Mastering Q4 on Amazon: Key Takeaways from Our Expert Panel Webinar

The fourth quarter is the busiest, most profitable, and often most stressful time of year for Amazon sellers. With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday shopping surge all stacked into a few short weeks, the right strategies can make or break your results. To help sellers prepare, we recently hosted a panel webinar where industry experts shared insights on upcoming Amazon changes, current market challenges, hidden costs, pricing strategies, and tactics to boost rankings and reviews.

If you missed it, below is a full recap of the discussion, along with the video replay. Check out the actionable steps you can put into place today to maximize your Q4 success.

Upcoming Changes on Amazon

Amazon continues to evolve its policies and seller tools, and this Q4 is no exception. Two major changes topped our discussion:

1. Amazon Ending FBA Prep Services
   For years, some sellers relied on Amazon’s internal prep services to handle labeling, polybagging, and other FBA prep tasks. That convenience is coming to an end. Sellers must now either handle prep in-house or partner with reliable third-party prep centers. This shift underscores the importance of planning ahead — without prep, inbound shipments could face delays, jeopardizing your Q4 timelines.
2. Star-Only Feedback Ratings
   Amazon has simplified buyer feedback to a star-only rating system. While this may streamline the customer experience, it reduces the amount of written context sellers receive. For sellers, this means monitoring star ratings closely and developing proactive strategies to encourage positive ratings, since one low star rating can have a bigger impact in the absence of detailed comments.

Navigating Market Challenges

The holiday surge always strains logistics, and this year is no different. Our panelists shared practical advice for overcoming two common hurdles:

• Faster Inbound to Fulfillment Centers
  With more sellers competing for limited inbound capacity, getting products into Amazon’s fulfillment centers quickly is crucial. Panelists recommended splitting shipments strategically across regional FCs, working with carriers who have strong Amazon relationships, and building in extra lead time before cut-off dates.
• Holiday Surge Management
  Sellers must prepare for potential slowdowns, especially as Amazon’s AWD (Amazon Warehousing & Distribution) services face increased demand. Having backup 3PL partners or prep centers like AMZ Prep, along with contingency inventory in reserve, can help maintain sales momentum when bottlenecks occur.

Hidden Fees to Watch Out For

One of the webinar’s most eye-opening segments was the breakdown of hidden fees that silently erode Q4 profits:

• Storage Fees – As inventory piles up, Amazon’s monthly storage fees rise, especially during peak holiday months.
• Peak Season Fees – Amazon adds surcharges during high-volume seasons, making it more expensive to hold and move products.
• Aging Inventory Fees – Units that sit too long face steep long-term storage penalties.

The advice was clear: calculate total landed costs carefully, factor in seasonal surcharges, keep a close eye on sell-through rates and track your aging inventory on Amazon. A profitable-looking product can quickly turn into a loss leader once hidden fees are applied.

Winning Pricing Strategies for Q4

Pricing in Q4 is both art and science. With spikes in consumer demand, sellers must balance competitiveness with profitability. Panelists recommended:

• Dynamic Pricing Around Key Shopping Dates
  Expect major traffic on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the final shipping cut-offs before Christmas. Adjust pricing in real-time to capture demand while avoiding margin erosion.
• Smart Inventory Allocation
  Don’t burn through all your stock too early. Hold back some inventory to capture premium pricing opportunities later in the season when competitors sell out.
• Avoiding the Race to the Bottom
  Competing solely on price often backfires. Instead, bundle products, highlight unique features, and lean into value messaging to maintain healthy margins.
• Automate Your Pricing
  Use SellerSnap to automate your pricing with custom rules and advanced strategies will help you save time, maximize profit and avoid price wars.

Boosting Rankings and Reviews

In today’s competitive Amazon landscape, visibility is everything. Our panelists shared proven strategies to climb rankings and maintain a strong review profile:

• Monitoring Reviews Closely
  Star-only ratings make feedback and review monitoring more critical than ever. Tools that track your ASINs daily and flag non-compliant reviews or shifts in average rating in real time, can alert you before problems escalate.
• Removing Negative Reviews Within Amazon’s Terms
  While you can’t ask Amazon to remove all negative feedback, certain violations — such as reviews that mention shipping issues handled by Amazon or inappropriate language — can be flagged and removed. Knowing these rules gives sellers an edge in maintaining a clean review record.
• Identify Reviews that Violate Amazon TOS
  With TraceFuse’s Amazon Review Checker, you can see if your product has any negative reviews that are against Amazon's Community Guidelines, and therefor, eligible for removal.

Final Thoughts: Preparing for Your Best Q4 Yet

The panel closed with one clear message: Q4 success depends on preparation, agility, and vigilance. Amazon is changing the rules of the game, hidden fees lurk at every corner, and the competitive landscape intensifies each holiday season. But for sellers who anticipate challenges, build flexible logistics strategies, price intelligently, and manage their reputation proactively, Q4 can be the most rewarding time of the year.

If you missed the live session, we encourage you to watch the full replay and dive deeper into these strategies. Whether you’re a seasoned seller or heading into your first holiday season on Amazon, the insights shared will help you maximize sales, protect margins, and build momentum going into the new year.