Amazon Adjusts Fees for Reselling Returned Products: Refurbishment Sellers Need to Recalculate Recovery Profits
Amazon will expand the situations covered by return-resale processing fees, meaning successfully relisted products may incur processing fees.
What are the key facts?
- 1Amazon updated its explanation of fees for return-resale programs
- 2Starting September 30, 2026, Restore to New sellers will also incur processing fees for returned products successfully restored to new condition
- 3When participating in both programs, successful relisting triggers the processing fee
- 4The fee follows the existing processing-fee mechanism and applies only after successful relisting
- 5Affected sellers include those of electronics, home goods, tools, and durable goods with high return rates
What happened?
Amazon recently updated its help page explaining fees for its return-resale programs. For sellers participating in Restore to New, returned products successfully restored to new condition will also incur the applicable processing fee starting September 30, 2026. If a seller participates in both Restore to New and Sell as Used, a product will trigger the processing fee once it is successfully relisted, regardless of whether it is ultimately restored to new condition or sold under a used-product grade. The fee is not a new standalone charge; it follows the existing processing-fee mechanism and applies only after the product is successfully relisted. The change mainly affects sellers of electronics, home goods, tools, and durable goods with high return rates, as well as FBA sellers that rely on profits from refurbishing and recovering value from returns. Sellers need to recalculate return-recovery rates, refurbishment costs, used-item discounts, and storage periods to avoid expanding losses by continuing to include low-value returns in the programs.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
Starting September 30, 2026, returned products successfully restored to new condition through Restore to New will also incur a processing fee. When participating in both Restore to New and Sell as Used, any successfully relisted product will incur the fee. Sellers of electronics, home goods, tools, and durable goods with high return rates should reassess refurbishment and FBA return-recovery profitability.
What should sellers do now?
- 1This week, compile return-recovery rates, refurbishment costs, used-item discounts, storage periods, and relisting outcomes by SKU for electronics, home goods, tools, and durable goods with high return rates, and complete a verifiable profit-calculation sheet.Profit calculator
- 2This week, compare the plans of participating only in Restore to New versus participating in both Restore to New and Sell as Used, verify when the processing fee is triggered after successful relisting, and create an SKU-level plan comparison list.
- 3This week, screen low-value products in FBA return programs and, based on processing fees, refurbishment costs, used-item discounts, and storage periods, divide them into continue-in-program and pause-in-program lists, then complete an adjustment table for operations execution.Breakeven calculator