Amazon’s storage rules have changed, and it’s catching many sellers off guard. What used to be a twice-a-year concern is now a monthly expense that can quietly drain your profits.
With the new Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS), Amazon reviews your inventory every month instead of twice a year. If products sit too long, you’ll start paying more just to keep them in storage.
By learning how many times Amazon long term storage fees, you can make better inventory decisions and keep your cash flow steady.
FBA Fee Structure (2025-2026)
Before you master storage savings, you must understand the ecosystem of Amazon’s FBA fees – where every inch, ounce, and day counts.
Think of it like a living map of how your product interacts with Amazon’s fulfillment network, producing your true cost and profit .
Product Size Tiers
Every product you send to Amazon belongs to a size tier. These tiers are based on weight, dimensions, and total cubic feet. The bigger or heavier your item, the more it costs to store and ship.
Size Tier | Max Weight | Longest Side | Cubic Feet | Storage Cost Impact |
Small Standard | ≤ 12 oz | ≤ 15” | ≤ 0.2 ft³ | Lowest (best for volume sellers) |
Large Standard | ≤ 20 lb | ≤ 18” | ≤ 1 ft³ | Moderate |
Small Oversize | ≤ 70 lb | ≤ 60” | ≤ 2 ft³ | Higher |
Large Oversize | > 70 lb | > 60” | > 2 ft³ | Highest – use removal/liquidation plan early |
Fulfillment Fees
Fulfillment fees are what you pay Amazon to pick, pack, and ship your orders. They vary by category: Apparel, Non-Apparel, and Temperature-Controlled items each have unique rate cards.
Fee Type | What It Covers | Average Range (USD) | Optimization Tip |
Fulfillment Fee | Picking, packing, delivery | $3.22-$12.00 per unit | Use lighter packaging to drop to lower tier |
Referral Fee | Amazon’s sales | 8-15% of sale price | Raise ASP slightly to offset margin loss |
Disposal Fee | Amazon discards unsellable items | $0.25-$1.90 per unit | Use “Grade & Resell” to recover value |
Storage Fees
Storage fees now come in two layers:
- Monthly Storage Fees – based on the average volume (in ft³) your products occupy in Amazon’s fulfillment centers.
- Aged-Inventory Surcharge (AIS) – extra charges that begin once your products sit for over 181 days
Understanding Amazon Long-Term Storage Fees (AIS/LTSF)
If Amazon’s fulfillment network is the bloodstream of your business, then storage fees are its pressure points. The longer your products stay in a fulfillment center, the more they cost you.
Let’s explore it like a map: starting with what AIS is, then how it grows over time, and finally, how to calculate it before it drains your profits.
What Is AIS, and Why Does It Exist?
Think of AIS as Amazon’s “rent” for your shelf space. The longer your products sit unsold, the higher your rent becomes. In simple terms:
- Entity: Your Inventory
- Attribute: Days Stored in Fulfillment Center (FC)
- Value: Surcharge ($) – based on the product’s cubic feet or per-unit rate
So, if your item stays in storage for more than 181 days, Amazon begins charging you extra – every single month.
Before 2020, this used to happen only twice a year under Long-Term Storage Fees (LTSF).
Sellers often got hit by surprise bills in February and August. That system was unpredictable and reactive.
By 2025, Amazon switched completely to Aged-Inventory Surcharges (AIS) – a monthly, real-time model that charges continuously, like a clock that never stops ticking.
How Often Amazon Charges Long-Term Storage Fees (AIS)
Amazon’s storage policy has changed more in the past five years than in the previous decade. Each of these updates has made the seller more accountable for how long their products sit in warehouses.
Let’s travel through time and see how LTSF (Long-Term Storage Fee) evolved into the modern AIS (Aged-Inventory Surcharge) system we know today.
Year | System | Frequency | Trigger Age | Rate Type | Key Change |
2019 | LTSF | Biannual (Feb & Aug) | 365+ days | Per cubic foot | Initial penalty for aged inventory |
2021 | Hybrid | Quarterly | 181+ & 365+ | Per cubic foot | Introduced “early-aging” penalties |
2023 | AIS (Pilot) | Monthly | 181+ | Per cubic foot | Tested continuous monthly model |
2025 | AIS (Full Rollout) | Monthly | 181+, tiered | Per ft³ or per unit | Active compounding fee structure |
Inventory Age Thresholds
Imagine your FBA inventory like fruit in a basket – fresh at first, but the longer it sits, the more it costs to keep.
Amazon’s Aged-Inventory Surcharge (AIS) works exactly the same way. Each product you send to an FBA warehouse passes through five age bands.
Each band tells you how healthy (or risky) your stock is and how much you’ll pay if it stays too long.
Age Band (Days) | Status | Fee Level | Risk Description |
0-90 | Fresh Stock | No AIS | Normal monthly storage only |
91-180 | Healthy Stock | No AIS | Monitor for slow sales |
181-270 | Early Aging | $1.50/ft³ | Beginning surcharge zone |
271-365 | Late Aging | $3.80-$5.90/ft³ | Escalating penalty |
365+ | Stale Stock | $6.90/unit (or higher per ft³) | Liquidation recommended |
Calculating Your Amazon Storage Costs Accurately
Once you understand how to measure your products, categorize their age bands, and apply the rate card correctly, you’ll gain the ultimate FBA superpower – predictability.
You’ll be able to look at any SKU and instantly know what it’s costing you to sit still… and when it’s time to move it.
Step 1: Measure Your Product’s Volume (Cubic Feet)
Before you can predict how much Amazon will charge you, you need to know one simple thing: how much space your product actually takes up.
Every inch matters inside Amazon’s fulfillment centers – because space is money. The bigger your product’s footprint, the higher your monthly “rent” in storage fees.
This is where your first calculation begins.
In Amazon, storage space is measured in cubic feet (ft³). It’s a fancy term for how much three-dimensional space your product occupies when it sits on a warehouse shelf.
Knowing your product’s space footprint is the first step in understanding how much it costs you just to exist in storage.
For example:
A blender measuring 12” × 10” × 18” = 2,160 cubic inches.
Divide that by 1,728 = 1.25 ft³ per unit
Step 2: Find Its Age Band
Now that you know how much space your product takes up, it’s time to find out how long it’s been sitting in Amazon’s warehouse.
How to Find Your Inventory Age
To locate this number:
- Log in to your Seller Central account.
- Go to Reports → Inventory → Inventory Age Report.
- Look for the column labeled “Days in Fulfillment Center.”
This column tells you the exact number of days each SKU (product) has been stored in Amazon’s fulfillment centers (FCs).
Step 3: Apply the Current Rate Card
Now that you know
- How big your product is (its space footprint)
- How long has it been sitting in Amazon’s fulfillment center (its age)
It’s time to bring it all together by applying Amazon’s current AIS Rate Card.
Age Band | AIS Rate (2025) | Fee Type |
181-270 days | $1.50 per ft³ | Monthly |
271-365 days | $3.80-$5.90 per ft³ | Monthly |
365+ days | $6.90 per unit (or higher per ft³) | Monthly |
Amazon always charges whichever is higher per cubic foot or per unit. This means bulky products get hit hardest, while small but slow ones might face per-unit rates instead.
Step 4: Estimate Per-Unit and Total Monthly AIS
You’ve measured the space your product occupies (Step 1), found its age band (Step 2), and applied the correct AIS rate (Step 3).
Now we connect the dots to see your real financial impact. To calculate the exact surcharge Amazon will bill you, use these two simple equations:
- Per-Unit AIS=Volume per Unit (ft³)×AIS Rate per ft³
- Total AIS (30 Days)=Per-Unit AIS×Units in Stock
That’s it.
One formula converts space into cost per item; the second multiplies that by how many units you’re holding.
Example:
Blender = 1.25 ft³ × $4.20 = $5.25 per unit.
80 units = $420 every month in AIS fees.
Now, if you want to pay that for three months, it’s going to cost $1,260 in storage rent.
Real Example: SKU-Level Breakdown
Let’s put everything together with a real-world look at how Amazon’s Aged Inventory Surcharge (AIS) plays out across different products.
This example shows how three common types of SKUs:
- small and light
- large and bulky
- mid-sized but slow-selling
Here’s what happens when space, time, and cost collide.
How Smart Inventory Management Prevents Amazon Storage Fees
If Aged-Inventory Surcharges (AIS) are the storm, then inventory management is your umbrella.
Amazon doesn’t just reward sales – it rewards smart movement. The real secret to surviving (and thriving) in the FBA ecosystem is not avoiding storage fees once they hit.
It’s never letting inventory get old enough to trigger them in the first place. Let’s see how you can do it.
Analyzing Turnover and Replenishment Cycles
Every product in your FBA account has a rhythm of how fast it sells and how often you restock it. This is called inventory turnover.
The faster your inventory turns over, the less likely you’ll face AIS. Amazon loves velocity.
A product that sells every 60 days stays in the green zone forever. One that lingers past 180? That’s where trouble starts.
For example:
- Phone Case A sells out every 45 days: 0 AIS exposure.
- Blender B sells only 10 units per month: High AIS exposure by month 6.
Demand Forecasting & Seasonality
Amazon storage isn’t just about numbers; it’s also about timing.
Predicting demand helps you stock smart and avoid paying for space you don’t need.
Think of your inventory as a supply vs. season:
- In Q4, sales spike – higher restocks make sense even if fees rise.
- In Q1, demand dips – so carrying excess stock is pure profit leakage.
Add a 15-20% buffer only for peak months. Anything beyond that = future AIS risk.
Strategic Inventory Thinning & Just-in-Time Restocks
Instead of loading up FBA with “just in case” inventory, start managing it “just in time.” This means sending smaller, faster restocks that match your sales velocity.
It’s like grocery shopping, better to buy fresh every week than fill your fridge once a year and throw half of it away later.
Strategy | Goal | Outcome |
Thinning Slow SKUs | Remove excess units before 181 days | Prevent AIS accumulation |
Just-in-Time Restocking | Match inbound shipments to sales velocity | Keep inventory age reset naturally |
SKU Rotation | Replace stale listings with newer, trending ones | Keep catalog “alive” and selling fast |
Integrating 3PL Partners for Off-Amazon Storage
Sometimes, the smartest move is not storing everything with Amazon.
Third-Party Logistics (3PL) partners act as your backup warehouse. They have a lower-cost space where you can hold overflow inventory until it’s ready to sell.
This hybrid approach creates an inventory buffer zone:
- Store most of your stock off-Amazon with a 3PL (cheap, flexible).
- Send only what you need for 30-90 days into FBA.
- Refill weekly or monthly based on real-time demand data.
Leveraging Amazon Reports & KPIs
Amazon’s FBA system is a bit like a high-tech report card. Every number, every chart, every percentage you see inside Seller Central informs you about:
- how well your inventory is moving
- how efficiently you’re using storage space
- How close you are to paying more in Aged-Inventory Surcharges (AIS).
To win this game, you don’t need to be a data scientist. You just need to understand which reports matter, what they’re telling you, and when to act.
Once you learn this, you’ll start reading Amazon like Amazon reads you.
Optimization Strategies to Reduce Storage Fees
If AIS is the storm, these strategies are your survival kit. Amazon rewards sellers who move smart, not just fast. You don’t need fancy software or endless spreadsheets – just the right mix of: pricing agility, stock discipline, and exit strategy awareness.
Pricing & Product Tactics
Your price tag is a steering wheel for inventory flow. The right price moves stock; the wrong one creates AIS fees.
As your product moves through each 30-day age window, your pricing should shift too.
Age Band (Days) | Suggested Action | Example |
0-90 (Fresh) | Regular pricing | Maintain MSRP for profit stability |
91-180 (Healthy) | Light discount (5-10%) | Attract mid-cycle buyers |
181-270 (Aging) | Moderate discount (10-20%) | Trigger faster sell-through |
271-365 (Late Aging) | Deep discount (25-40%) | Prepare for liquidation |
365+ (Stale) | Aggressive clearance | Exit before next billing cycle |
For example:
Your phone case sits in the 181-270 window. Drop price by 10%, activate “Limited Deal,” and you’ll likely clear it before the AIS clock resets.
Coupons and Cross-Listing via Amazon Outlet
Amazon Outlet is like a clearance aisle for your digital storefront – a perfect tool to offload slow movers.
Add a $1 coupon and list the item in Amazon Outlet. This can double the click-through rate and clear 100+ units in under two weeks.
Tip: Set up an “Outlet Review Day” every Friday – identify any SKU over 180 days and push it to the Outlet before it hits the 271+ zone.
Bundles, Multipacks, and Seasonal Re-Merchandising
Sometimes, the best way to sell slow inventory is to repackage it into something new.
Tactic | Goal | Result |
Bundle products | Pair slow movers with hot sellers | Shared visibility and faster sell-through |
Multipacks | Combine small items for perceived value | Higher ASP and lower storage units |
Seasonal re-merchandising | Align slow SKUs with seasonal demand | Clears off-peak stock creatively |
For example:
That dusty “Phone Case (B07XPHONE)” can be paired with a screen protector as a “Holiday Essentials Kit.” The listing feels new, even if the stock isn’t.
Removal vs. Liquidation vs. Outlet: Decision Framework
Every slow product needs a path. Here’s your quick decision grid:
SKU Type | AIS Cost (Monthly) | Margin | Best Option |
Low Margin + Bulky | High ($4-$7 per ft³) | <30% | Liquidate |
Medium Margin + Small | Moderate ($1-$2 per ft³) | 30-50% | Outlet / Discount |
High Margin + Seasonal | Low | >50% | Keep or Re-Merchandise |
For Example:
Your blender (1.25 ft³) costs $5.25 in AIS per month with only a $5 gross margin – liquidate immediately.
Advanced FBA Realization
Before removing or liquidating, compare three numbers for each SKU:
- AIS Fee (30 days)
- Removal or Disposal Fee
- Liquidation Recovery Value (Amazon pays you a %)
Whichever is lowest = your Cheapest Exit Path.
SKU | AIS (30 days) | Removal Fee | Liquidation Value | Best Exit |
B08ZBLEND | $420 | $80 | $120 | Liquidation |
B09BOOKSET | $414 | $60 | $0 | Removal |
B07XPHONE | $18 | $12 | $35 | Liquidation |
Tip: Build this calculator in Google Sheets and link it with your Inventory Health Report.
What to Expect from Amazon’s 2026 Storage Fee Updates
The only thing more certain than fees… is that they’ll change again.
Every January, Amazon tweaks its FBA pricing model – adjusting how much space, time, and movement costs inside its fulfillment network. Sellers who adapt early save thousands; those who wait pay dearly.
Anticipated Per-Unit Increases (January 2026)
Every year, Amazon subtly shifts its balance between per-cubic-foot and per-unit surcharges.
In 2026, analysts expect another 3-5% increase across both fulfillment and aged-inventory categories – with special focus on oversized and low-turnover items.
Fee Type | 2025 Rate | Projected 2026 Rate | Impact |
Monthly Storage (Standard) | $0.87/ft³ | $0.90-$0.93/ft³ | Slight increase; minor impact on small SKUs |
AIS (181-270) | $1.50/ft³ | $1.60/ft³ | Early-aging surcharge bump |
AIS (271-365) | $3.80-$5.90/ft³ | $4.00-$6.25/ft³ | Heavy impact on bulky inventory |
AIS (365+) | $6.90/unit | $7.25/unit | Per-unit surcharge increase |
This means every product that stays in storage longer than 6 months will cost more per month than it did last year.
So your best defense isn’t waiting, but cycling inventory faster.
Storage Capacity & IPI Re-Weighting
Amazon is also planning to adjust how IPI (Inventory Performance Index) affects your storage capacity.
Right now, IPI mostly measures sell-through, excess, and stranded inventory.
But by 2026, Amazon’s goal is to reward turnover and penalize stagnation even more aggressively. This means your storage limits will depend more on how consistently you sell.
IPI Component | 2025 Weight | Projected 2026 Weight | Effect |
Sell-Through Rate | 30% | 45% | Heavier influence on capacity decisions |
Excess Inventory | 25% | 20% | Slightly reduced weight |
Stranded Inventory | 25% | 15% | Simplified tracking |
In-Stock Rate | 20% | 20% | Stays stable |
For Example:
If your IPI is 550 but your sell-through rate is 1.2x, your 2026 storage limit could shrink by up to 25%.
But if you maintain a 2.0x turnover rate, Amazon might increase your capacity automatically – even with a lower IPI.
AI-Driven Sell-Through Forecasts & Automatic Exits
The future of FBA is about real-time, predictive automation.
By 2026, Amazon’s internal AI systems (already hinted at in Seller Central beta updates) will start:
- Forecasting sell-through rates using machine learning models, and
- Triggering auto-removals or price recommendations for SKUs projected to age beyond 181 days.
For example:
Your blender SKU is trending downward. Amazon’s AI predicts it’ll cross the 181-day threshold in 3 weeks.
You’ll soon get a dashboard prompt:
“Recommend a 10% price drop or an Outlet listing to avoid the aged surcharge.”
What You Can Do Now:
- Start using Inventory Health + Business Reports to manually track sell-through every 30 days.
- When the AI tools roll out, your data will already align – giving the system better forecasts and fewer “surprise” fees.
AI doesn’t replace you – it mirrors your 30-day decision loops. The faster you adapt your pricing, ads, and removals, the better Amazon’s models “learn” your rhythm.
Stay Connected to Policy APIs & Data Sources
Amazon publishes fee and capacity updates through data endpoints. Just like the Fulfillment Network Fee API and the Amazon Policy Changes Dataset.
If you connect these (or use third-party dashboards like Sellerboard, Helium 10, or SoStocked), you can:
- Get live updates on AIS rate changes
- Predict when storage caps will tighten
- And simulate fee impact scenarios before they happen
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
People often have similar questions when they start managing FBA inventory or exploring how Amazon’s storage fees really work. That’s why we’ve gathered the most common, real-world questions and answers for sellers just like you.
AIS is Amazon’s monthly “rent” fee for items stored longer than 181 days in a Fulfillment Center (FC). It’s Amazon’s way of encouraging sellers to move products faster and keep warehouses unclogged.
Amazon charges long-term storage fees once a month for inventory stored over 181 days in its fulfillment centers. These fees are added to your monthly storage costs under the Amazon Inventory Storage (AIS) program.
Bulky products like furniture or kitchen appliances get charged more because they take up more space. Slow-moving items, such as seasonal or niche products, also get hit harder since they often sit in storage past the 181-day mark.
You can avoid Amazon’s long-term storage fees by keeping your inventory fresh and moving. Regularly check your Inventory Age report to find slow-selling items. Try running promotions, discounts, or ads to clear old stock before it hits 181 days.
No. AIS only applies to inventory that’s been stored for 181 days or more. Fresh, fast-moving products stored for 0-180 days are only charged the regular monthly storage fees.
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That’s where Brand’s Bro comes in – your full-scale partner for Amazon growth. From store management to marketing and ads, we help your brand sell smarter and scale faster.
