Amazon now caps referral fees on your first 200 units of a new FBA product — if you inbounded on or after July 30

Key takeaways

• From July 30, 2026 the FBA New Selection Program caps the referral fee at 10% (or your category rate if lower) on the first 100 units sold of a qualifying new-to-FBA parent ASIN, then at 5% on the next 100 units. The credit is applied at the point of sale, not paid as a rebate weeks later.
• The same enrollment adds 120 days of free monthly storage on the first 200 units, free returns processing and free liquidations on those units. The clock starts on the date your first inventory is received, not the date you list.
• The 2026 version runs as an introductory offer through October 31, 2026. Sellers on the old program were migrated automatically on July 30, but ASINs listed after October 31 need confirmed enrollment.
• The '$25,000 per ASIN' figure circulating in August coverage — and in the first version of this article — is a conflation with New Seller Incentives, a separate account-level program with $50,000 and $950,000 sales tiers. No Amazon page attaches a dollar cap to New Selection.
• On a $30 item in a 15% category, the cap is worth $1.50 per unit on the first hundred and $3.00 per unit on the second hundred: $450 per launch before storage and returns waivers.

The first version of this article said Amazon was discounting referral fees on the first $25,000 of revenue per new branded ASIN. That number came from a news roundup, and it was wrong. Amazon runs two programs that get blended together in secondhand summaries, and the one that changed on July 30 is unit-based, not dollar-based. Here is what it actually does, and what the other program does.

01Two programs, one confusion

	FBA New Selection Program (2026)	New Seller Incentives
Who	Any Professional seller launching a new-to-FBA branded parent ASIN	Sellers in their first year, brand enrolled in Brand Registry within six months
Benefit	Referral fee capped at 10% on units 1–100 and 5% on units 101–200; 120 days free storage, free returns and liquidations on the first 200 units	10% back on the first $50,000 of eligible branded sales, then 5% on the next $950,000; plus ad, coupon, Vine and inbound shipping credits
Basis	Per parent ASIN, by units	Per account, by dollars
Applied	At the point of sale as a fee credit	Monthly, as credits against next month’s referral fees
Window	Introductory offer through October 31, 2026	One year from first buyable ASIN, or until the cap

The $25,000 figure does not appear in either. If you read it somewhere, the writer added two programs together and divided by nothing.

02What the 2026 New Selection Program pays

Take a $30 product in a 15% referral category.

Units	Standard referral fee	Capped fee	Saving per unit	Saving on the band
1–100	$4.50 (15%)	$3.00 (10%)	$1.50	$150
101–200	$4.50 (15%)	$1.50 (5%)	$3.00	$300
201+	$4.50	$4.50	—	—

$450 per launch on referral alone. Then the waivers: 120 days of monthly storage on 200 units (small money off-peak, real money if the 120 days cross October), free return processing on those units, and free liquidation if the launch fails — which is the waiver most sellers never price, and the one that makes a failed launch cheaper to exit.

Categories with referral rates already at or under 10% get less from the first band and the full benefit from the second. An 8% category saves nothing on units 1–100 and 3 points on 101–200.

03What qualifies

• A new-to-FBA parent ASIN — the first time that parent has FBA inventory received. Existing ASINs moved from FBM do not qualify.
• Branded: the ASIN carries a brand enrolled in Brand Registry, or you are the brand owner.
• Professional selling plan, per the program terms.
• First inventory received on or after July 30, 2026 to get the 2026 terms. Inventory received July 29 is on the old rebate structure.
• Enrollment confirmed before October 31, 2026 for ASINs listed after that date; sellers already in the old program were migrated on July 30.

Seller Central > Growth > Explore Programs > FBA New Selection shows enrollment status and the ASIN eligibility list. Seller Central > Reports > Fulfillment > Payments > Fee Preview shows the capped referral fee against qualifying units once they start selling; check that the credit is actually appearing on the second settlement after launch.

04Where this changes launch math

The credit lands in the first 200 units, which is the launch window where you are also spending most on advertising. On the $30 example, $450 of fee relief is roughly a week of launch PPC. Treat it as ad budget you did not have to fund, not as margin.

The liquidation waiver changes the failure case. Under the launch sequence guide a failed launch normally ends in removal fees or liquidation at a fraction of cost. Free liquidation on the first 200 units means the downside on a small test order is the inventory itself, not the inventory plus the exit.

The storage waiver has a date trap. 120 days from a September 15 receipt runs to January 13 — through the whole $2.40 peak storage period. 120 days from a June 1 receipt runs out on September 29, the day before rates triple. Time launches so the waiver covers Q4 if you can.

05What to do this month

• List every launch planned before October 31 and confirm enrollment on the program page. Automatic migration is not the same as verified coverage.
• Move any launch sitting on the fence to before October 31. The introductory terms are the ones worth having.
• Price the first 200 units at the capped fee in your launch model, and the units after that at the full rate. A launch model built on 10% all the way through will be wrong from unit 201.
• Stop quoting $25,000. If your launch spreadsheet has that number in it, it came from the wrong program.

Which of your planned ASINs will have inventory received before October 31? That list is the whole decision.

Frequently asked

Is the benefit a discount on the first $25,000 in sales?

No. The FBA New Selection Program (2026) is unit-based: a referral fee cap of 10% on the first 100 units and 5% on the next 100 units of a qualifying new FBA parent ASIN. The $50,000 / $950,000 dollar tiers belong to New Seller Incentives, a separate account-level program for first-year sellers.

Does this apply to unbranded products?

No. The 2026 program applies to branded parent ASINs — brand enrolled in Brand Registry, or you are the brand owner. Unbranded and reseller catalogs are outside it.

I was in the old New Selection program — do I need to re-enroll?

Sellers enrolled in the prior program were migrated to the 2026 terms on July 30, 2026. Confirm on the program page anyway, and confirm enrollment before October 31, 2026 for ASINs you list after that date.

When does the 120-day storage waiver start?

On the date your first inventory for that parent ASIN is received at a fulfillment center — not the listing date. Plan the receipt date so the 120 days cover October to December if you can.

Where do I see the credit?

In the Fee Preview report and on your settlement, as a reduced referral fee on qualifying units. Check the second settlement after launch; if the fee shows the full category rate, the ASIN is not enrolled.

Sources

1. FBA New Selection Program (2026): program page and eligibility (referral fee cap 10% on first 100 units and 5% on next 100 units; 120-day storage, returns and liquidation waivers; effective July 30, 2026; enrollment through October 31, 2026), Amazon Seller Central Help and Seller Forums announcement accessed 2026-09-04
2. New Seller Incentives: 10% on the first $50,000 in eligible branded sales, then 5% on the next $950,000; Brand Registry within six months, Amazon Seller University, New Seller Incentives guide (PDF) Secondary accessed 2026-09-04
3. FBA New Selection 2026: a day-before prep playbook (no Amazon page uses a $25,000 threshold; unit-based 100 + 100 mechanic; the dollar tiers belong to New Seller Incentives), Digital Applied Secondary accessed 2026-09-04
4. Amazon New Selection Program 2026: rules and October 31 deadline (10% then 5% caps; 120-day waivers; automatic migration; enrollment confirmation), DataDive Secondary accessed 2026-09-04
5. Amazon news, August 2026 — the source of the $25,000 framing, retained here for transparency, AMZScout Secondary accessed 2026-09-04