https://fbatactics.com/ Marketplace seller operations: fees, shipping, customs and compliance. Every figure sourced and dated. en Sat, 05 Sep 2026 22:08:45 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/featured-offer-eligibility-gate-removed/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/featured-offer-eligibility-gate-removed/ One of two steps removed; selection criteria unchanged — Amazon's July 6, 2026 announcement removes the first step in Featured Offer selection — the seller-performance screen — in every store by the end of 2026. The ranking step, and the pricing rules that suppress offers, are unchanged. What the announcement says, what it does not say, and what to check in your account. Scaling Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/pricing-health-featured-offer-fix-order/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/pricing-health-featured-offer-fix-order/ Eligible-and-close band: within 5% of the Featured Offer price — Amazon — Every price-driven Featured Offer loss lands in one of three Pricing Health rows: deactivated for a suspected pricing error, ineligible against the Competitive External Price, or eligible within 5% and not winning. What each row means in Amazon's words, the fix that clears it, and the margin check to run first. Scaling Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/amazon-200-billion-quarter/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/amazon-200-billion-quarter/ Q2 2026: net sales up 20% to $200.6 billion, advertising up 26% to $19.8 billion. Demand is accelerating — and so is the pay-to-play pressure on organic visibility. The seller read, plus what to watch at Accelerate on 22-September 24. Scaling Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/ebay-depop-etsy-layoffs/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/ebay-depop-etsy-layoffs/ The Depop acquisition completed with eBay pledging to run the resale platform intact; Etsy announced 200 layoffs days after receiving the cash. What the reshuffle signals for sellers on both platforms — and why fee structures are the thing to watch next. Scaling Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/labor-day-inbound-week/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/labor-day-inbound-week/ September 7 removes a working day from carriers, ports and receiving docks in the same week your Q4 freight is supposed to move. What a holiday week actually does to transit and check-in times, and the two adjustments that cost nothing this week and save a scramble next week. Shipping & logistics Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/ai-image-tagging-rule/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/ai-image-tagging-rule/ Amazon now requires product images and A+ Content featuring photorealistic AI-generated people to include 'contains-synthetic-performer' in the image file's XMP metadata before upload — with real people, AI-edited real people and non-photorealistic figures reported exempt. Scaling Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/sqp-rufus-free-research/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/sqp-rufus-free-research/ Two data sources already inside Seller Central tell you what Amazon's AI wants to know about your product: the Search Query Performance dashboard and the questions Rufus itself displays on your listing. How to read both, and turn them into listing edits — without buying a single tool. Scaling Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/tiktok-shop-plus-membership/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/tiktok-shop-plus-membership/ TikTok Shop is testing a paid membership bundling free shipping, discounts and coupons at three monthly tiers — a deliberate shift from impulse buying toward repeat purchasing. What a loyalty layer would mean for sellers still digesting the 8% fee. Fees & reimbursements Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/aged-inventory-15-month-tier/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/aged-inventory-15-month-tier/ Decision points: day 150, day 240, day 330, month 12 — The storage guide explains the aged-inventory surcharge. This one decides. At each band from day 181 to the new 15-month tier, here is the monthly cost of holding one unit, the cost of removing it, and the discount at which selling it down beats both. Fees & reimbursements Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/fbt-fixed-dollar-problem/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/fbt-fixed-dollar-problem/ ~$2.86–$4.28 per unit (seller-tool estimate) — Fulfilled by TikTok prices per unit in dollars while every other cost scales in percentages — at roughly $2.86-$4.28 per unit, that flat fee is ~9% of a $40 sale and about a quarter of a $15 one. The SKU-selection rule that falls out of the arithmetic, sharpened by August's move to 8%. Fees & reimbursements Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/title-limit-984-million/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/title-limit-984-million/ Amazon's August 13 FAQ reports more than 984 million product titles updated since the June announcement. The 75-character cap has been in force since July 27; over-limit titles are being rewritten by AI on Amazon's schedule — and only brand-registered sellers get a review window. Scaling Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/etsy-offsite-ads-economics/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/etsy-offsite-ads-economics/ 12-15% on attributed orders — Under $10,000 in trailing sales the program is optional at 15%; cross the threshold once and it is mandatory for the life of the shop at 12% — Etsy's own policy says so. The economics at handmade price points, the $100 cap, and the decision to make before the threshold makes it for you. Fees & reimbursements Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/new-asin-referral-incentive/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/new-asin-referral-incentive/ 10% cap on units 1–100, 5% on 101–200, per new parent ASIN — The 2026 FBA New Selection Program replaced the old rebate with an instant referral-fee cap: 10% on the first 100 units of a new branded parent ASIN, 5% on the next 100, plus 120 days of free storage, returns and liquidations. The enrollment window closes October 31, 2026. Earlier coverage — including ours — quoted a $25,000 threshold that belongs to a different program. Fees & reimbursements Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/peak-surcharge-2026-schedule/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/peak-surcharge-2026-schedule/ Q4 unit cost = (base + peak uplift) × 1.035 — The peak fee guide explains the rule. This page is the arithmetic: base 2026 fee, plus the peak uplift, times 1.035, for six representative size tiers — against what the same unit cost last peak. Copy the sheet, replace the fees with yours. Fees & reimbursements Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/bsa-collateral-change-2026/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/bsa-collateral-change-2026/ Effective August 24, 2026, the Business Solutions Agreement bars sellers from transferring rights under the agreement and from pledging future Amazon sales revenue as collateral — a quiet clause with loud consequences for anyone using revenue-based financing. Getting started Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/q4-deal-deadlines-2026/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/q4-deal-deadlines-2026/ Deal deadlines: Sep 8 / Oct 20 — Deal-submission windows for the holiday season: Prime Big Deal Days closes September 8, Black Friday/Cyber Monday closes October 20 — with a $50-per-deal early-submission discount for BF/CM until September 5. The dates, and the math to run before opting in. Scaling Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/q4-freight-booking-window/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/q4-freight-booking-window/ Peak fulfillment fees start October 15 and Q4 storage steps up October 1 — which means your freight booking date is already decided by arithmetic, not preference. The backwards count from selling window to PO date, mode by mode. Shipping & logistics Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/rufus-listing-optimization/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/rufus-listing-optimization/ Amazon's AI assistant is at 250M+ users and 38% of Black Friday 2025 sessions — yet classic search still drives 80-85% of discovery. What to change in a listing, in priority order, without burning money on the hype: backend attributes, Rufus's own prompted questions, image alt text, and the partial attribution data in Brand Analytics. Scaling Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/walmart-new-seller-savings-2026/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/walmart-new-seller-savings-2026/ 20-40% off referral fees, first year — Walmart's New-Seller Savings 2026 runs to January 31, 2027: 20-40% off base referral fees by GMV tier, $2,000 in WFS credits, $1,500 in ad credits — and an opt-in step most sellers will miss. What the discounts are really worth at normal volumes, per Walmart's own terms. Scaling Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/annual-operating-calendar/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/annual-operating-calendar/ Two minutes daily · one hour monthly — Ninety guides produce about thirty recurring dates: daily checks, monthly reviews, quarterly rebuilds, and a handful of fixed calendar deadlines that decide a whole quarter. This is the assembled version. Getting started Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/buyer-seller-messaging/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/buyer-seller-messaging/ If unsure, use Request a Review instead — Messaging policy divides into necessary and proactive permitted messages. AI scanning every message and blocking persuasive language, external links, emojis, incentives and even the buyer's first name. Getting started Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/product-inserts/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/product-inserts/ Inserts allowed · review gating is not — Inserts are allowed. Review gating is not, incentives are not, and redirecting shoppers off Amazon is not. The distinction is narrower than most templates assume — and the safest version removes review language entirely. Getting started Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/review-manipulation-risk/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/review-manipulation-risk/ Patterns flagged · triggers not disclosed — A review manipulation notice names no reviews, no messages and no service. You identify the trigger yourself, on an account that may already be suspended. false positives as documented and common in 2026. Scaling Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/section-321-repeal-2027/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/section-321-repeal-2027/ Statutory repeal, not a suspension — The 2025 suspension was an executive action, reversible by another one. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act repeals Section 321 for commercial shipments by statute — which removes the possibility that any of this reverts. Shipping & logistics Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/tiktok-shop-fee-increase-2026/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/tiktok-shop-fee-increase-2026/ US referral: 6% → 8% on most non-food categories (August 4, 2026, trade reports) — Trade coverage dates the increase from 6% to 8% on most non-food US categories to August 4, 2026 — months after the promotional 1.8% rate ended in January. Two points reads small; on a thin-margin unit it is a fifth of the profit. The math, the conflicting sources, and the three checks to run in Seller Center this week. Fees & reimbursements Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/amazon-renewed/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/amazon-renewed/ Entry: $50,000 in invoices, ODR ≤ 0.8% — The program is invoice-gated, defect-rate-gated and warranty-backed. For Apple items the invoice threshold is $2.5 million. It is not a route for clearing your own returns — it is a business you either already run or do not. Scaling Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/packaging-design-fba/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/packaging-design-fba/ Decided at tooling, charged for years — Cubic feet multiply every storage layer. Dimensions set the size tier. Weight sets the fulfillment fee. Durability decides SIPP eligibility. Prep complexity sets a per-unit rate. And all of it is decided at tooling. Getting started Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/qc-inspections/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/qc-inspections/ PSI: $149–$400 per man-day — Pre-shipment inspection is the last moment you can refuse goods while the supplier still holds them and you still hold the balance payment. After that you are arguing about a refund from another jurisdiction. Getting started Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/sourcing-agents/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/sourcing-agents/ Ask how they are paid before what they charge — Agents solve real problems — language, verification, coordination, consolidation. The structural question is whether the party choosing your supplier is also the party telling you the goods are acceptable, and how they are paid. Getting started Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/supplier-payment-terms/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/supplier-payment-terms/ Inspect, then pay, then ship — Deposit, production, inspection, balance, shipment — in that order. Reverse any two steps and you are negotiating a refund instead of a rework, from a jurisdiction where you have no practical recourse. Getting started Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/antidumping-duties/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/antidumping-duties/ Case-by-case rates · formal entry regardless of value — Antidumping and countervailing duties are imposed on specific products from specific countries, at rates set case by case, and an expanding docket. They also force formal entry regardless of shipment value. Shipping & logistics Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/customs-bonds/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/customs-bonds/ Continuous bond: greater of $50,000 or 10% of prior-year duties (CBP) — A customs bond is a guarantee to CBP that your duties will be paid. It is mandatory on almost all formal entries, may be required on informal ones, and its size scales with duty — which rose sharply. Shipping & logistics Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/duty-drawback/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/duty-drawback/ Refund of up to 99% of duty paid — Duty drawback refunds duty paid on imported goods that are subsequently exported — in the same form or after manufacturing. it as underutilised by importers who export part of their production. Shipping & logistics Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/first-sale-valuation/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/first-sale-valuation/ Reported: 15–25% off the dutiable base — First sale valuation lets qualifying importers declare duty on the manufacturer's price rather than the intermediary's. Reported savings of 15% to 25% of the dutiable base — and a bill introduced in February 2026 would end it. Shipping & logistics Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/tariff-engineering-design/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/tariff-engineering-design/ HTS 2026 Basic Edition, then Revision 4 by February 25 — Tariff engineering means designing a product so it classifies under a lower-duty heading. The line between it and evasion is clear and worth understanding precisely — and the tariff schedule changed twice in the first two months of 2026. Shipping & logistics Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/country-of-origin-sourcing/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/country-of-origin-sourcing/ Substantial transformation, not final packaging — Country of origin is where a product was substantially transformed, not where it was shipped from. Repackaging, relabeling and simple final assembly do not qualify — and CBP will be enforcing the distinction more rigorously. Shipping & logistics Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/foreign-trade-zones/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/foreign-trade-zones/ Deferral · elimination on re-export · inverted tariff — Goods enter without duty until they leave the zone. Re-export and no duty is owed at all. And where you assemble inside the zone, you may pay whichever rate is lower — the components' or the finished product's. Shipping & logistics Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/origin-marking-requirements/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/origin-marking-requirements/ Marking duty: 10% ad valorem, on top of duty — 19 USC 1304 requires most imports to be marked with their country of origin, conspicuously, legibly and permanently. Goods that are not will attract a 10% ad valorem marking duty — and CBP may refuse entry entirely. Shipping & logistics Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/prior-disclosure-protests/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/prior-disclosure-protests/ Protest window: 180 days from liquidation, per entry — If you underpaid, a prior disclosure filed before CBP finds it changes the exposure. If you overpaid, a protest recovers it — but only within 180 days of liquidation, per entry, and the window runs quietly. Shipping & logistics Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://fbatactics.com/guides/tariff-stack-2026/ https://fbatactics.com/guides/tariff-stack-2026/ Four layers · one HTS code — Base MFN duty, Section 301, Section 232 and IEEPA measures stack on the same entry. Sources report effective rates commonly at 20% to 30% on ordinary consumer categories and far higher on some — and the structure keeps changing. Shipping & logistics Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT