FBA
Amazon Updates
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment: What Changed in 2026
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9 min read
Multi-Channel Fulfillment is Amazon shipping the orders you take somewhere else, out of the FBA stock you already hold. Two things changed in 2026. MCF Preferred Pricing started on 15 January and cuts fulfilment fees through usage-based tiers tied to Amazon's fulfilment network and unbranded packaging options. Then in April the default box itself changed in the US: no packing slip, and no Amazon overbox on items certified for Ships in Product Packaging.
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment ships orders from your other sales channels using the stock you already hold in Fulfilment by Amazon. In twenty twenty-six Amazon launched Preferred Pricing in January, cutting fees through usage-based tiers and unbranded packaging options, and changed the default US packaging in April.
What is Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
One pool of stock, several storefronts. MCF lets you send Amazon an order that came from your own site or another channel and have it picked, packed and shipped from the FBA inventory already sitting in Amazon's network, rather than holding a second set of stock somewhere else.
- One pool of stock. The units that serve your Amazon listings are the same units that serve your own site, so you are not forecasting two inventories against one demand curve.
- Amazon's network does the shipping, at the speeds below.
- You give up the box. MCF ships in plain packaging, and since April 2026 in the US it is plainer still by default.
- MCF has its own fulfilment fee schedule, so what it costs to ship a unit off Amazon is not what the same unit costs on Amazon. Check your own fee report rather than assuming parity.
Current US delivery speeds date from an earlier change Amazon made at no extra charge: "standard delivery has improved to three business days, down from five business days" and "expedited delivery has improved to two business days, down from three business days", while "priority delivery has been discontinued" with new priority orders charged at the expedited rate.
What is MCF Preferred Pricing?
A tiered discount, priced on how much you use the network and on unbranded packaging options. Amazon's announcement says that "starting January 15, 2026, Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) will launch MCF Preferred Pricing, a new tiered program designed to make fulfillment more cost-effective".
The published headline is that "eligible sellers can save up to 15% on fulfillment fees and earn up to a $1 FBA credit per unit shipped", through "usage-based savings through Amazon's fulfillment network and unbranded packaging options". Amazon adds that terms and conditions apply. The tier thresholds themselves sit on a Seller Central help page behind a login, so treat any tier table you meet in a blog post, including the absence of one here, accordingly.
Read "up to" as the ceiling it is
Fifteen percent and a dollar a unit are the top of a tiered programme, not the terms everyone gets. Amazon describes the savings as usage-based and tied to its own fulfilment network and unbranded packaging options, without saying what qualifies you for which tier, and it publishes the tier detail only on a Seller Central help page behind a seller login. If you are modelling a channel switch, model it at your current volume with your own fee report rather than at the headline.
What changed in the box in April 2026?
Three defaults, in the United States. Amazon's packaging announcement frames the change as bringing MCF into line with FBA: the updates are made "to help reduce packaging waste and align MCF and Buy with Prime more closely with existing Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) packaging practices".
| Change | Amazon's wording | What it means for your customer |
|---|---|---|
| Packing slips | "Packing slips will no longer be included by default" | The box arrives with no paperwork unless you turn it back on |
| Overbox on SIPP items | "Items already certified for the Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP) program on Amazon.com will ship without an Amazon overbox by default" | The product's own packaging is the shipping box, so the brand on it is the manufacturer's |
| SIPP discount | "Eligible MCF and Buy with Prime SIPP shipments will receive a discount" | Shipping without the overbox is cheaper as well as lighter |
| Rollout | "These updates will roll out gradually from April 1-30, 2026" | There was no single switchover date to watch |
The sentence that matters most is the one about doing nothing: "if no action is taken by the time these updates take effect, MCF and Buy with Prime orders will ship without packing slips, and SIPP-certified items will begin shipping without Amazon overboxes." A seller who has never opened Multi-Channel Fulfillment Settings has, by default, accepted a different unboxing experience for customers who bought on their own storefront.
Why the overbox question is bigger for MCF than for FBA
On Amazon, a shopper expects an Amazon box. On your own site they expect yours, or at least a plain one. SIPP shipping the product in its own retail packaging is genuinely better for waste and cost, and for some products it is also the difference between a parcel that looks like a considered brand purchase and one that announces what is inside it on the doorstep. That is a merchandising decision, not a logistics one, and Amazon has handed it to you as a default rather than a question.
Which settings should you actually check?
Two screens and, if you are integrated, one API field. Amazon says the settings "will take effect in April, but you can update them now and change them at any time", so nothing here is locked.
How to check your MCF packaging settings
- Check which of your ASINs are SIPP-certified - Amazon says to check in Seller Central whether your ASINs are eligible or certified for Ships in Product Packaging. From April these settings apply to FBA, MCF and Buy with Prime orders together, so a certification you accepted for Amazon orders now governs your own storefront too.
- Open Multi-Channel Fulfillment Settings - This is where you opt out of SIPP or choose to include a packing slip with all MCF and Buy with Prime orders. Decide per channel rather than globally if your own site sells a different kind of customer than Amazon does.
- Set overbox and packing slip per order if you use the API - Sellers sending MCF orders through the Fulfillment Outbound API can configure overbox and packing slip settings at the order level. That is the right place for it if you sell both gifts and refills out of the same catalogue.
- Re-run your channel maths after the discounts land - SIPP discounts begin applying as soon as your SIPP-certified items start shipping, and Preferred Pricing savings depend on volume. Pull your own fee report a month after any change rather than trusting the headline percentages.
Quick win for today
Open Multi-Channel Fulfillment Settings and look at what is currently ticked. If you have never been in there, your own storefront's US orders are shipping without packing slips and your SIPP items without an overbox, because that is the default Amazon applied. Then check in the SellerMagnet profit dashboard what those units actually earn after fulfilment, because the packaging decision and the margin decision are the same decision on low-priced items.
Where the numbers in most MCF articles come from
Per-unit MCF costs and side-by-side comparisons against named third-party logistics providers circulate widely and almost never carry a methodology. Third-party rates are negotiated and vary by contract, and Amazon's own MCF fee tables and Preferred Pricing tiers sit behind a Seller Central login. Your own fee report is the only comparison that describes your business.
MCF is one lever among the fulfilment costs you already carry. The FBA storage fee guide covers what the same stock costs while it waits, the inbound placement fee guide covers what it costs to get there, and the Account Health Rating guide covers the page where fulfilment problems show up as account problems.
Amazon MCF FAQ
What is Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment?
A service that ships orders from your other sales channels, such as your own website, using the inventory you already hold in Fulfilment by Amazon, so you do not keep a second pool of stock.
What is MCF Preferred Pricing?
A tiered programme that launched on 15 January 2026. Amazon says eligible sellers can save up to 15 percent on fulfilment fees and earn up to a 1 dollar FBA credit per unit shipped, based on usage and unbranded packaging options.
Do MCF orders still include a packing slip?
Not by default, since April 2026 in the United States. You can choose to include one with all MCF and Buy with Prime orders in Multi-Channel Fulfillment Settings.
What is Ships in Product Packaging in an MCF context?
A certification that lets an item ship in its own packaging rather than inside an Amazon overbox. From April 2026 in the United States, SIPP-certified items ship without the overbox by default and eligible shipments receive a discount.
Can I control packaging per order rather than per account?
Yes, if you send orders through the Fulfillment Outbound API. Amazon says overbox and packing slip settings can be configured at the order level there.
How fast is MCF delivery?
Amazon's published US speeds are three business days for standard and two for expedited, after an earlier improvement made at no extra cost. Priority delivery was discontinued and new priority orders are charged at the expedited rate.
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