Amazon's New Deal and Coupon Fees: What You Need to Know

Amazon recently announced a series of changes to its promotional fees, affecting Best Deals, Lightning Deals, Coupons, and Prime Exclusive Discounts (PEDs). While Amazon claims these changes will give you more control over your deal strategies and lower fees for most sellers, the reality may be quite different for many.

In this article, we'll break down the changes, provide example scenarios of what you'll pay before and after the changes, and explore how this will likely impact your profitability.

Overview of the Changes

Starting June 2, 2025, Amazon will implement the following changes:

• Flexible Deal Durations: You can now run Best Deals any day of the week, from 1 to 14 days. However, for Peak Events like Prime Day and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, deal durations remain fixed.

• Performance-Based Fees: Amazon is introducing variable fees based on sales, with a cap for deals. Up-front fees are being lowered, but new variable fees are applied to deals and coupons.

• Fee Structure for Best Deals & Lightning Deals:

  • Old Structure: Flat fees of $300 per Best Deal and $150 per Lightning Deal.

  • New Structure: $70 per day plus 1.0% of deal sales, capped at $2,000 per deal.

• Coupon Fee Changes:

  • Old Structure: $0.60 per unit sold.

  • New Structure: $5 per coupon plus 2.5% of coupon sales.

• Prime Day Fees:

  • Prime Exclusive Discounts: Increase from $50 to $100 per PED.

  • Best Deals: Remains $1,000.

  • Lightning Deals: Remains $500.

  • Coupons: $5 per coupon plus 2.5% of coupon sales.

What This Means for You

Amazon claims that the changes will result in lower fees for most sellers, but a closer look suggests that many of you will actually face higher costs—especially those running high-volume promotions.

Example Scenario: Best Deal Fees

Old Structure: Flat fee of $300 per Best Deal.

New Structure: $70 per day + 1.0% of deal sales (capped at $2,000).

Let's say you run a Best Deal for 3 days, generating $50,000 in sales.

• Old Fee: $300 (flat).

• New Fee: (3 days x $70) + (1.0% of $50,000) = $210 + $500 = $710.

That's an increase of $410, or 137% higher than before.

Example Scenario: Coupon Fees

Old Structure: $0.60 per unit sold.

New Structure: $5 per coupon plus 2.5% of coupon sales.

Consider that you offer a coupon that generates $50,000 in sales across 1,000 units.

• Old Fee: 1,000 units x $0.60 = $600.

• New Fee: $5 + (2.5% of $50,000) = $5 + $1,250 = $1,255.

In this scenario, you end up paying much more under the new structure. The percentage-based fee structure can quickly become costly for high-volume promotions.

Prime Exclusive Discounts Impact

During Prime Day, the fee for Prime Exclusive Discounts will increase from $50 to $100. While this appears to be a straightforward doubling of costs, the impact will vary depending on your sales volume during the event.

Key Takeaways

• Running Short Promotions Can Benefit You: The lower up-front fees are appealing for those testing shorter promotions or running campaigns with limited reach.

• High-Volume Sellers (Like You) Will Likely Pay More: As promotions scale, the variable fees can accumulate rapidly, especially with capped fees reaching $2,000 per deal.

• Prime Day Promotions Are More Expensive: The doubling of PED fees means you need to carefully evaluate your ROI during these high-traffic events.

Conclusion

Amazon’s fee changes are designed to offer more flexibility and control, but the introduction of variable fees may ultimately result in higher costs for many sellers. You should carefully assess your promotional strategies, especially if you've previously relied on high-volume deals. While some may benefit from lower fees on smaller campaigns, others will likely see their promotional budgets stretch thinner than before.

The key to navigating these changes successfully is to analyze the specific impact on your promotions and adjust your strategy accordingly. Staying informed and agile will be crucial for your profitability in this evolving landscape.