Low-Inventory-Level Fee

Why the low-inventory-level fee matters for an FBA seller

Running lean used to be purely a stockout risk. This fee adds a direct cost on top of that risk: keep a popular standard-size SKU chronically thin and Amazon charges extra per unit on top of the normal fulfillment fee.

Amazon applies the fee to standard-size units when a product's historical days of supply runs below 28 days, with the per-unit charge increasing as supply drops further (source: Amazon Seller Central, sell.amazon.com/pricing, effective April 2024). Keeping affected SKUs above roughly 28 days of forward coverage is how you stay clear of it.

It changes the math on the just-in-time, ship-small-and-often approach many sellers drifted into to dodge storage fees. Now both extremes are penalized: too much inventory ages into surcharges, and too little triggers this fee. The efficient zone is in the middle.

How the low-inventory-level fee connects to your restock decisions

The fee is tied to your historical days of supply, so the way to avoid it is to keep enough forward coverage on affected SKUs rather than topping up in tiny, frequent shipments. That usually means slightly deeper, better-timed replenishment buys.

It pushes planning toward a balanced target band per SKU: enough days of supply to clear the low-inventory threshold, but not so deep that units age into the aged inventory surcharge. Planning to that band, by SKU, is how you avoid paying a fee at either end.