Today's tip · Deals
Black Friday on Amazon starts November 19. Your calendar still says the 27th.
Amazon's Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday deal events open at 12:01 a.m. PT on November 19 and run through November 30. That is 12 days of shopping, and the first eight happen before anyone has carved a turkey.
Amazon made it official on November 9. Millions of deals, daily themed drops in Today's Big Deals, and a finish line on Cyber Monday, November 30. If your plan was built around one Friday and one Monday, it is now about a week short.
The practical problem is timing. Ads that start on Black Friday spend their first day learning while the early shoppers have already bought. Stock that is priced for a four-day weekend can run thin by day nine. And a coupon that ends on the 27th leaves Cyber Monday looking like a normal Monday on your listing.
Deal sourcing for the events closes November 13, two days from now. After that, the only levers left are the ones you control without Amazon's approval: inventory, ad budgets, coupons and the listing itself. Use the week between to get all four ready for the 19th, not the 27th.
- Day 0Today. Recount stock for 12 days.
- Day 2Nov 13: deal sourcing closes
- Day 8Nov 19: Black Friday Week opens
- Day 16Nov 27: Black Friday
- Day 19Nov 30: Cyber Monday, events end
Day counts from Nov 11, 2026. Event dates from Amazon's Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026 announcement; deal sourcing date from Seller Central News.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceThe weekend plan
- 01Submit the last deals by Thursday
Deal sourcing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday closes November 13. Anything not submitted by then sits out the event.
- 02Move your launch date to November 18
Campaign budgets, coupons and holiday creative should be live the day before the event opens, not on Black Friday.
- 03Recount stock for 12 days
Multiply your planned daily sales by 12, not 4, and compare it with what is sellable today. Fill the gap or trim the deal.
- 04Run end dates through November 30
Check that coupons and price discounts last through Cyber Monday so the event's last day still has an offer on it.
- 05Write down the two big mornings
Today's Big Deals drop at midnight and 8 a.m. PT on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Put a budget check on your calendar for both.
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 | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Last day of off-peak storage for AWD with auto-replenishment | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Confirm New Selection Program (2026) enrollment to keep launch fee credits | Fees | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Extended holiday returns begin: items bought Nov 1 to Dec 31 can come back until Jan 31 | Returns | Done | Seller Central News | |
| New commercial liability insurance requirements take effect: a $1 million policy for products in categories with enhanced safety listing requirements, with no sales threshold | Policy | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Virtual multipacks from the latest pilot wave become available to customers | Offer | Today | Seller Central Help | |
| Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal sourcing closes (extended from Oct 20) | Deals | In 2 days | Seller Central News | |
| Amazon finishes rolling out lithium battery TIC compliance notifications in Account Health for US smart home and consumer electronics | Policy | In 5 days | Seller Forums | |
| Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant live Q&A in the Seller Forums, 8 AM to 5 PM PT (questions open now) | Shopping event | In 7 days | Seller Forums | |
| Amazon's Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday deal events run from 12:01 a.m. PT on Nov 19 through Nov 30 | Shopping event | In 8 days | About Amazon | |
| Prime for Young Adults members get 20% cash back on a selection of trending products, Nov 24 only | Shopping event | In 13 days | About Amazon | |
| Black Friday | Shopping event | In 16 days | Calendar | |
| Cyber Monday | Shopping event | In 19 days | Calendar | |
| Last day to create an international FBA shipment plan covered by Amazon's 45-day related-shipment and 90-day closure extensions | Inventory | In 19 days | Seller Central News | |
| Prepaid return labels required for most US seller-fulfilled returns (heavy and bulky items excepted for now) | Returns | In 37 days | Seller Forums | |
| Last day to sign up for the free 12-month Amazon Quick Plus subscription | Offer | In 50 days | About Amazon | |
| Last purchase date covered by the extended holiday return window | Returns | In 50 days | Seller Central News | |
| Updated product bundling policy takes effect: most single-ASIN bundles must be packaged by the original manufacturer or brand | Policy | In 61 days | Seller Central News | |
| Holiday peak fulfillment fees end | Fees | In 64 days | Seller Central News | |
| Most 2027 US referral and FBA fulfillment fee changes take effect | Fees | In 65 days | Amazon | |
| Last day to return holiday purchases under the extended window | Returns | In 81 days | Seller Central News | |
| Storage utilization surcharge ends; age-based storage rates and the rewritten low-inventory-level fee begin | Fees | In 82 days | Amazon | |
| Last day to enroll in FBA New Selection Program 2026 (window extended) | Fees | In 140 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 Forums, Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflows, About Amazon, Seller Assistant, Seller Central News, Business hour delivery requirement for seller-fulfilled shipments, Seller Central News, New requirements for product bundles starting January 11, Seller Central News, Black Friday Cyber Monday deals deadline extended, Amazon, 2027 US referral and FBA fee update, Seller Central News, Holiday 2026, Seller Central News, New commercial liability insurance requirements, Seller Forums, New lithium battery requirements (US), Seller Forums, Amazon's prepaid return label notice and moderator clarification, Seller Central News, 2026 holiday return policy, Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks, About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
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 policyAnnounced Nov 5, 2026; most changes Jan 15, 2027
2027 US referral and FBA fee update
On average, FBA fulfillment fees rise by $0.19 per unit sold (about 0.8% of the average item's selling price). Some products go up, some go down. The FBA fuel and logistics surcharge stays unchanged. Effective Feb 1, 2027, Amazon eliminates the storage utilization surcharge, folds the aged inventory surcharge into a single age-based monthly storage rate, and rewrites the low-inventory-level fee around 28 days of supply.
Amazon, 2027 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.
of Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday deal events, November 19 to 30
About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best dealstop savings Amazon promises in Today's Big Deals daily themed drops
About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best dealsdeals drop twice on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, at midnight and 8 a.m. PT
About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best dealsmore unique customers for US advertisers who applied Amazon Ads Agent targeting recommendations in plain language
Amazon Ads, unBoxed Tokyo 2026 news (Amazon Ads Agent results in the US)Section 05
The playbook
3 moves for this week, then a few quick ones for the train.
Advertising
Two alarms on Black Friday. Two more on Cyber Monday.
For the first time, Amazon says Today's Big Deals will drop twice on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, at midnight and 8 a.m. PT. On the East Coast that is 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. Each drop is a fresh wave of shoppers landing in your category, whether or not your product is the one on sale.
A daily budget that was sized for a normal Friday can be gone by the second wave. The campaign does not fail loudly. It just stops showing, right as the 8 a.m. crowd arrives.
Do this: Put two calendar reminders on November 27 and November 30, at 8:30 a.m. PT, to check which campaigns are out of budget and top them up.
Sources: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals, Amazon Press Center, Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday return November 19-30
From Amazon's Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026 announcement. Themes and times as Amazon lists them.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceAdvertising
Describe the shopper in a sentence. Let Ads Agent pick the targets.
Amazon Ads Agent can now take a plain-language description of the audience you want and return targeting recommendations across products, categories, keywords and Amazon audiences, ready to apply. Amazon says US advertisers who applied those recommendations this way reached more than 25% additional unique customers, while cost-per-impression fell by more than 10% on average.
This is the useful kind of lazy. You still decide who the product is for. The agent does the part where you would otherwise guess at 40 keywords at 11 p.m. Read every suggestion before you apply it, because a description that is vague in gets targeting that is vague out.
Do this: Write one sentence about your best holiday buyer, who they are shopping for and at what price, and paste it into Amazon Ads Agent for targeting recommendations before November 18.
Source: Amazon Ads, unBoxed Tokyo 2026 news (Amazon Ads Agent results in the US)
Amazon Ads says US advertisers who used natural language to apply campaign targeting recommendations saw more than 25% additional unique customers. Shown against their own baseline as 1x.
Source: Amazon Ads, unBoxed Tokyo 2026 news (Amazon Ads Agent results in the US)
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceBrand
Shoppers can now ask for small businesses by name
Amazon's own Black Friday guide tells customers they can ask Alexa for Shopping to "shop small businesses," or look for the Small Business badge. It also repeats the number every independent seller should keep handy: more than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers, most of them small and medium-sized businesses.
That turns a badge into a search filter you did not have to pay for. If you qualify and the badge is missing, you are invisible to the exact shopper who went looking for you.
Do this: Open one of your top listings as a shopper and check whether the Small Business badge shows. If you think you qualify and it does not, look up the badge in Seller Central Help this week.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
Shoppers can also ask Alexa for Shopping to “shop small businesses” to find small businesses in Amazon’s store, or look for the Small Business badge.
Quick hits
04Listings
The Holiday Shop sorts gifts by who, how much and why
Amazon says this year's Holiday Shop is personalized, with gift guides organized by recipient, price point and interest, plus a stocking stuffer section with deals under $5. A listing that never says who the product is for gives those guides nothing to work with.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
05Deals
November 24 belongs to the 18-to-24 crowd
On November 24 only, Prime for Young Adults members get 20% cash back on a selection of trending products, which Amazon points out is four times their everyday 5%. It stacks with eligible Black Friday Week deals. If your buyers skew young, that Tuesday is busier than it looks.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
Section 06
The wire
What changed lately, straight from Amazon. We read the announcement so you can read the summary.
- Deals
Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal sourcing closes
The window Amazon extended from October 20 ends this Friday. Prime Exclusive Discounts are created under Advertising, Price Discounts.
via Seller Central News, Black Friday Cyber Monday deals deadline extended - Events
Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday set for November 19 to 30
Amazon's deal events open at 12:01 a.m. PT on November 19, with millions of deals and 12 days of themed drops in Today's Big Deals.
via Amazon Press Center, Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday return November 19-30 - Deals
Today's Big Deals drop twice on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
For the first time, limited-time deals of up to 60% off drop at midnight and 8 a.m. PT on both days.
via About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
Follow for more
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One short email when a new issue lands. Amazon's news without the press-release voice, and one move worth making that week. No upsells, no "ultimate guides."
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.
When does Amazon Black Friday 2026 start?
Amazon's Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday deal events start at 12:01 a.m. PST on November 19, 2026, and run through November 30. That makes it a 12-day event, with Black Friday itself on November 27 and Cyber Monday on November 30. Amazon announced the dates on November 9.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
What are Today's Big Deals on Amazon?
Today's Big Deals are Amazon's daily themed deal drops during Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday, 12 days spanning toys, tech, fashion, beauty, premium gifts and stocking stuffers, with savings up to 60% off. For the first time in 2026, deals drop twice on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, at midnight and 8 a.m. PT.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
What time do Amazon's Black Friday deals drop?
On Black Friday, November 27, and Cyber Monday, November 30, 2026, Amazon's Today's Big Deals drop twice, at midnight and 8 a.m. PT, which is 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET. On the other days of the November 19 to 30 events, new themed deals drop once a day.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
What is the last day to submit Black Friday deals on Amazon?
Amazon extended Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal sourcing from October 20 to November 13, 2026. Sellers can still submit deals until then. To create Prime Exclusive Discounts, go to Advertising in Seller Central, select Price Discounts, choose Create a price discount and pick Events from the menu.
Source: Seller Central News, Black Friday Cyber Monday deals deadline extended
How does Amazon Ads Agent help with targeting?
Amazon Ads Agent lets advertisers describe the audience they want in plain language and returns targeting recommendations across products, categories, keywords and Amazon audiences, ready to apply. Amazon Ads says US advertisers who applied recommendations this way saw more than 25% additional unique customers and over 10% lower cost-per-impression on average.
Source: Amazon Ads, unBoxed Tokyo 2026 news (Amazon Ads Agent results in the US)
How can shoppers find small businesses on Amazon during Black Friday?
Amazon says shoppers can ask Alexa for Shopping to shop small businesses, or look for the Small Business badge on products. Amazon also says more than 60% of sales in its store come from independent sellers, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses, many with Black Friday Week deals in 2026.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals
What is the Prime for Young Adults deal on November 24?
On November 24, 2026 only, Prime for Young Adults members can get 20% cash back on a selection of trending products across beauty, apparel, electronics and more, while supplies last. Amazon says that is four times the everyday 5% cash back, and it can be combined with eligible Black Friday Week deals.
Source: About Amazon, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: a first look at Amazon's best deals