Amazon recently released a seller preparation guide for the 2025 holiday shopping season, clarifying submission and inventory deadlines for various promotions, helping sellers plan ahead and seize peak season opportunities.
Offer Submission and Inventory Cutoff Dates
Submissions for Prime Day “Best Deals” and “Lightning Deals” are now open, and sellers must submit by September 12th. Regarding inventory, the deadline for inbound shipments through Amazon’s Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) network is August 29th; FBA minimally split inventory must arrive by September 10th, and optimized splits must arrive by September 19th to ensure Prime eligibility.
For Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, submissions for similar offers close by October 28th. Inventory arrival requirements are: October 9th for the AWD channel, October 20th for FBA Minimum Split, and October 30th for Optimized Split.
In addition, Prime Exclusive Discounts (PED) submissions will begin on September 10th, with coupon submissions to be determined after the event date is announced.
Peak Season Fulfillment Fees and Related Services
Peak Season fulfillment fees for services like FBA will apply from October 15, 2025, to January 14, 2026. During this period, sellers can refer to the “FBA Peak Season Preparation Playbook” in Seller Central for detailed guidance on how to plan their logistics costs.
To help sellers optimize their holiday inventory strategies, Amazon recommends using AWD as a low-cost, bulk storage solution with a pay-as-you-go model. During peak season, there are no additional fees for AWD, and inventory automatically replenished from AWD does not count towards FBA storage limits. During specific periods, sellers using AWD can enjoy a 25% discount on storage fees and a 15% discount on handling and shipping fees. These discounts will automatically appear in the monthly fee report in Seller Central.
Platform Policy Adjustments
Effective September 3rd, platform policies have been adjusted to no longer automatically remove negative or neutral reviews related to two types of returns: cases where the seller offers free returns, processes the return, and issues a refund; and cases where the seller withholds a portion of the refund for items returned used or damaged. Additionally, Amazon has launched an AI assistant that can suggest replies to buyers’ messages. Sellers can review and revise these suggestions before sending them, improving the efficiency and quality of communication with buyers.
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