Welcome back to another edition of the Amazon Seller School Weekly Newsletter, your front-row seat to the moves Amazon, AI platforms, and global regulators are making that could directly impact your sales, ads, and margins.
This week, Amazon doubles down on AI, tweaks fees again, accelerates delivery speeds, and quietly changes how shoppers perceive returns. Let’s break it all down.
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The News
Amazon in Talks to Invest Up to $50 Billion in OpenAI
Amazon is in early discussions to invest potentially up to $50 billion in OpenAI, according to Reuters, as major tech firms compete to deepen ties with the AI company.
Investigation Shows Brands Paying to Influence ChatGPT Recommendations
A Wall Street Journal investigation found companies are spending heavily on generative engine optimization tactics to shape how ChatGPT and other AI systems recommend products, as AI driven referrals grow rapidly and show higher conversion quality.
U.S. E-Commerce Passes $10 Trillion as Growth Enters Mature Phase
U.S. e-commerce surpassed $10 trillion in cumulative sales by Q3 2025 as growth stabilized into a consistent 5 to 10 percent range, marking a shift from rapid expansion to a mature, predictable market phase.
Amazon Ads Launches Beta for MCP Server to Connect AI Agents With Campaign Tools
Amazon Ads opened a beta for a new Model Context Protocol server that links its advertising APIs with agentic AI systems to streamline campaign creation, optimization, and data tasks.
Amazon Opens Deal Submissions for March Big Spring Sale
Amazon is accepting seller deal submissions for its US Big Spring Sale running March 25 through March 31, with a March 17 deadline for general deals and a later cutoff for Prime exclusive discounts.
Amazon Shifts FBA Removal and Disposal Fees to Per Unit Charges
Amazon will begin charging FBA removal and disposal fees per unit at the time each item is processed starting February 15, 2026, instead of billing sellers in one lump sum when an order is completed.
Amazon Reports 30 Percent Increase in Same and Next Day Deliveries
Amazon said same and next day deliveries in the U.S. rose more than 30 percent in 2025, with over 8 billion fast delivered items and sharp growth in same day grocery and essentials orders.
Amazon PPC Adds Term Level Bid Control Within Targeted Queries
A LinkedIn post by Brandon Young says Amazon advertisers can now adjust bids at the individual search term level even when those terms fall under the same targeted keyword, such as singular versus plural variations.
Amazon Makes Frequently Returned Badge More Prominent on Listings
An article from Fluid Marketplaces reports Amazon has made the Frequently Returned badge more visible near the buy box and is now showing alternative products alongside affected listings.
Amazon Expands Alexa+ AI Assistant to All U.S. Users
Amazon has made its AI powered Alexa+ assistant broadly available in the U.S., moving it out of early access and into general release with a $19.99 monthly price or inclusion with Prime.
Germany Fines Amazon Over Marketplace Price Filtering Tools
German antitrust regulators fined Amazon about 59 million euros, saying its tools that downgrade or remove third party listings based on pricing breach competition law, and ordered the company to stop using them in most cases.
Seller Tips & Tricks
Calculator Helps Sellers Compare Amazon AWD and 3PL Storage Costs
Todd Welch shared a per unit cost calculator that helps sellers model Amazon AWD fees against 3PL storage, handling, and transport costs to make SKU level inventory decisions.
Sellers Use Rufus Prompts to Audit How Amazon AI Reads Listings
Todd Welch shared a LinkedIn post outlining five prompts sellers can use with Amazon’s Rufus assistant to see how AI interprets their listing content and uncover gaps in positioning, benefits, and customer concerns.
Guide Outlines Framework for Finding Profitable E Commerce Niches in 2026
An Exploding Topics guide explains how sellers can use trend data, Amazon demand signals, and search volume research to identify and validate focused e commerce niches rather than broad product categories.
Guide Details How to Use Amazon Product Inserts Within Policy
An article from My Amazon Guy outlines compliant ways sellers can use product inserts to provide instructions, build brand engagement, and reduce returns without violating Amazon’s rules on reviews and off-platform communication.
Amazon Shares Seller Tips to Prepare for Easter Shopping Surge
An Amazon Seller Forums post from News_Amazon encourages sellers to optimize listings, inventory, promotions, and fulfillment strategies ahead of Easter to capture seasonal demand.
How Search Result Badges and Deals Influence Amazon Clicks
A LinkedIn post by Chris Rawlings explains that elements like strikethrough pricing, coupons, and trust badges can make listings occupy more visual space in search results and attract more clicks.
Videos of the Week
AWD vs 3PL in 2026: The REAL Costs for Amazon FBA Sellers
Requesting More Amazon FBA Capacity Step by Step
Strong Opinions
AI Commerce Fees May Outpace Adoption Curve
Todd Welch argues that charging transaction fees in AI driven shopping while the channel represents a small share of e commerce traffic could slow adoption compared with platforms that subsidize growth.
Data Suggests Top Clicked Amazon Result Captures Disproportionate Sales Share
A LinkedIn post by Scott Needham says analysis of 2 million search terms shows the top clicked product captures roughly 18 percent of sales, highlighting the impact of click through rate on performance.
Analysis Argues ChatGPT’s Commerce Ambitions Depend on Amazon Partnership
An industry analysis says ChatGPT’s push into AI driven shopping will struggle to scale without access to Amazon’s catalog, logistics, and advertising infrastructure, while Amazon can advance its own AI shopping efforts independently.
Survey Shows Many Amazon Sellers Target AliExpress for Overseas Expansion
Jon Derkits highlights survey data showing many China based Amazon sellers plan to expand aggressively onto AliExpress as regulatory, tax, and tariff pressures reshape cross border strategy.
Todd’s Top Tip
Build an Amazon P&L Your
Brand Leadership Actually Trusts
If you want leadership to treat Amazon like a real growth channel, you have to show it as a clean, standalone P&L, not a vague line under “ecommerce.”
Start by breaking Amazon out as its own business unit.
► At the top
– Amazon gross revenue (before fees, discounts, and returns)
– Split where possible: 1P and 3P, US and other marketplaces
► Then list the Amazon platform costs clearly
– Referral fees
– FBA fees (fulfillment, storage, aged inventory, low inventory, returns processing)
– PPC and other Amazon Ads spend
– Vendor chargebacks and co op if you are still running 1P or hybrid
► Then your true underlying costs
– Landed COGS including product, packaging, freight into your warehouse or prep partner
– Prep and 3PL costs if you are not doing it in house
– Internal team or agency fees for managing the channel
What is left at the bottom is your Amazon contribution margin, and that is the number brand leaders need to see.
Use this Amazon P&L to answer simple, executive level questions:
► Are we making or losing money on Amazon as a channel
► Which SKUs or product families are carrying profit, and which ones are dragging us down
► If we increase ad spend or expand the catalog, what happens to contribution margin, not just top line revenue
Once your brand can see Amazon this way, everything changes.
– It becomes much easier to justify serious investment into creative, content, and inventory because the returns are visible.
– You can push back on bad ideas like blanket discounting with real numbers instead of opinions.
– You shift from being the person who runs the Amazon account to the growth partner who owns a clear, measurable P&L.
Top Upcoming
Amazon Events
- Vendor Connect 2026 – March 5, 2026, London, UK
- ASGTG EVENT 2026 – March 5, 2026, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- MDS INSPIRE 2026 – March 9-11, 2026, Las Vegas, NV, USA
- Prosper Show 2026 – March 10-12, 2026, Las Vegas, NV, USA
AI isn’t coming, it’s already here. Sellers who understand these shifts early will be better positioned to protect margins, win visibility, and stay ahead of policy changes.
God Bless,
Todd Welch
Amazon Seller School
