Good morning, sellers! Welcome to February 15, 2026‘s edition of your daily Amazon briefing.
Today we’re covering FBA removal/disposal billing changes, critical policy updates, fresh opportunities in Sponsored Brands, and the compliance changes you need to know before they hit your account. Let’s dive in…
Data timestamp: February 15, 2026, 8:35 AM ET
1. TOP STORY OF THE DAY — FBA Removal Order Fees + FBA Disposal Order Fees switch to per-unit, as-processed billing
What happened:
Amazon is changing when you’re charged for FBA removal and disposal. Starting February 15, 2026, Amazon will charge per unit at the time each unit is removed/disposed—instead of one lump-sum charge when the entire order finishes. Fee rates are unchanged; only the billing timeline changes. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Why it matters:
- Cash flow + reserves: Large cleanups (aged inventory, stranded cleanups, hazmat pulls) will create continuous debits instead of one predictable hit—this can trip low-balance accounts and increase the odds you hit negative disbursement periods. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Accounting reconciliation: You’ll see more frequent line items in Payments → Transaction View, which will break “one removal order = one charge” assumptions in bookkeeping workflows and P&L rollups. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Operational control: The change increases visibility into partial processing—useful when removals stall and you need to decide whether to pivot to liquidation, accelerate coupons, or shut off PPC. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Expert take:
Amazon is tightening the feedback loop between inventory decisions and financial impact. Sellers who treat removals as a quarterly “cleanup event” will feel margin pressure sooner—because the costs now surface daily/weekly while the removal is in-flight, not only at completion. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Action items:
- Do now (today): If you run large removals, add a “removal burn” line to your cash forecast—assume charges will post progressively for weeks. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Do now: Tell your bookkeeper/VA to reconcile removals by Removal Order ID + date range, not by single transaction. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Hedge: If you’re about to nuke a slow-moving SKU set, consider staging removals in smaller batches so you don’t create a long tail of micro-debits that’s hard to audit.
Sources: (sellercentral.amazon.com)
2. AMAZON POLICY & PROGRAM UPDATES
A) Selling Policies & Terms
- Amazon Prepaid Return Label (APRL) requirement expanded (US, seller-fulfilled) — effective February 8, 2026, the prior “high-value return exemption” is removed and sellers must use APRL for customer returns regardless of item value (existing category exemptions still apply). Practical impact: you should expect higher return-label cost exposure on high-AOV FBM catalogs and tighter need for SAFE-T documentation discipline. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
B) FBA & Fulfillment
- FBA Removal Order Fees / FBA Disposal Order Fees billing timeline change — effective February 15, 2026, charged per unit as processed, rates unchanged, applies automatically to new orders created on/after February 15, 2026. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
C) Advertising & Marketing
- Sponsored Brands “collections” format shift — Amazon is rolling out a Sponsored Brands collections experience that replaces the older product collections workflow in the ad console; key operational constraint: new collections require at least 3 ASINs (up to 10), and creative dependency is reduced (Amazon auto-pulls product assets). Existing campaigns continue running, but you may be unable to add new ad groups in legacy formats. (Official Amazon Ads documentation with full change log was Unavailable in the last 48 hours; see sources below for the advertiser email/reporting.) (ampmpodcast.com)
D) Compliance & Safety
- CPSC recall (hard compliance exposure if you’re in the same niche) — LShome 3-Pack Smoke Detector Fire Alarms sold exclusively on Amazon are recalled (Recall date February 12, 2026; ~11,000 units). Model XG-7D04-KZ9Z; SKU CX-50YP-A5VN. If you sell smoke alarms/CO detectors, expect heightened scrutiny on claims, certifications, and listing content. (cpsc.gov)
E) Payments & Financial
- No new Amazon-issued disbursement schedule change found in the last 48 hours — Unavailable (no qualifying official post surfaced in sources searched).
2A. FALSE ALARMS & NOISE FILTER
What’s circulating but NOT verified:
- “$100 Amazon Ads credit code for launching Sponsored Products” (promo code shared on Reddit).
Status: Unverified
Why it matters if true: Could subsidize testing in a new marketplace or new account structure.
What we actually know: Only a user post; no Amazon Ads promo terms located in official sources in the last 48 hours — treat as Unavailable until confirmed inside your Amazon Ads → Billing & payments → Promotions screen. (reddit.com)
3. MARKETPLACE OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS (verified only)
Threat: FBM returns cost exposure just increased for high-AOV catalogs
Setup: APRL is now required for US seller-fulfilled returns regardless of item value (effective February 8, 2026). (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Math: If your average FBM return label cost is $8.00–$18.00 and you do 200 returns/month, that’s $1,600–$3,600/month incremental exposure if you previously relied on exemptions for high-value items (your exact delta depends on how many returns were previously exempt). (Exact Amazon-provided cost impact: Unavailable—label costs vary by carrier/package.) (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Who this fits: FBM-heavy sellers in Electronics, Home Improvement, Tools, Luxury, any $200+ ASP mix.
Window: Live now (since February 8, 2026). (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Execute:
- Audit FBM return rate + AOV SKUs → identify the top 20 ASINs by “return shipping cost risk.”
- Update SOP: every return gets photos on receipt + condition notes to preserve SAFE-T eligibility. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Consider selectively moving the worst offenders to FBA (if margin allows) to shift the return label mechanics.
Sources: (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Opportunity: Sponsored Brands collections now structurally favors broader catalogs
Setup: New Sponsored Brands collections flow supports 3–10 ASINs and reduces custom creative dependency, potentially lowering setup friction. (ampmpodcast.com)
Math: If you were blocked by creative throughput (designer time, brand approvals), the time-to-launch can drop from days to hours. (Performance lift claims: Unavailable—no official benchmark found in the last 48 hours.)
Who this fits: Brand Registry sellers with 5–50 related SKUs (variants, bundles, complementary items).
Window: Live/rolling (reporting indicates rollout beginning January 28, 2026). (ampmpodcast.com)
Execute:
- Build 3–5 “tight” collections by shopper mission (not by internal taxonomy).
- If Amazon offers AI-curated product selection in your console, run an A/B: manual ASIN picks vs dynamic selection for 7 days.
- QA your images/pricing across the 10-ASIN grid—weak listings will drag CTR.
Sources: (ampmpodcast.com)
4. TOOLS, SOFTWARE & AUTOMATION UPDATES
No qualifying tool updates (>20% pricing change or workflow-affecting change with verifiable publication in the last 48 hours) — Unavailable.
5. ADVERTISING & PPC INSIGHTS (verified)
- Sponsored Brands collections now forces catalog discipline
ROI impact: If you only have 1–2 hero ASINs, you may lose the ability to spin up new collections-style structures—expect budget to shift back toward Sponsored Products or SB video for those brands. (ampmpodcast.com) - Creative bottleneck reduction changes the competitive set
ROI impact: More advertisers can launch SB collections faster—expect increased top-of-search competition in niches where SB was previously underused due to creative requirements. (Quantified CPC change: Unavailable.) (ampmpodcast.com)
6. INTERNATIONAL & CROSS-BORDER
No verified cross-border program changes published in the last 48 hours — Unavailable.
7. SELLER COMMUNITY PULSE
Pattern recognition from forums:
- Early warning signals: Sellers discussing operational fallout from APRL expansion—especially higher FBM return shipping cost on expensive items. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Workarounds in action: Forum guidance is converging on tighter SAFE-T documentation (photos, serial capture) and faster returns processing SOPs. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Mistake patterns: Treating “policy effective” as “policy enforced later.” This one is already live (effective February 8, 2026). (sellercentral.amazon.com)
Practical Q&A (appearing repeatedly):
– “Do I still have any exemptions from APRL?” → Yes, Amazon lists continuing category exemptions (for example Handmade, certain dangerous goods, non-physical items, and other ineligible-for-prepaid-label scenarios). Confirm your specific category eligibility before changing SOPs. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
– “Will Amazon reimburse me for abusive returns?” → You can file reimbursement via SAFE-T when you believe the refund wasn’t your fault; outcomes depend on documentation quality and policy eligibility. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
8. COMPLIANCE & ACCOUNT HEALTH ALERTS
- CPSC recall alert — Smoke detectors (LShome 3-pack) recalled on February 12, 2026; if you sell in adjacent categories (smoke/CO alarms), review certification and claims immediately to reduce suppression/claim risk. Missing or weak compliance language can turn into listing removals once enforcement heat rises post-recall. (cpsc.gov)
- Returns policy compliance (US FBM): APRL requirement effective February 8, 2026—noncompliance risk is operational (returns workflow breaks) and could create A-to-z / chargeback exposure if returns aren’t processed cleanly. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
9. DEALS, EXITS & ACQUISITIONS
No verified seller-relevant M&A/aggregator activity published in the last 48 hours — Unavailable.
10. LOOKING AHEAD
- February 15, 2026 — FBA removal/disposal per-unit, as-processed billing is effective for new orders created on/after today. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Next 7 days: Watch for seller reports of reconciliation issues in Payments → Transaction View due to the new debit cadence (whether Amazon’s UI filtering is sufficient). (sellercentral.amazon.com)
11. KEY METRICS SNAPSHOT (when available)
No fresh, citable benchmark metrics (CPC, ACOS, fee baselines) published in the last 7 days in the sources pulled today — Unavailable.
CLOSING
Tomorrow’s Watch List:
- Any enforcement escalation or new exemptions clarifications for APRL in Seller Central. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- Seller reports on whether removal/disposal charges are posting cleanly (and how fast) under the new per-unit billing. (sellercentral.amazon.com)
- More official detail (or console UI changes) around Sponsored Brands collections rollout behavior and campaign editing limitations. (ampmpodcast.com)
Question of the Day:
Which 10 SKUs in your catalog have the worst combined profile of (return rate × return label cost × resale loss), and do you have a SAFE-T evidence SOP documented for them?
Quick Win:
Export your last 30 days of FBM returns and flag any ASINs with ASP > $200 → Prioritize APRL cost containment + SAFE-T documentation on the highest-risk SKUs → Seller Central Reports (returns) + internal SOP update in your returns intake workflow. (sellercentral.amazon.com)