Amazon's aged inventory surcharge, explained
Units that sit in Amazon's warehouses for more than 180 days pay a surcharge every month, on top of the regular storage fee, and it climbs steeply after nine months. Here are the 2026 rates by age, who doesn't pay them, when they're charged, and how to tell when sending the units back costs less than keeping them.
surcharge this month, $1.02 a unit
Removing them costs about 2.2 months of this surcharge, at $2.27 a unit. The surcharge only grows as they age.
How the surcharge works
- What's charged: every unit older than 180 days on the 15th of the month, per cubic foot of its packaged size, by age band. The regular monthly storage fee still applies on top.
- When: Amazon assesses it on the 15th of each month, on the units over 180 days old that day.
- Per-unit minimums: from 366 days old, Amazon charges the per-cubic-foot rate or a per-unit minimum, whichever is more, so small items can't slip under it.
- Exempt: clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry and watches pay nothing from 181 to 270 days; from 271 days they pay like everything else.
- Age: counted from the day each unit was received at Amazon, oldest units first.
2026 rates by age
| Age on the 15th | Per cubic foot a month | Per-unit minimum | Clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry, watches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 181 to 210 days | $0.50 | Exempt | |
| 211 to 240 days | $1.00 | Exempt | |
| 241 to 270 days | $1.50 | Exempt | |
| 271 to 300 days | $5.45 | Charged | |
| 301 to 330 days | $5.70 | Charged | |
| 331 to 365 days | $5.90 | Charged | |
| 366 to 455 days | $6.90 | $0.30 | Charged |
| 456 days or more | $7.90 | $0.35 | Charged |
A 12 x 9 x 3 inch item takes 0.188 cubic feet: at nine months old it costs about $1.02 a month in surcharge alone, more than the regular storage fee for the same unit.
Keep, remove or liquidate?
- Sell it through before the next 15th: a lower price, a coupon or a deal. The coupon and deal calculator shows what a discount costs against the fee it saves.
- Remove it: a removal order costs a one-time fee per unit (the checker above uses Amazon's 2026 removal fees; the removal fee calculator compares removal, disposal and liquidation). Units already in a removal order by the 15th aren't charged.
- Liquidate it: Amazon sells it to a liquidator and you get part of the recovery value back.
- Order less next time: the restock calculator works out when to order and how much, so new stock doesn't age.
MyProfit counts storage fees, removal fees and reimbursements in each product's profit, so you can see which products earn their space.
Source: Amazon's "Aged inventory surcharge" page in Seller Central, with the 2026 rates in effect since January 16, 2026. Amazon can change its fees at any time.
See what storage and aged stock cost each product
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