Amazon Restore to New Return Processing Fee Takes Effect September 30, 2026
Amazon will charge fees from September 30, 2026, for returns successfully restored to new condition under the Restore to New program.
What are the key facts?
- 1Fees apply to enrolled sellers from September 30, 2026
- 2Returns successfully restored to new condition will incur fees
- 3The public page does not fully list all specific rates
What happened?
Amazon Seller Central’s fee information states that, from September 30, 2026, sellers enrolled in Restore to New will incur applicable fees for returns successfully restored to new condition. The change primarily affects sellers whose returns are processed, inspected, refurbished, and resold through Amazon; not all standard FBA sellers will be affected. Sellers need to recalculate the actual recovery value of returned products because refurbishment, inspection, repackaging, and post-restock storage costs may reduce margins for low-priced or high-return-rate products. For higher-value products or items with strong resale potential, restoring them to new condition may still be more profitable than liquidation or removal. The current public page shows the effective date but does not fully list all category, size, and specific rates. Exact charges should be confirmed in the Seller Central fee preview and program terms.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
From September 30, 2026, returns enrolled in Restore to New and successfully restored to new condition will incur processing fees. Sellers should not assess recovery value based only on product price. Refurbishment, inspection, packaging, and storage costs may further reduce margins for low-priced or high-return-rate products, while higher-value products should be compared across restoration, liquidation, and removal outcomes.
What should sellers do now?
- 1Record the charges for each Restore to New category, size, and processing result in the Seller Central fee preview and program terms, and compile the participating return SKUs into a verifiable fee table.Profit calculator
- 2For each participating Restore to New return SKU, enter the selling price, return rate, refurbishment fee, inspection, packaging, and storage costs into a profit model, and compare the recovery value of restoration to new, removal, and liquidation.Breakeven calculator