US sellers, providing predictable costs for Q4 planning.
For 57% of businesses, the holidays bring their biggest sales surge, but peak season fees shape whether sellers see gains or shrinking margins.
With Amazon peak season fees holding steady at last year’s rates, the real question is how sellers will adapt their pricing and inventory strategies to stay profitable.
Amazon Peak Season Fulfillment Fees 2025, Confirmed
smartscout"Peak Season FBA Outbound fees - 0.25 average increase in 2022"
In Seller Central, Amazon announced that peak fulfillment fees for the 2025-2026 holiday season will remain unchanged from the previous year. This cost stability allows sellers to better predict expenses and maintain pricing strategies during the critical Q4 period.
The holiday fee schedule will be in effect from October 15, 2025, through January 14, 2026. This three-month window covers the industry’s busiest shopping events, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
According to the announcement, the seasonal rates will apply across all of Amazon’s primary fulfillment networks. To help sellers plan effectively, Amazon has made the peak fee details available for preview.
Sellers can now access these rates using the Revenue Calculator and the Fee and Economics Preview Report.
Operational Efficiency and Market Competition Shape Fee Decision
In his article on Supply Chain Dive, Max Garland wrote that Amazon’s choice to maintain its fee structure aligns with recent gains in the company’s operational efficiency. These internal improvements have successfully lowered its overall cost to serve customers.
Although the company did not elaborate on the pricing decision, CEO Andy Jassy recently pointed to significant progress in making the fulfillment network faster and structurally more efficient. These efforts help Amazon cover elevated operating costs during the busy holiday season without passing on additional increases to sellers this year.
Key improvements to the fulfillment network include:
- Increasing the share of orders that move directly from fulfillment to delivery without intermediate stops.
- Consolidating more items into fewer boxes to streamline the shipping process.
The fee stability also comes amid heightened competition from Walmart, which is vying for third-party sellers. Walmart recently informed merchants that it will waive peak season storage fees from October through December 31 and offer discounts for its Multichannel Solutions fulfillment service.
To prepare for the season, Amazon advised sellers to induct their inventory into its network by October. Meeting this timeline is essential to ensure products are available for Prime delivery speeds during the critical Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events.
European Sellers Face New Holiday Fees as US Rates Remain Stable
While US Amazon sellers will not face a peak season fee increase compared to last year, it is a different story for merchants in Europe. Sellers in two of Amazon’s largest European markets will see new surcharges during the holiday period.
Meanwhile, Arjan van Oosterhout featured in his Ecommerce News report that Amazon will introduce an additional holiday season fee for fulfillment service users in the United Kingdom and Germany. The surcharge will apply from mid-October to mid-January and is intended to cover increased seasonal operating costs.
The specific holiday peak fulfillment fees for FBA will vary by country and item type. The new surcharges are detailed as follows:
- United Kingdom: An average of 10 pence per parcel and 5 pence per large or extra-large envelope.
- Germany: An average surcharge of 19 euro cents per item.
- Exclusions: The extra fee will not apply to oversize or low-price FBA items.
Amazon explained the decision is linked to higher fulfillment and transportation costs across the supply chain during the festive season. The company stated this change allows it to maintain delivery speed, expand fulfillment capacity, and support high customer demand.
This practice is similar to that of other major carriers, such as DHL in Germany, which also charges surcharges during its busiest weeks. The move by Amazon reflects a broader industry trend of adjusting fees to manage the heightened operational demands of the holiday shopping season.
Sellers Should Factor Peak Season Storage and Fulfillment Fees Into Business Planning
The holiday quarter offers significant sales opportunities, but it also brings sharply higher fulfillment and storage costs that can erode margins without careful planning.
Using the same fees applied last year, from October 15, 2025, through January 14, 2026, the surcharges will be $0.20 per unit for small standard items, $0.30 for large standard items, and $1.00 for oversize items. These rates apply across US FBA, Canada FBA, Remote Fulfillment with FBA, Multi-Channel Fulfillment, and Buy with Prime.
Storage fees will also hold steady, tripling during October through December. Standard-size products will cost $2.40 per cubic foot compared to the off-peak $0.78, while oversize items will rise to $1.40 per cubic foot from $0.53.
Strategic Advantages of Fee Stability
This decision provides sellers with several competitive benefits:
- Predictable Cost Planning – The unchanged fees allow for accurate budgeting and cash flow modeling.
- Inventory Timing Optimization – Sellers can decide whether to position inventory early, hold off on restocking, or remove slower items before October 15.
- Pricing Confidence – With no unexpected cost hikes, sellers can refine holiday pricing strategies months in advance.
Advanced Planning Framework
Sellers can calculate their true Q4 cost impact using a precise formula:
Total Peak Cost Per Unit = Base Fulfillment + Peak Surcharge + (Storage Rate × Product Volume × Duration).
For example, storing a standard-size item for the entire three-month peak period adds $4.86 in storage costs alone, before fulfillment surcharges. Knowing this in advance allows sellers to plan pricing, inventory mix, and promotional campaigns with certainty.
Amazon’s updated revenue calculator and fee preview reports now include peak surcharges, helping sellers model exact costs. Inventory should be inducted by October 2025 to ensure Prime delivery speeds for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Opportunities for Competitive Advantage
- Pricing Strategy – Fixed surcharges help sellers maintain margins while competitors face variable costs from other carriers.
- Product Mix – Higher-priced or fast-moving items absorb surcharges more effectively, while slow movers may need careful timing to avoid fees.
- Cash Flow Management – Sellers can now allocate 30-35% of their annual fulfillment budget to Q4 with accuracy rather than guesswork.
Long-Term Implications
Stable fees will influence product development, supplier negotiations, and market expansion strategies well beyond the holiday quarter. Sellers who treat fee predictability as a competitive lever can reinvest savings into growth rather than holding reserves for cost uncertainty.
For many, partnering with an Amazon agency may provide additional advantages, offering data-driven strategies that align with Amazon’s fee structure and optimize performance in a highly competitive marketplace.
Universal Cargo"Effectively managing peak season freight surcharges relies on a strategic blend of advance planning, carrier diversification, and supply chain optimization to mitigate costs and maintain transparency with customers."
