Amazon Outlet deals are limited-time discounts on excess FBA inventory that Amazon features on its Outlet page (amazon.com/outlet), for a period Amazon fixes, “usually two weeks.” Per Amazon’s public Seller Forums announcement, you need “a professional selling plan and a customer rating of at least 3.5 stars,” there is no fee to use Outlet deals, and your price must sit at or below a maximum price Amazon shows you (data checked 2026-09-15).
Ahead of a big sale event, the date that matters is the Outlet submission cutoff, which lands before the event opens: for Big Spring Sale 2026 (March 25–31), Amazon accepted Outlet deals until March 20.
This guide covers the Outlet channel only: what Amazon publishes, how the price cap works, how to submit, and a gate for when Outlet beats a removal or liquidation. Surcharge rates live in the aged inventory surcharge guide, liquidation mechanics in FBA liquidations, and everyday promotion costs in coupons vs deals.
Fact Block: What Amazon Publishes About Outlet Deals
Amazon’s overview PDF points sellers to a program page marked “sign-in required.” Everything below comes from sources anyone can read logged out: two Amazon PDFs hosted on m.media-amazon.com, and News_Amazon announcements on the public Seller Forums. All were read on 2026-09-15.
| Topic | What Amazon says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What an Outlet deal is | “limited-time promotional offers. Items are featured for a period fixed by Amazon, usually two weeks, on the Amazon Outlet page” | Outlet program overview PDF |
| Which inventory | “only for offers of excess inventory currently available for sale and in Amazon fulfillment centers” | Outlet program overview PDF |
| Seller eligibility | “a professional selling plan and a customer rating of at least 3.5 stars” | More products eligible for Amazon Outlet deals |
| Fees | “There are no fees to use Outlet deals. Standard fulfillment and referral fees apply for participating ASINs.” | Same post |
| Price rule | “Your price must be less than or equal to the maximum price.” | Clear excess inventory with Big Spring Sale 2026 |
| Acceptance | “An Outlet submission does not guarantee acceptance.” | Outlet program overview PDF |
A note on age. The overview PDF’s file metadata dates it to August 2019, and its menu name (“Manage Excess Inventory page”) no longer matches the FBA Inventory path Amazon described in 2026. The eligibility post displayed as “updated 3 years ago” when read on 2026-09-15. Where a 2026 post restates a rule, this guide cites the 2026 post.
That eligibility post also carries two performance figures, both Amazon’s own: FBA sellers “can now run Outlet deals on 60% more products with excess inventory,” and “Amazon internal data shows that sellers who followed recommendations to run Outlet deals saw units sold increase by 93% in the following 4 weeks.” Neither comes with a baseline, date range, or sample size. Read them as Amazon’s claims from that time, not a forecast for your SKU.
Eligibility: Who and What Can Run an Amazon Outlet Deal
Amazon’s public text sets three layers (checked 2026-09-15):
- Your account. A professional selling plan and “a customer rating of at least 3.5 stars” (
News_Amazon). The post does not define that rating further. - Your inventory. Excess units “currently available for sale and in Amazon fulfillment centers” (overview PDF). Units still inbound, or units with no active offer, fall outside that description. A unit without an active offer is stranded inventory — fix the listing first.
- Amazon’s recommendation. You do not pick SKUs freely. Amazon’s 2026 posts have you filter FBA Inventory by the Create Outlet deal recommendation, and the overview PDF says the option “will appear only for eligible products.”
Amazon then reviews what you submit. Submissions are “reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis,” and acceptance is not guaranteed (overview PDF).
Third-party summaries circulate extra product-level criteria for Outlet. We could not find those criteria in the public Amazon sources above, so they are not listed here.
The Maximum Outlet Deal Price
The price cap is the part of Outlet that decides whether it is worth doing. What Amazon states publicly:
- You set the price, under a ceiling. The overview PDF tells sellers to enter a price “after reviewing the maximum Outlet deal price recommended.” Amazon’s 2026 posts state the rule flatly: the price “must be less than or equal to the maximum price” (Big Spring Sale 2026 post) and “must be at or below the maximum price shown” (Back-to-School post).
- The ceiling can move. “We may require a lower deal price based on the current demand for your product” (overview PDF).
- The discount is not a fixed percentage. “Discounts vary based on factors that include current demand and pricing” (overview PDF). Amazon publishes no formula for the cap, and none of the sources above states a minimum discount for Outlet.
What that means in practice: the cap only appears once a SKU is recommended, so do the math backwards. Work out your floor — the lowest Outlet price at which a unit still nets more than its next-best exit, after the referral and fulfillment fees Amazon says still apply. Then compare the floor with the cap. If the cap sits below your floor, Outlet is a loss-making clearance, and a removal order or liquidation may leave you with more. The per-unit fee math is in FBA fees and profit.
One published side effect belongs in the same calculation: “Running an Outlet deal or sale may affect the ASIN’s eligibility and pricing for other Amazon deals such as Lightning Deals and Deal of the Day” (overview PDF).
How to Create an Outlet Deal on Amazon
These steps are Amazon’s published instructions; we have not observed the screens ourselves. They come from the News_Amazon Big Spring Sale 2026 post (checked 2026-09-15); the later Back-to-School post gives the same sequence.
- From the Seller Central main menu, hover over Inventory and click FBA Inventory.
- Click Create Outlet deal in the Recommendation filter to show eligible inventory.
- In the Action column drop-down next to an eligible item, select Create Outlet deal.
- Enter a price in the Outlet deal price box, at or below the maximum price.
- Review the start and end dates, then click Submit.
Amazon’s Outlet deals Quick Start Guide (a PDF whose file metadata dates it to January 2023) adds what happens next:
- A successful submission shows the message “Outlet deal submission successful.”
- Until the Outlet system has processed a submission, you can still update the price or cancel it yourself. A deal that is waiting for its start time cannot be canceled; the guide says to wait until the deal has begun.
- Results come from a report: Amazon Fulfillment Report > Outlet deals, under the Sales category. If a report is not generated for an ASIN right away, the guide says to allow up to 24 hours before requesting another.
Event Cutoffs: Why Outlet Closes Before the Sale Starts
Amazon also promotes Outlet around its sale events, and in 2026 at least one of those events had its own Outlet submission cutoff, set before the event opened.
| Event (2026) | Event window | Outlet deal cutoff | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Spring Sale | March 25–31 | March 20 | News_Amazon, Big Spring Sale 2026 post |
| Back-to-School / Off to College | “live now through September 15” | Not stated in the post | News_Amazon, Back-to-School post |
For Big Spring Sale, Amazon called the event “our largest overstock deal event” and said Outlet deals “will have additional promotional visibility during this sales event.” The March 20 cutoff fell five days before the event opened.
For the 2026 events still ahead, we found no News_Amazon post announcing an Outlet cutoff as of 2026-09-15. Check the forum’s News and Announcements feed before each event, and do not assume Outlet shares the regular deal deadline. The Amazon sale dates calendar tracks which event dates are confirmed.
The Gate: Outlet Deal, Removal, or Liquidation
Work the gates per SKU, on the excess tail only. Outlet’s strengths and limits come from one fact: the units stay in FBA and sell to customers at a price you set, with your normal fees.
Gate 1 — Is the unit eligible? No active offer, not in a fulfillment center, or no Create Outlet deal recommendation: Outlet is off the table. Go to removal orders or FBA liquidations.
Gate 2 — Does the cap clear your floor? Compare the maximum Outlet price, less referral and fulfillment fees, with what the unit nets through removal (resale value elsewhere minus removal cost) or through liquidation. If Outlet nets more, continue.
Gate 3 — Is there runway? A deal runs for a period Amazon fixes, “usually two weeks,” and only after Amazon accepts it. Units keep aging while they wait. If a SKU will cross its next surcharge band before a deal could realistically finish — the bands and the monthly cleanup deadline are in the surcharge guide — a removal submitted now is the safer choice.
Gate 4 — Is the SKU booked for another deal? Amazon warns that Outlet “may affect the ASIN’s eligibility and pricing” for Lightning Deals and Deal of the Day. A SKU you plan to feature in an event deal is a poor Outlet candidate before that event.
Gate 5 — What happens to the rest? Outlet sells only what customers buy during the window. Decide now where unsold units go, so a second failed deal does not become the plan.
| Exit | Who sets the price | Do units leave FBA? | Fees Amazon names | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlet deal | You, at or below Amazon’s cap | Only as they sell | No Outlet fee; standard referral and fulfillment fees | The cap is above your floor and there is runway |
| Removal order | Nobody on Amazon; you resell elsewhere | Yes | Per-unit removal fees, see removal orders | The unit is worth more outside Amazon |
| Liquidation | Amazon | Yes | See FBA liquidations | Outlet nets less and removal costs too much |
Common Mistakes
- Waiting for event week. Big Spring Sale 2026 Outlet submissions closed on March 20, five days before the event.
- Pricing before knowing your floor. The cap tells you the most Amazon will accept, not whether the deal makes money.
- Assuming you can pull a deal at any time. Per Amazon’s Quick Start Guide, a processed deal waiting for its start time cannot be canceled until it begins.
- Quoting the 60% and 93% figures as current. Both come from an announcement roughly three years old, with no stated baseline.
- Putting an event-deal SKU into Outlet. Amazon says Outlet can affect eligibility and pricing for other deals (Gate 4).
- Handling a large aged catalog one SKU at a time. Dozens of aging SKUs need a report-driven cadence; for tool options, a workflow-organised directory is kept at AMZFinder’s inventory and operations page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a fee for Amazon Outlet deals?
There is no Outlet fee. Amazon’s News_Amazon post states: “There are no fees to use Outlet deals. Standard fulfillment and referral fees apply for participating ASINs.” Its 2026 Back-to-School post repeats “No additional deal fees” (both checked 2026-09-15).
Who is eligible to create an Amazon Outlet deal?
Per Amazon’s Seller Forums announcement, sellers with “a professional selling plan and a customer rating of at least 3.5 stars.” The units must be excess inventory available for sale in Amazon fulfillment centers, and the SKU must carry Amazon’s Create Outlet deal recommendation.
How long does an Outlet deal run?
Amazon’s Outlet program overview describes a period “fixed by Amazon, usually two weeks.” You review the start and end dates before you submit.
What is the maximum Outlet deal price?
It is the highest deal price Amazon will accept for that SKU, shown when you create the deal. Amazon’s 2026 posts say your price “must be less than or equal to the maximum price,” and its overview says Amazon may require a lower price “based on the current demand for your product.” Amazon does not publish how the maximum is calculated.
Does an Outlet deal help my IPI score?
Amazon says so: its 2026 Back-to-School post lists “Improves your Inventory Performance Index (IPI) by reducing excess units” as an Outlet benefit. Amazon does not publish how IPI components are weighted; see the IPI score guide.
Can I cancel an Outlet deal after submitting it?
Before the Outlet system processes a submission, you can change the price or cancel it yourself. A deal that is waiting for its start time cannot be canceled until it has begun, according to Amazon’s Outlet deals Quick Start Guide.
Conclusion
Outlet is the one clearance exit where the units stay in FBA and you set the price — under a cap you only see once Amazon recommends the SKU. Work out your floor first, compare it with the cap, count the roughly two-week window against the next surcharge band, and submit before the event cutoff rather than during the event. When the cap sits below your floor, removal or liquidation is the better exit.