What changes on December 18, 2026?

All US returns on seller-fulfilled orders, except heavy and bulky items for now, need a prepaid return shipping label. Address-only labels that make the customer pay for return shipping no longer meet the requirement.

What happens if I miss the seven days?

Amazon can issue a returnless refund to the customer and deduct the amount from your account, according to the seller email reported by PPC Land.

Can I send the label through Buyer-Seller Messaging?

No. Reporting on the notice says labels sent through Buyer-Seller Messaging or outside the Manage Returns workflow do not count.

Does this affect FBA sellers?

No. Amazon already handles returns on FBA orders. The rule covers orders you ship yourself.

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Important

Policy Changes

Amazon prepaid return labels for FBM orders - December 18 rule

Q: How long do I have to act on a return request?

Seven calendar days. Within that time you upload a prepaid label through Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns, or refund the customer in full without asking for the item back.

Max

October 21, 2026

4 min

Summarize with AI

COO at Nova Analytics

Max leads operations at Nova Analytics, helping Amazon sellers optimize their business performance through data-driven insights and strategic automation.

Quick Summary

•From December 18, 2026, US returns on seller-fulfilled orders need a prepaid return label
•Heavy and bulky items are excluded for now
•Sellers have seven calendar days to upload a label or refund in full
•Miss it and Amazon can issue a returnless refund and deduct it from your account

Nova surfaces every Amazon fee, refund, and margin shift in your live P&L, across 23 marketplaces. View it in Nova

From December 18, 2026, every US return on an order you ship yourself will need a prepaid return label, unless the item is heavy or bulky. Amazon told sellers in an email, reported by PPC Land on October 19, that address-only labels, where the customer pays to send the item back, will no longer meet the requirement.

What happened

The email opens with one sentence: "Starting December 18, 2026, all US returns for seller-fulfilled orders (excluding heavy and bulky items) will require a prepaid return shipping label." For each return request, the seller then has seven calendar days to upload a prepaid label through Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns, or to refund the customer in full without asking for the item.

If neither happens, Amazon can issue a returnless refund and deduct it from the seller's account. Ecommerce Paradise adds that labels sent through Buyer-Seller Messaging do not count. Prepaid returns are not new: Amazon's prepaid returns help page already enrolls US sellers by default. What goes away is the address-only route.

Key dates

Reported	October 19, 2026, from an Amazon Services email to sellers
Effective	December 18, 2026, for US returns on seller-fulfilled orders
Deadline per return	Seven calendar days from the return request
Excluded for now	Heavy and bulky items

Why it matters

The return shipping cost moves from the customer to you, and the deadline lands right in the holiday peak. Most holiday purchases can be returned until January 31, so the labels you pay for will keep arriving well after the sale. A missed seven-day window is worse than a paid label: you lose the refund and the item. This follows Amazon's earlier move to end the high-value return exemption.

What to change before December 18

Which of your FBM SKUs still use address-only return labels or exemptions
Who uploads labels in Manage Seller-Fulfilled Returns, and who covers them over the holidays
Your return label cost per order, by carrier and parcel size
Low-price SKUs where a full refund without the item costs less than the label
Holiday returns that will land in late December and January

When a refund without the item costs less

Illustration only. Label cost and resale value are hypothetical. Use your own carrier rates.
Selling price	$18.00
Hypothetical prepaid label cost	$7.50
Item resale value after inspection, hypothetical	$6.00
Cost to take it back ($7.50 label - $6.00 resale)	$1.50 net loss
Cost of a returnless refund (item not resold)	$0.00 extra beyond the refund

In this example, paying $7.50 to get back an item you can resell for $6.00 loses $1.50 on top of the refund. Refunding without the item is cheaper. Set a price threshold per SKU so the team does not decide case by case in December. For more on this option, read Amazon returnless refunds.

Watching return costs per product

Nova shows refunds and Amazon fees per product in its P&L, so a SKU whose returns start eating its margin in January stands out. See Amazon profit and loss.

Verified Sources

All information verified from official Amazon sources and trusted industry analysts as of publication date.

Deep Dive: Related Guides

For more comprehensive analysis on these topics:

→ Amazon returnless refunds: what they really cost sellers

How Amazon returnless refunds work for FBA and seller-fulfilled orders, how many refunded units actually come back, and how to set your price threshold product by product.

→ Amazon return rate: what's normal and how to find the SKUs that cost you

Nova accounts had a median refund rate of 3.3% from October 2025 to March 2026. Find the SKUs driving refunds and follow their cost through your P&L.

Amazon prepaid return labels for FBM orders - December 18 rule

Quick Summary

What happened

Key dates

Why it matters

What to change before December 18

When a refund without the item costs less

Watching return costs per product

Verified Sources

Deep Dive: Related Guides

Ask Claude about your Amazon data

Ask Claude about your Amazon data

What happened

Key dates

Why it matters

What to change before December 18

When a refund without the item costs less

Watching return costs per product

Frequently Asked Questions

What changes on December 18, 2026?

How long do I have to act on a return request?

What happens if I miss the seven days?

Can I send the label through Buyer-Seller Messaging?

Does this affect FBA sellers?

Frequently Asked Questions

What changes on December 18, 2026?

How long do I have to act on a return request?

What happens if I miss the seven days?

Can I send the label through Buyer-Seller Messaging?

Does this affect FBA sellers?