From 17 April 2026, Amazon added a surcharge of 3.5% to FBA fulfilment fees in the US and Canada, citing fuel and logistics costs, and extended it to Buy with Prime and Multi-Channel Fulfillment from 2 May. A smaller surcharge of 1.5% applies to fulfilment fees in the UK and the European stores. Amazon describes the surcharge as in place until further notice. In Japan, a new fee card from 1 April lowered many standard-size FBA fees while raising referral rates slightly for products above ¥750.
Profit after fulfilment, not before
Each change is small on its own. Together with January's annual fee updates and moving landed costs, they are a good reason to look at profit at the right level: per product, per market, after every fulfilment-related cost.
- Contribution margin = price minus referral fee, fulfilment fee and surcharges, landed cost, storage, returns and advertising.
- Break-even advertising cost follows directly from it. When fulfilment costs rise, the bid ceiling falls.
- Market comparison. The same product can be healthy in Germany and marginal in Canada. Averages across markets hide that.
What we changed
- Our pricing model now carries surcharges as separate, dated lines, so they can be removed cleanly if Amazon withdraws them.
- Advertising limits were recalculated in every affected market the week the surcharge took effect.
- Low-priced products close to break-even were reviewed for bundling or multi-pack options that spread fulfilment cost over more value.
Surcharges are rarely large enough to change strategy. They are large enough to turn a thin margin negative without anyone noticing, which is why we measure after fulfilment, every week.