Understanding Amazon Regulatory Fees for Sellers

💡 Amazon just rolled out a useful feature: Fee Explainers. If you’ve ever looked at a fee on your seller account and wondered why you were charged or how it was calculated—this is for you. Fee Explainers break down: ✅ What the fee is (definition) ✅ What affects it (attributes/variables) ✅ How it’s calculated (math behind it) The tool covers the following fee types: ● Subscription ● Referral ● Variable closing ● Fixed closing ● Refund administration ● Customer return ● High-return rate processing ● Removal ● Disposal You can now see these in both preview tools (like the Revenue Calculator) and review tools (like the Transaction view). It’s a big step forward in transparency—and I love that.

Last week Amazon announced updated FBA and referral fees, to go into effect January 15, 2026. And while the average increase appears nominal at first glance, the devil is in the details. Acadia Operations Manager Tamara Vukovic breaks down what’s changing and how brands can protect profitability amid rising logistics, ad, and operational costs. Here are three takeaways brands should pay attention to: 1️⃣ The Real Impact Lies Beneath the Averages. While fees are only rising ~$0.08 per unit on average, new inbound defect charges, dimensional weight rules, and aged inventory tiers could significantly affect ASIN-level margins. 2️⃣ Profitability Will Depend on Precision. Sellers who model fee changes at the SKU level, optimize inventory turnover, and manage packaging efficiency will come out ahead. Those who rely on averages may get caught off guard. 3️⃣ Amazon’s New Tools Can Work in Your Favor. With enhanced analytics like Profit Dashboards and Fee Previews, brands can forecast costs and reallocate resources more strategically before fees take effect. Read the full breakdown for insights, examples, and action steps to get ahead of the 2026 changes - blog linked in comments.

New Amazon Fee Explainer Tool Helps Sellers Decode Charges Amazon has rolled out a Fee Explainer tool to bring more transparency to the way selling fees are calculated and charged. Sellers can now see a breakdown of how and why fees appear on their account offering much-needed clarity on one of the most confusing parts of selling on Amazon. What It Covers: The tool currently supports explanations for: 🔹Subscription fees 🔹Referral fees 🔹Variable and fixed closing fees 🔹Refund administration fees 🔹Customer return and high-return rate processing fees 🔹Removal and disposal fees For each fee type, it outlines: 🔸A definition 🔸The variables or attributes used in the calculation 🔸A clear formula showing how the fee was determined How to Access It: Go to the Transaction View page (https://lnkd.in/dmuZWCev) in your Payments dashboard, select a transaction, and click the fee amount to view the explanation. Amazon plans to expand this tool to include more fee types later this year. Fee Explainers Help Page (https://lnkd.in/dRU7gWAY) Why It Matters for Sellers: This is a big win for financial clarity. If you’ve ever questioned where certain charges came from, this tool can help you validate or flag inconsistencies making it easier to track profitability and dispute potential errors. Be sure your finance team or bookkeeper knows about this update. ⬇️ Tap the link to read more about this update! https://lnkd.in/d8vrMjKv