What's changing
A fee category is Amazon's internal classification for charging fees, and it is not always the same as the browse category shoppers see. It sets the referral fee and, according to Amazon's fee guidance, can also affect closing fees, FBA fulfillment fees and FBA returns processing fees. When an ASIN is reassigned, its cost per unit can change even though the listing is untouched. The change was first reported by beBOLD Digital on October 13 and repeated by other seller-news sites. Amazon has not published the notice, so it is not known how ASINs were chosen or how many are affected. Reports say only some sellers are being notified, and that merchant-fulfilled ASINs are included because they also pay referral fees. Treat the details as reported, and confirm your own ASINs in Seller Central.
Who's affected: Sellers whose ASINs are reassigned, including merchant-fulfilled sellers, who also pay referral fees. Reports say only some sellers are being notified.
What to do about it
- Open the Fee Preview report in Seller Central and check each ASIN's current and upcoming fee category, starting with your highest-revenue products.
- Work out the effect on each ASIN: referral fee before and after, margin, advertising break-even and any Q4 price or promotion plans.
- If a category looks wrong, dispute it through Selling Partner Support with the ASIN, both categories and the product details, ideally before October 31.
