Prime Day 2026 — ROI Swift Brand Playbook 
Brand Playbook
Prime Day 2026
Brand Playbook
Everything your brand needs to know to prepare inventory, submit deals, and maximize sales during Amazon's biggest event of the year.
Early Deal Deadline
April 30, 2026Submit Best Deal or Lightning Deal by this date to save $50/deal on upfront fees
Deal Scheduling Closes
May 26, 2026Last day to schedule Best Deals and Lightning Deals
Inventory Deadlines
May 27 / June 5May 27 for AWD and FBA minimal splits. June 5 for Amazon-optimized splits
Best Deal / Lightning Deal
$100 + 1.5% of salesCapped at $5,000 per deal
Price Discount Fee
$100/campaign + 1.5%Capped at $5,000 per campaign
Coupon Fee
$5/coupon + 2.5%Capped at $2,000 per coupon
01 Overview
What is Prime Day and why does it matter?
Prime Day is Amazon's flagship annual sales event, open exclusively to Prime members. It's one of the highest-traffic periods on the entire Amazon platform, which makes it an unusually strong opportunity to reach new customers, move inventory, and grow brand visibility at scale.
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Note on event dateAmazon has not officially announced the event dates yet. We have seen several rumors (the biggest one is from Bloomberg) suggesting Amazon might move Prime Day into June so the sales hit in Q2 for them. Several industry sources we watch are pointing to potentially June 23 to 26. While this is not confirmed, we believe it is possible given the timelines Amazon published. Specifically, inventory must arrive at fulfillment centers by June 5 to be available for Prime Day. Last year, Amazon said inventory must ship by June 2, so the timelines line up with a late June event.
02 Dates & Deadlines
Every date you need on your calendar
Miss one of these and you're either locked out of a promotion type, paying fees you could have avoided, or shipping inventory too late to get it processed in time. Work backward from the event and don't wait until May to start planning.
March 24, 2026Deal submissions open for Best Deals and Lightning Deals
Prime-Exclusive Best Deal and Lightning Deal submissions open for Prime Day. You can start submitting now.
April 30, 2026 — Save $50 per dealEarly submission discount deadline
Submit your Best Deal or Lightning Deal by this date to receive $50 off the upfront fee per deal. No reason to wait.
April 6, 2026Prime-Exclusive Price Discount submissions open
Price Discount submissions open and remain open until 6 hours before the event ends.
Around May 13, 2026 (14 days before May 27)Carrier pickup deadline if using Amazon Partnered Carrier Program
Schedule pickup 14 days before the inventory arrival deadline. Calculate from your specific inbound option cutoff.
Around May 20, 2026 (7 days before May 27)Schedule your delivery appointment
Amazon recommends scheduling delivery appointments at least 7 days before the inventory cutoff dates.
May 26, 2026Best Deal and Lightning Deal scheduling closes
After this date you can no longer schedule Best Deals or Lightning Deals for Prime Day. Price Discounts and Coupons remain available past this date.
May 27, 2026Inventory arrival deadline for AWD and FBA (minimal splits)
Deadline for AWD shipments and FBA shipments with "minimal shipment splits" selected. Inventory arriving after this date may not be processed in time for Prime Day eligibility.
June 5, 2026Inventory arrival deadline for FBA (Amazon-optimized splits)
Later deadline available only if you selected the "Amazon-optimized shipment splits" inbound placement option.
6 hours before event endPrime-Exclusive Price Discount submissions close
Final cutoff for Price Discount submissions.
During the eventCoupons can be submitted through event end
Prime Member Coupons can be submitted after event dates are announced and run through the end of the event.
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Don't miss thisApril 30 is the easiest money-saving deadline to overlook. Submitting your Best Deal or Lightning Deal even one day late means you pay an extra $50 per deal. If you're running 5 deals, that's $250 left on the table for no reason.
03 Deal Types
Choosing the right promotion for your products
There are four promotion types available for Prime Day. Each has different placement, fees, eligibility rules, and strategic use cases. Here's a full breakdown of each.
What it is
A discount that runs for the entire event duration, not a time-limited flash sale. Best Deals work well for your best-selling products where you want sustained visibility throughout the event.
Where it appears
Event badge and strike-through pricing on the product detail page, in search results, and in the cart. Eligible offers may also appear on the main Amazon Deals page during the event.
Eligibility requirements
- Product must have at least a 4-star rating, or no rating at all
- Products must be in new condition
- Must have a validated reference price to show a savings comparison
- Seller feedback rating must be at least 3.5
- Discount must meet Amazon's minimum discount threshold (see Discount Requirements section)
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Don't miss thisDeal recommendations in your Deals Dashboard update weekly. If an ASIN is showing as eligible today, it may disappear from the list next week. Act on recommendations when you see them.
What it is
A steep, time-limited discount that runs for up to 12 hours (or until sold out). The scarcity and urgency drives higher conversion rates. Good for moving excess inventory and attracting new customers to your brand.
Important caveat
Lightning Deals are subject to Amazon selection and scheduling. Not all submitted deals are guaranteed to be approved, and even approved deals may not run on the Prime Day dates themselves.
Where it appears
Same as Best Deals: detail page, search, and cart, plus potential placement on the Amazon Deals page.
Eligibility requirements
Same 4-star product rating requirement, new condition, validated reference price, and 3.5+ seller feedback rating. Minimum discount thresholds apply. Check Seller Central for full Lightning Deal-specific criteria under Deals for events.
What it is
A price discount offered exclusively to Prime members, including seller-fulfilled items with free shipping. One campaign can cover up to 500 SKUs. Submissions open April 6 and close 6 hours before the event ends.
Where it appears
Event badging in search results, on the detail page, and in the cart. Note: unlike Best Deals and Lightning Deals, Price Discounts will not appear on the main event deals page.
Eligibility requirements
- Seller feedback rating: at least 3.5
- Product rating: at least 4 stars (or no rating)
- Products must be in new condition
- Validated reference price required
- Discount must meet minimum threshold (higher minimum may apply during Prime Day)
- For seller-fulfilled items, the following also apply:
- Late shipment rate: must exist and must not exceed 4%
- Order defect rate: must exist and must not exceed 1%
- Pre-fulfillment cancellation rate: must exist and must not exceed 0.5%
- Disbursement reserve policy must be set to 7 days or more after delivery
- Item must be shipped for free
What it is
A point-of-sale discount offered exclusively to Prime members. Can be set as a dollar-off or percentage-off amount. Can run on a single ASIN or a set of products. The lower entry fee makes it a solid option for products that don't meet deal eligibility.
Where it appears
Automatically placed on the Coupons page, in shopping results, and on product detail pages.
Submission timing
Submissions open after Prime Day dates are officially announced. Coupons can be submitted through the end of the event.
Eligibility requirements
Check Seller Central for full coupon eligibility criteria under Coupon eligibility criteria.
Fee summary
| Promotion type | Upfront fee | % of sales | Cap |
|---|
| Best Deal | $100 per deal | 1.5% | $5,000 |
| Lightning Deal | $100 per deal | 1.5% | $5,000 |
| Price Discount | $100 per campaign | 1.5% | $5,000 |
| Coupon | $5 per coupon | 2.5% | $2,000 |
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Price discounts outside of Prime DayPrice discounts run on non-event days are not charged a fee. The fees above apply only during Prime Day and similar Amazon events.
03b Discount Requirements
Understanding the Max Price rule
For all Prime Day promotion types, your discount must meet a minimum threshold. Amazon calculates this using a "Max Price" system.
What is the Max Price?
The Max Price is the highest price you can set for an ASIN and still qualify for a price discount. It appears in Seller Central when your current price no longer meets the minimum discount requirement.
Amazon calculates the Max Price using several inputs, which can change over time and may have stricter thresholds during Prime Day specifically:
- Your ASIN's reference price (e.g., List Price or Was/Typical Price) with a required minimum discount applied
- The lowest sales price across all selling partners in the past 30 days, with a required minimum discount applied
- The lowest sales price across all selling partners in the past 60 days
- The lowest price offered by any seller with a new condition listing for the product
- The price offered by other reputable retailers
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Don't miss this: pricing history mattersIf you've been running heavy discounts leading up to Prime Day, that can lower your reference price and make it harder to qualify, or require a steeper cut. It is best to avoid large discounts or promotions in the 8 to 12 weeks before Prime Day.
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Higher discount required during Prime DayAmazon explicitly states that a higher discount may be required during peak events like Prime Day to ensure customers see compelling savings. The minimum is not the same as during standard promotions.
04 Inventory & Fulfillment
Getting your inventory there on time
This is where most sellers run into trouble. The logistics window is tight, and late inventory means your products either miss Prime Day entirely or don't qualify for the Prime badge. Plan further ahead than you think you need to.
Inbound placement options and their deadlines
When you create a shipping plan, you choose how you want your inventory distributed across Amazon's fulfillment centers. This choice directly affects your deadline.
| Shipment type / option | Arrival deadline |
|---|
| AWD (Amazon Warehousing and Distribution) | May 27, 2026 |
| FBA with minimal shipment splits | May 27, 2026 |
| FBA with Amazon-optimized shipment splits | June 5, 2026 |
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Don't miss this: these are arrival deadlines, not ship datesAmazon continues to accept inventory after these dates, but it may not be processed in time for Prime Day eligibility. "Arrives by" means at the fulfillment center, not the date you drop it with a carrier. Build your ship-by date backward from these deadlines.
Shipping best practices
- Schedule delivery appointments at least 7 days before the deadline dates above
- If using the Amazon Partnered Carrier program, schedule carrier pickup at least 14 days before the deadline dates
- Book carrier service early to account for supply chain disruptions, including supplier delays, carrier issues, customs delays, and port closures
- Consolidate deal inventory in dedicated boxes, separate from non-deal inventory. This speeds up processing of promotional items
- Select night or weekend deliveries to get earlier appointments and reduce wait times at fulfillment centers
- Provide accurate box content information including detailed product identifiers and quantities for each box, to avoid manual processing fees
- Provide carrier tracking information (carrier name and shipping method) when creating shipments. This speeds up receiving
- Make sure the destination address is correct. Wrong-destination shipments cause delays and can incur inbound defect fees
- Update your delivery window if you expect delays before the window starts
Shipment tracking and performance
- Use the Shipment Performance Dashboard to monitor your shipment health and identify issues early
- Check the Shipment events tab on the Shipment Summary page for step-by-step updates
- Use the Inventory Ledger report to track end-to-end inventory movements (starting balance, received, orders, returns, adjustments, ending balance)
- Shipments arriving within their scheduled delivery window receive priority processing. Shipments outside the window may face appointment and receiving delays
- If you use Amazon Freight or a partnered carrier, Amazon can help locate your shipment if something goes wrong. Submit a Carrier missed pickup request if needed
