Amazon Aged Inventory Surcharge Killing Sellers Silently

As an Amazon seller, you’re likely obsessed with ACoS, TACoS, ad optimization, and conversion rates. But there’s a hidden leak that quietly eats away at your profit margins — aged inventory.

Since February 15, 2024, Amazon updated its surcharge policy for inventory that sits in its fulfillment centers too long. And the longer it sits, the more it costs you. If you’re not actively monitoring your inventory age, you could be throwing thousands of dollars away each month.

In this post, we’ll break down the 2025 Amazon aged inventory surcharge structure, explain how it works, share real-world impact, and provide actionable tips to avoid unnecessary fees.

What Is the Aged Inventory Surcharge?

Formerly known as Long-Term Storage Fees (LTSF), the Aged Inventory Surcharge is an extra fee Amazon charges on top of your monthly storage fees for inventory stored for over 180 days.

Amazon’s goal is simple: encourage sellers to keep inventory moving. Stagnant inventory wastes fulfillment center space — and Amazon wants to keep things lean.

If you’re not optimizing your inventory turn rate, you’re essentially paying Amazon rent for stock that isn’t working for you.

2025 Aged Inventory Surcharge Breakdown

Starting February 15, 2024, Amazon implemented a tiered fee structure based on how long your products have been in storage:

These surcharges are assessed monthly and are in addition to your standard FBA monthly storage fees (which vary by size tier and season).

The fees are calculated using inventory snapshots taken on the 15th of every month — meaning just a few days delay in action can result in a major cost jump.

Why This Matters for Sellers

Margins on Amazon are already thin. Between rising ad costs, referral fees, fulfillment fees, and returns — there’s little room for inefficiency.

Now, if you’re storing products that aren’t moving, you could be paying 3x to 10x more in storage fees after just nine months. That’s enough to turn a profitable SKU into a money-losing one.

Let’s say you have 200 units sitting in FBA that have hit 301–330 days. You’ll be charged $5.70 per cubic foot every month in addition to your regular storage fees — and you haven’t even sold a single unit.

For many sellers, aged inventory becomes more expensive than the product itself. Multiply this across 10–20 SKUs, and you’re suddenly looking at thousands in avoidable fees.

A lot of sellers don’t realize these fees exist until they show up on their disbursement breakdown.

Common Reasons Brands Miss This

• Focus is on ads and revenue, not storage economics
• Lack of inventory age tracking tools or awareness
• Inaccurate forecasting leading to overstock
• Slow-moving SKUs not flagged soon enough
• No inventory clean-up process in place

These issues are especially common among brands with:

• Large, seasonal catalogs
• Infrequent audits of their back-end reports
• Teams managing multiple marketplaces or sales channels

And Amazon certainly makes bank from these surcharges, so there’s little incentive on their part to alert sellers aggressively. However, they have updated the FBA dashboard so this data is easier to find and read.

How to Check If You’re Affected

Go to your Seller Central dashboard:

• Navigate to Inventory > FBA Inventory
• Look at the Inventory Age & Excess Units
• Filter by age brackets: 181+, 270+, 365+

You can also export a Manage FBA Inventory report and add conditional formatting in Google Sheets or Excel to flag ASINs that are approaching key thresholds.

If you see SKUs aging past 270 days with low or no velocity — that’s a red flag.

What You Can Do to Avoid or Minimize Fees

Here are a few proven ways to avoid bleeding cash from aged inventory:

1. Track Inventory Age Closely

Use the Inventory Age and Inventory Health reports in Seller Central to identify problem SKUs before they cross the fee threshold. Set calendar reminders tied to the 15th snapshot deadline.

2. Set Inventory Threshold Alerts

Use software tools to trigger alerts when products are nearing surcharge tiers. Most offer inventory aging visualizations and velocity-based suggestions.

3. Run Clearance Promotions

Offer limited-time discounts, bundle offers, or use Amazon Coupons to move slow-moving stock quickly. Price reductions can dramatically boost sell-through when coupled with strategic PPC.

4. Submit to Amazon Outlet (With Caution)

Amazon Outlet can help liquidate old inventory by offering aggressive deals to high-traffic deal seekers. Just know — Amazon sets the discount, not you. And it’s usually a pretty steep offer.

5. Create Removal Orders

If you know a product isn’t going to move, remove it before the fee window hits. You can always re-stock later or add it as FBM. Use FBA Removals or partner with a 3PL to temporarily store or reroute inventory.

6. Optimize Restocking Strategy

Don’t just replenish based on emotion or past sales. Use real-time velocity, seasonality, and historical performance to drive smarter decisions. Look at your units per order, return rates, and inbound shipment delays.

Bonus Tips

Calculate Your Breakeven Timeline

If your breakeven window is 90 days, don’t send in a 6 month worth of stock. Instead, test smaller batches, and scale based on sell-through. Use a rolling inventory window to maintain lean, profitable levels.

Use Automations to Flag Problems Early

Set up internal SOPs or automations that flag:

• ASINs sitting > 180 days
• Units with <1 sale/month
• SKUs with consistent negative margins

Final Thoughts

Amazon’s aged inventory surcharge may seem small at first glance, but it scales quickly — especially if you’re holding thousands of units.

The sellers who will win in 2025 aren’t just running better ads — they’re running leaner businesses.

That means:

• Moving inventory fast
• Restocking with precision
• Cleaning up SKUs regularly

And most importantly — knowing what Amazon isn’t going to tell you upfront.

If you’re unsure where to start or suspect you’re paying too much in storage fees, reach out to us for a complimentary FBA audit to help you stop margin leaks before they spiral.

Let’s make your inventory and ads work for you — not against you.