Today's tip · FBA
Amazon made multipacks out of your listings. Look before Nov 11.
If you sell brand-owned products through FBA, Amazon may have built two-packs and six-packs of them for you this week. They go on sale November 11 whether you've looked or not.
A virtual multipack is several units of the same ASIN sold as one listing and filled from your existing single-pack inventory. Nothing gets taped together in a warehouse. Each one has its own ASIN and SKU, sits as a variation on your single-pack detail page, and carries a SKU that starts with VMP_.
Amazon picked the ASINs itself, using an automated process that looks for strong demand for multi-unit purchases. There's no opt-in, and the latest wave was created by October 28. Give your catalog up to 48 hours to fill in the description and the variation family before you judge one as broken.
The part worth respecting is the delete button. During the pilot a deleted virtual multipack can't be reactivated. So the sensible order is look, adjust the price or images, and delete only the ones you're sure you never want. A 6-pack of something nobody buys six of is a fine candidate. A 2-pack of your best seller probably isn't.
Dates and rules as stated by Amazon in Seller Central Help.
Source: Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceThe weekend plan
- 01Filter for VMP_
In Manage All Inventory, filter for VMP_ to see every virtual multipack Amazon created for you.
- 02Wait out the 48 hours
If a listing looks incomplete, check back. Amazon says the full multipack can take up to 48 hours to appear.
- 03Set your discount
On the Edit virtual multipack page, add a percentage discount if you want the pack cheaper per unit than the single.
- 04Preview the images
Images will not show in Manage All Inventory until November 11, so preview them on the Edit virtual multipack page.
- 05Delete with care
Use the three dots next to the listing only for packs you never want. Deleted pilot multipacks cannot come back.
Section 02
This week's checklist
7 jobs pulled from this issue, in the order the deadlines bite. Tick them off as you go. Your browser remembers the ticks, nobody else sees them, and a fresh list comes with each issue.
0 of 7 done
Section 03
The seller calendar
Every date Amazon has put in writing for the season, plus the two everyone knows. October is zoomed in on the chart because that's where the trouble is.
Peak fulfillment fees run Oct 15 to Jan 14. Plus $0.32 per unit on average, with the 3.5% surcharge on top.
| Date | What happens | Type | Countdown | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Big Deal Days (Oct 6 to 7) | Shopping event | Done | About Amazon | |
| AWD arrival deadline for Black Friday Week | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Holiday peak fulfillment fees begin | Fees | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Original Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal deadline (Amazon has since extended it to Nov 13) | Deals | Done | Seller Central News | |
| FBA arrival deadline, minimal shipment splits | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| FBA arrival deadline, Amazon-optimized splits (most sellers) | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Business Hour Delivery Rate review: seller-fulfilled offers under 90% may be deactivated for Amazon Business customers | Offer | Tomorrow | Seller Central News | |
| Last day of off-peak storage for AWD with auto-replenishment | Inventory | In 2 days | Seller Central News | |
| Confirm New Selection Program (2026) enrollment to keep launch fee credits | Fees | In 2 days | Seller Central News | |
| Extended holiday returns begin: items bought Nov 1 to Dec 31 can come back until Jan 31 | Returns | In 3 days | Seller Central News | |
| Virtual multipacks from the latest pilot wave become available to customers | Offer | In 13 days | Seller Central Help | |
| Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal sourcing closes (extended from Oct 20) | Deals | In 15 days | Seller Central News | |
| Black Friday | Shopping event | In 29 days | Calendar | |
| Cyber Monday | Shopping event | In 32 days | Calendar | |
| Last day to sign up for the free 12-month Amazon Quick Plus subscription | Offer | In 63 days | About Amazon | |
| Last purchase date covered by the extended holiday return window | Returns | In 63 days | Seller Central News | |
| Holiday peak fulfillment fees end | Fees | In 77 days | Seller Central News | |
| Last day to return holiday purchases under the extended window | Returns | In 94 days | Seller Central News |
Add every date to your calendar (.ics)Works with Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar. Re-download after big announcements.
Sources: Seller Central News, Holiday 2026, About Amazon, Seller Assistant, Seller Central News, 2026 holiday return policy, Seller Central News, Black Friday Cyber Monday deals deadline extended, Seller Central News, Business hour delivery requirement for seller-fulfilled shipments, Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks
Fee watch
The changes that cost money this year, newest last. If Amazon hasn't announced it, it isn't here.
Since Jan 15, 2026
2026 US fee update
FBA fees rose by an average of $0.08 per unit. Amazon added no new fee types for 2026.
Amazon, 2026 US referral and FBA fee updateSince Apr 17, 2026
Fuel and logistics surcharge
3.5% on FBA fulfillment fees, about $0.17 per unit on average in the US. Multi-Channel Fulfillment and Buy with Prime followed on May 2.
Seller Central News, Fuel and logistics surchargeSince Sep 2026
MCF Preferred Pricing Program
Discounted Multi-Channel Fulfillment fees plus FBA credits per unit shipped. Amazon says sellers save 15% to 25% on fulfillment fees for the first six months, with no contract and one-click enrollment in Seller Central.
About Amazon, Prime delivery for MCF merchants' websitesOct 15, 2026 to Jan 14, 2027
Holiday peak fulfillment fees
About $0.32 more per unit on average, with the 3.5% surcharge calculated on top.
Seller Central News, Holiday 2026Holiday deal events
Deal fees
$100 upfront per promotion plus 1.5% of promotional sales, capped at $5,000, for Best Deals, Lightning Deals and Prime Exclusive Price Discounts.
Seller Central News, Holiday 2026Nov 1, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027
Extended holiday returns
Orders placed Nov 1 to Dec 31 can be returned until Jan 31, 2027, for FBA and seller-fulfilled orders alike. Budget for a slower, larger return wave.
Seller Central News, 2026 holiday return policy2027
Next annual fee update
Not announced as of Oct 24, 2026. Amazon says it gives at least 90 days' notice, and the 2026 changes were announced in October 2025.
Amazon, 2026 US referral and FBA fee update
Section 04
By the numbers
Four figures worth knowing this week. Each one is Amazon's own, linked to where they said it.
date the latest virtual multipack wave goes live for customers
Seller Central Help, Virtual multipackstime Amazon says a complete multipack can take to appear
Seller Central Help, Virtual multipackssingle-pack fulfillment fee charged on a 2-pack order
Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacksusual time for a multipack price to follow a single-pack price change
Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacksSection 05
The playbook
3 moves for this week, then a few quick ones for the train.
Pricing
The multipack prices itself. The discount is your call.
By default a pack of two costs exactly two of your singles, using your single-pack price when the multipack was created. Change the single's price and the multipack follows, usually within 8 hours. That's tidy, but it gives shoppers no reason to pick the pack.
A percentage discount set on the Edit virtual multipack page fixes that, and it keeps applying when the single-pack price moves. It doesn't touch the single itself. The fee side is plain: no extra fees, and a 2-pack order is charged two single-pack fulfillment fees, so your per-unit fee math doesn't change.
Do this: Decide one discount per pack size today, and set it before November 11 rather than after the first week of sales.
Source: Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceListings
Amazon drew your multipack photos. Check its homework.
The main image is built from your single-pack photo, and the style depends on the pack size. Two-packs get two images side by side, three and four-packs get a layered stack, and five and six-packs get a sticker in the top right that says the count.
Every other image from the single is copied over. Amazon suggests reviewing them after October 28, and here's the catch worth remembering: if you later change the single-pack image, the multipack doesn't update. Two listings, two photo shoots, one of which you didn't schedule.
Do this: Preview every main image on the Edit virtual multipack page and replace any that make the pack look like a single.
- 2-pack: two single-pack images side by side
- 3 to 4-pack: single-pack images in a layered format
- 5 to 6-pack: one image with a Pack of 5 or Pack of 6 sticker
- All other single-pack images are copied over
- A later change to the single-pack image does not carry over
As described by Amazon in Seller Central Help.
Source: Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceOperations
Fifteen days, and the quiet one is November 11
Tomorrow is the Business Hour Delivery Rate review, Saturday ends off-peak AWD storage and the New Selection Program confirmation, and Sunday starts the long holiday return window. Those are loud. They've been in every planner since September.
November 11 isn't. Nobody asked for it, so nobody owns it, and it lands two days before Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal sourcing closes on November 13. Give the multipack review to whoever owns pricing, because the discount decision and the deal decision are the same conversation.
Do this: Put a named owner next to November 11 on the team calendar today.
Sources: Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks, Seller Central News, Business hour delivery requirement for seller-fulfilled shipments, Seller Central News, Holiday 2026, Seller Central News, New Selection Program (2026), Seller Central News, 2026 holiday return policy, Seller Central News, Black Friday Cyber Monday deals deadline extended
- Day 0Today: review your virtual multipacks
- Day 1Oct 30: Business Hour Delivery Rate review
- Day 2Oct 31: AWD off-peak storage ends, NSP confirmation
- Day 3Nov 1: extended holiday returns begin
- Day 13Nov 11: virtual multipacks go live
- Day 15Nov 13: Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals close
Dates from Seller Central Help and Seller Central News.
Source: Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceQuick hits
04Inventory
Run out of singles and the pack disappears too
Virtual multipack orders are filled from your single-pack SKU, so you keep sending singles as usual. The flip side: when the single hits 0 available units, the multipack drops off the detail page as a variation and only comes back after you restock. A stockout in December now costs you two listings.
05Listings
Tell your repricer to keep its hands off VMP_
Amazon says edits made anywhere other than the Edit virtual multipack page, including templates, the API and other tools, will break the listing. If a repricer or a bulk upload touches every SKU you own, exclude anything starting with VMP_ before November 11. A broken pilot listing can't be repaired, only deleted.
Section 06
The wire
What changed lately, straight from Amazon. We read the announcement so you can read the summary.
- FBA
Next wave of virtual multipacks created
Amazon created virtual multipacks for selected FBA brand-owned ASINs by Oct 28. They show in Manage All Inventory under VMP_ and go live for customers Nov 11.
via Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks - Account Health
Business Hour Delivery Rate review is tomorrow
Seller-fulfilled offers to US Amazon Business customers still under a 90% rate by Oct 30 may be deactivated for business buyers.
via Seller Central News, Business hour delivery requirement for seller-fulfilled shipments
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Section 07
Straight answers
The questions sellers are typing into search bars and chatbots this week, answered in under a minute each. Every answer is grounded in Amazon's own announcement, linked below it.
What is an Amazon virtual multipack?
A virtual multipack combines several units of the same single-pack FBA product into one listing that Amazon fulfills from your existing single-pack inventory. It has its own ASIN and a SKU starting with VMP_, and it shows as a variation on the single-pack detail page. Unlike a virtual bundle, it never mixes different ASINs.
When do the new Amazon virtual multipacks go live?
Amazon created the latest wave of virtual multipack listings by October 28, 2026, and they become available for customers to buy on November 11, 2026. Until then you can review, edit or delete them in Manage All Inventory. Their images will not appear in Manage All Inventory until November 11, but you can preview them on the edit page.
How do I find my virtual multipacks in Seller Central?
Go to Manage All Inventory and filter for VMP_, the prefix Amazon gives every virtual multipack SKU. The SKU also shows the pack size, such as 2_PK. Amazon says it can take up to 48 hours for a complete virtual multipack to appear, so check back if a listing looks unfinished.
How are Amazon virtual multipacks priced?
By default a virtual multipack costs your single-pack price times the pack size, so a 2-pack is twice the single. It updates automatically, usually within 8 hours, when you change the single-pack price. You can set a percentage discount on the Edit virtual multipack page, and it keeps applying when the single-pack price changes.
What fees apply to virtual multipacks?
Amazon says there are no additional fees for virtual multipacks. Each sale is charged the fulfillment fee per unit, so a customer who orders a 2-pack means you pay two times the single-pack fulfillment fee. Orders are filled from your single-pack inventory, so you keep sending the single-pack SKU to FBA as usual.
Can I delete a virtual multipack and bring it back later?
You can delete one from Manage All Inventory by clicking the three dots next to the listing and choosing Delete listing. During the pilot, a deleted virtual multipack cannot be reactivated later. Amazon plans to run the pilot through 2027, and there is no option to join it manually, so delete only packs you are sure about.