Amazon Long-Term Storage Fees: How to Avoid Them (2026)

Q: What reports should sellers check every month?

Check FBA Inventory for aged inventory warnings and Aged Inventory Surcharge report under Reports. Also review Fix Stranded Inventory to catch listing issues that prevent units from selling while they age.

Amazon Long-Term Storage Fees: The Name Changed

If you searched for "Amazon long-term storage fees," you're in the right place. Amazon still charges sellers for old FBA inventory. The company just renamed it.

The current term is aged inventory surcharge. Same problem, different label. Inventory sits too long, fees pile up, margin disappears.

Amazon stopped using the old "long-term storage fee" language a few years ago. The twice-yearly cleanup model is gone. Now Amazon runs a monthly snapshot on the 15th of each month, checks how long your units have been sitting in FBA, and applies surcharges to anything stored 181 days or longer.

That 181-day mark is the first threshold. Fees get worse as inventory ages past 271 days, 366 days, and 456+ days. Most sellers still call this "long-term storage fees" because that's what it was called for years. This guide uses both terms so you can find what you need, then explains exactly how the current system works and what to do about it.

When Amazon Starts Charging for Aging FBA Inventory

Amazon charges two types of storage fees:

Monthly inventory storage fees (charged to all FBA inventory based on cubic feet and time of year, higher in Q4)

Aged inventory surcharge (an extra charge applied to units stored 181+ days)

These fees stack. If you have inventory sitting for seven months, you pay both.

The aged inventory surcharge kicks in at 181 days. Amazon's system takes a snapshot of your inventory on the 15th of each month. Any unit that has been in FBA for 181 days or more gets flagged. The fee is calculated by whichever is greater: per-cubic-foot rate or per-unit rate.

As of January 2026, the rates look like this:

181-365 days: varies by size tier
366-455 days: $6.90/cubic foot or $0.30/unit
456+ days: $7.90/cubic foot or $0.35/unit

The longer inventory sits, the more expensive it gets. A SKU that costs you $0.15/month in standard storage at 180 days can suddenly jump to $0.30/unit at 366 days, plus the base storage fee.

This is why 181 days matters. It's your early warning. Once inventory crosses that line, you're paying extra every month until it sells or leaves FBA.

How to Check Which ASINs Are at Risk

Amazon gives you the tools. You just need to check them before the 15th.

FBA Inventory is the main dashboard. It shows excess inventory, aged inventory, stranded inventory, and fee exposure in one view. Amazon flags ASINs that are currently subject to aged inventory surcharge or likely to be subject within 60 days.

Go to Inventory → FBA Inventory in Seller Central. Look for the aged inventory filter or the "Aged inventory" column. Sort by inventory age or projected surcharge cost.

You can also pull the Aged Inventory Surcharge report under Reports. This shows which ASINs are already being charged and how much.

Check for:

SKUs approaching 181 days with no recent sales velocity
High-unit-count ASINs where per-unit fees will add up fast
Bulky items where cubic-foot fees hit harder
Stranded or suppressed listings where units are aging but not actually available for sale

If a listing is suppressed, units can sit there accruing fees while customers can't buy them. Fix the suppression first.

7 Practical Ways to Avoid Amazon Long-Term Storage Fees

1. Tighten reorder quantities before inventory gets old

The best time to avoid aged inventory is before you send it to FBA. If a SKU moves 30 units a month, sending six months of supply sets you up for surcharges. Send smaller batches. Restock from a 3PL or your own warehouse when sell-through proves you need more.

2. Use pricing changes to improve sell-through

A small discount can move inventory faster than paying surcharges for months. Run the math. If you're sitting on 200 units at 170 days and they cost $0.30/unit in surcharges starting next month, dropping price by $2-3 might be cheaper than the fee bleed.

3. Run promotions, coupons, or ads only when margin math still works

Coupons, Lightning Deals, and sponsored ads can push aging inventory. But if the SKU is already low margin, throwing money at promotions just burns cash faster. Check the numbers first. If the product is profitable after the promo cost, go. If not, skip to removal.

4. Use Outlet, liquidation, or removals for aging units

Amazon Outlet lets you mark down products to move them faster. You need at least a 20% discount. This works when you can still make some margin back.

Liquidation programs let Amazon resell aged inventory through other channels. You get pennies on the dollar, but it's better than disposal fees plus surcharges.

Removal orders pull inventory out of FBA and send it back to you or a prep center. Amazon says if you submit a removal order by 11:59 p.m. PT on the 14th, the inventory won't incur the surcharge even if it's not physically shipped yet.

5. Turn on automated removal or disposal rules where appropriate

Amazon offers automated removal settings. You can set thresholds so inventory gets pulled or disposed of before hitting certain age brackets. This only makes sense for low-value SKUs where disposal cost is less than ongoing fees.

6. Fix stranded inventory fast

Stranded inventory means units are in FBA but not available for sale. Listing errors, compliance issues, or catalog problems strand inventory. It still ages. It still accrues fees. But customers can't buy it.

Go to Inventory → Fix Stranded Inventory and clear those issues immediately.

7. Review old inventory on a set weekly or monthly cadence

The 15th-of-month snapshot is predictable. Build a checklist:

Week 1: Pull FBA Inventory aged report
Week 2: Identify SKUs within 30 days of next age bracket
Week 3: Decide action per SKU (discount, remove, liquidate, hold)
Week 4: Execute before the 14th cutoff

Repeat every month. This keeps aging inventory from becoming a surprise.

How to Decide Whether to Discount, Liquidate, or Remove Inventory

If the SKU is strategically important and still has margin:
Price drop or promo first. Run ads if conversion is the problem, not demand. Keep it in FBA and push sell-through.

If the SKU is break-even or low margin:
Compare fee cost vs. discount cost. If a 15% discount moves units faster than surcharges accumulate, discount. If not, remove or liquidate.

If the SKU is a dead product:
Don't waste time or ad spend trying to revive it. Remove it before the next age jump. Disposal is cheaper than months of surcharges on worthless inventory.

If the listing is weak (bad images, no reviews, low conversion):
Fix the listing fast if the product is good. If the listing has been broken for months and you haven't fixed it, the product probably isn't worth saving.

If the SKU is seasonal:
Ask whether you'll actually sell it next season. If yes, pull it to a 3PL and resend closer to peak. If no, liquidate now.

Run a simple margin comparison:

Current margin per unit: $X
Aged inventory surcharge per month: $Y
Removal cost: $Z

If paying $Y for three more months costs more than $Z to remove, remove it.

Common Mistakes That Lead to Aged Inventory Surcharges

Overstocking based on optimistic forecasts

You ran a promo last Q4 and moved 500 units. You assume this Q4 will be the same. You send 500 units in July. By November, you've only moved 200. The rest sit until February and start hitting surcharges. Stock based on trailing sell-through, not best-case scenarios.

Ignoring low-conversion listings

A SKU gets 1,000 impressions and 10 sales. Conversion is 1%. You keep restocking it because it "gets traffic." Traffic without conversion just creates aged inventory. Fix the listing or cut the SKU.

Waiting too long to act on slow sellers

You notice a SKU slowing down at 120 days. You think "I'll check it next month." Next month it's at 150 days. Then 180 days. Then you're paying surcharges. Act early. The earlier you move aging inventory, the more options you have.

FAQ About Amazon Long-Term Storage Fees

When does Amazon charge long-term storage fees now?

Amazon renamed long-term storage fees to aged inventory surcharge. The fee applies to inventory stored 181 days or longer. Amazon takes a snapshot on the 15th of each month and charges fees based on how long units have been in FBA.

Is aged inventory surcharge the same thing as long-term storage fees?

Yes. Amazon used to call it long-term storage fee. Now it's called aged inventory surcharge. Same concept: extra charges for old FBA inventory.

Does a removal order stop the fee?

If you submit a removal order by 11:59 p.m. PT on the 14th of the month, Amazon says the inventory won't be charged the surcharge for that month, even if it hasn't physically left the warehouse yet. Check Amazon's current help docs to confirm this timing.

What reports should sellers check every month?

Check FBA Inventory for aged inventory warnings and Aged Inventory Surcharge report under Reports. Also review Fix Stranded Inventory to catch listing issues that prevent units from selling while they age.

How is inventory age calculated?

Amazon calculates age on a FIFO basis across the entire fulfillment network. The oldest units get counted first. You can't "restart the clock" by moving inventory between warehouses.

Do all product categories get charged the same way?

Most categories follow the same aged inventory surcharge structure. Some categories like clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry, and watches have different thresholds for certain age brackets. Check Amazon's help page for category-specific rules.

Should I keep seasonal inventory in FBA year-round?

Probably not. If a product only sells in Q4, sending it to FBA in February means it will hit aged inventory surcharges before peak season. Store it off-Amazon and send it to FBA closer to the selling window.

How SupplyKick Helps Brands Manage FBA Inventory Economics

At SupplyKick, we buy inventory from our brand partners and manage it under our own seller account. That means we own the aged inventory risk, not you.

Our team monitors inventory age across thousands of SKUs, tracks sell-through, and makes removal or liquidation decisions before fees compound. We absorb FBA storage costs and aged inventory surcharges so brands don't have to manage monthly cleanup cycles.

If you're tired of tracking inventory age, running margin math on aging SKUs, and deciding what to pull every month, we can take that work off your plate.

Ready to stop managing aged inventory surcharges yourself?

Let's Talk

How to Avoid Amazon Long-Term Storage Fees (Now Called Aged Inventory Surcharge)