Overview

Amazon charges a returns processing fee on FBA products that experience return rates above category-specific thresholds. This fee is designed to offset the operational costs associated with processing returns and to discourage waste. For 2026, the fee continues to apply across most product categories, with distinct rules for apparel and shoes versus all other product types.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Threshold-based charging — The fee only kicks in when a product's return rate exceeds a specific threshold set for its category. Products below the threshold are not charged.
• Apparel and shoes are different — Unlike other categories, apparel and shoes have no threshold exemption. Every customer-returned unit incurs the fee regardless of overall return rate.
• Fee varies by size and weight — The per-unit charge is determined by a product's size tier and shipping weight, meaning larger or heavier items cost more when returned above threshold.
• Small-volume exemption — Products that shipped fewer than 25 units in a given month are completely exempt from the returns processing fee.
• New Selection program benefit — Sellers enrolled in FBA New Selection can have the first 20 returned units per eligible parent ASIN waived, provided items were received at a fulfillment center within 180 days of the first inventory-received date.
• Delayed billing cycle — Charges for a given month's returns are billed between the 7th and 15th day of the third month following the shipment month.

How the Fee Is Calculated

Amazon calculates a product's return rate by looking at the percentage of shipped units in a given month that are physically returned during that same month and the following two calendar months. If a product shipped 1,000 units in a particular month and 120 of those units came back as returns over the three-month window, the return rate would be 12%. Assuming the category threshold for that product is 10%, only the returns exceeding 100 units (10% of 1,000) would trigger the fee. In this example, 20 units would be charged the returns processing fee. The actual threshold varies by product category, so sellers should check the published category-specific rates on Seller Central.