Emanuel RuizFounder — Amazon FBA Operator Coaching & Skool Community, Eman Los Angeles · Amazon FBA Acquisition Specialist | Buyer-Side Due Diligence & Brand Operations | Helping Investors Acquire & Scale Amazon Businesses

January is the worst month for Amazon sellers

3 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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1:00

In this brief video, the speaker explains that January is typically the hardest month for Amazon FBA sellers. Three main reasons are highlighted: (1) sellers are still paying the high December storage fees, which are three times higher than other months; (2) a wave of post‑holiday returns arrives because customers who bought between October and December have until January 31 to return items, leading to a sudden influx of returns; and (3) consumer purchase intent drops sharply after the holiday spending binge, as shoppers have exhausted their budgets and are not yet motivated to buy again, with Valentine's Day still a ways off. The speaker expresses relief that the month is over.

Chapters

I'm glad that January is over, and everybody in Amazon FBA should feel the same way because January is usually the worst month of the entire year. Why? Number one, we still pay December storage fees, and as we know, on Amazon you pay 3x more in October, November, December than you do any other time of the entire year. Number 2, returns, man. Anybody that purchased a product in October all the way up to December have until January 31st to return items. So people wait until the very last minute to return, and then you get stuck with a bunch of returns in January. Number 3, purchase intent. People have just spent a shit ton of money on Christmas and are no longer trying to go ahead and purchase more things now that Valentine's Day is right around the corner. It trains people to go ahead and start buying more on Amazon, so I'm glad it's over.