Amazon has set a new deadline for returns on orders you ship yourself in the United States. From 18 December 2026, most of these returns need a prepaid return label, and you have seven calendar days to provide one. If you sell on Amazon.com and post your own orders, sort this out before the Christmas returns start.
What is changing
Amazon told sellers about the change by email in October 2026. From 18 December 2026, most US returns on seller-fulfilled (FBM) orders must come with a prepaid return label. Today you can give some buyers only a return address, so they pay the postage themselves. From 18 December that will no longer meet Amazon's rules.
When a buyer asks to return an item, you have seven calendar days to do one of two things:
- upload a prepaid return label through Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns in Seller Central, or
- give a full refund without asking for the item back.
If you do neither, Amazon may refund the buyer itself and take the money from your account. The buyer may also keep the product, so you can lose both the sale and the stock.
Labels must go through Amazon's own returns process. A label you email to the buyer yourself will not count.
There is one exception for now. Heavy and bulky items are excluded, but Amazon has described this exclusion as temporary.
Why this matters now
For many sellers this is not a big change. Most US sellers were moved onto Amazon's prepaid returns programme automatically in February 2026. Address-only labels still covered some cases, though, and those are the gaps this change closes.
The timing is the hard part. 18 December falls in the middle of the busiest returns season. Orders from Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas will start coming back around then. With a fixed seven-day limit, a few days away from Seller Central could cost you money.
Who it affects
- Sellers on Amazon's US store who ship their own orders. This is the main group.
- UK and EU sellers who sell into Amazon.com and post orders themselves. The rule is about US returns, not about where your business is based.
- Sellers of heavy and bulky items. You are excluded for now, but plan for the exclusion ending.
The notices only cover US returns. Sellers who use only Amazon's UK or European stores are not mentioned in them. Still, check your Seller Central messages for anything about your own region.
What to do before 18 December
1. Check your return settings in Seller Central. Set up prepaid return labels in Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns now. Don't leave it until the week before.
2. Give one person the job of watching the seven-day clock. Seven calendar days includes weekends and bank holidays. Plan cover for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year. If you're a one-person business, set a daily reminder to check returns.
3. Look at your returns by product. Find out which products come back most and why. Those are the ones where return postage will add up fastest.
4. Work return postage into your prices. If you ship your own orders to US buyers, a return can now cost you a label as well as the refund. For cheaper items, check your margin still works once you allow for some returns.
5. Decide your approach for low-value items. For some products, a refund without the item coming back may cost less than a return label plus handling. Make that choice in advance so nobody has to decide under time pressure.
6. Check which of your items count as heavy or bulky. If you rely on the exclusion, write down which products it covers. Then you will be ready if it ends.
7. Keep an eye on Amazon's own wording. Commentators have pointed out that the seller email and the Seller Central help pages do not cover every detail in the same way. If something is unclear for your account, ask Seller Support and keep a record of the answer.
Doing it in invtri
You set up return labels in Amazon's Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns, and the seven-day clock runs there too. invtri can help with the work around it.
- See your Amazon orders alongside everything else. invtri brings every order from every channel into one dashboard. Orders are imported every 15 minutes, and tracking is sent back to the marketplace. This makes it easier to see which orders came from Amazon's US store and which ones you shipped yourself.
- Price each channel on its own terms. In invtri, each channel is priced from your margin rules, starting from your supplier cost. If return postage changes your sums for Amazon US, you can adjust that channel's margin rule without touching your other marketplaces.
- Your own account, your own keys. invtri works through your own seller account and API keys on each marketplace. Amazon is one region per licence, so for this change that region would be Amazon North America. Learn more on our Amazon channel page.
If you'd like to see how this fits your setup, you can start a 7-day free trial with no card required.
Sources
- Amazon forces prepaid return labels on US seller orders from December 18 (PPC Land) – published October 2026
- Post on Amazon's FBM prepaid return label rule (Threads) – 19 October 2026
- What changes for Amazon sellers before December 18? (AMZ Sellers Attorney) – 23 October 2026
- What does Amazon's December 18 prepaid return label rule mean for FBM sellers? (AMZ Sellers Attorney) – 29 October 2026
- New Amazon prepaid return label requirement starting December 18 (My Amazon Guy) – 30 October 2026
- Amazon's new 7-day return rule can cost you the product and the sale (EcomCrew) – published October 2026
Written with AI assistance.