Amazon Prepaid Return Labels From December 18: The Seven-Day Rule for Seller-Fulfilled Returns
Here's a small rule change that can quietly cost real money. It's for orders you ship yourself (FBM), not FBA.
Amazon told sellers that starting December 18, 2026, US returns for seller-fulfilled orders will require a prepaid return shipping label, for returns Amazon isn't already covering with its own prepaid labels. If Amazon already provides the label for you, nothing changes there. The old way, where the customer pays to ship it back with an address-only label, stops counting. Heavy and bulky items get a temporary exception.
Now the part to read twice. Within seven calendar days of the return request, you either upload a prepaid label in the Manage seller-fulfilled returns workflow, or you issue a full refund without needing the item back. And if you do neither, Amazon says "a returnless refund may be automatically issued and the balance deducted from your selling account."
One detail that helps. Amazon says a label you send through Buyer Seller Messaging doesn't meet the requirement.
My take: a deadline plus an automatic deduction means a busy week in peak season can turn into refunds you never chose. Simple rule change, real cash.
One first step this week: look at how your returns work today, and whether any of them still go out as address-only labels. That's the whole homework.
If you're not sure where you stand, or Amazon has already taken something from your balance and you don't understand why, talk to us before you react.
Source: Amazon's notice to sellers.
This page is general information based on Amazon's public notices as of November 2, 2026. Amazon may update its guidance. Check Seller Central for the latest wording.