Amazon Peak Season Dates: BFCM 2026 and the 2027 Calendar

Sellers still planning Q4 from June estimates are missing deadlines, and the ones that matter most this week are still open.

We rebuilt this calendar on November 4, 2026 with the dates Amazon has confirmed, the dates trade press has reported, and the ones we expect from last year's pattern, each labeled so you can tell them apart. It runs from today through Black Friday 2027.

Last updated: November 4, 2026. Amazon has not published its Black Friday Week 2026 event window yet. We will add it the day Amazon announces it.

What Changed Since the June Version

• Passed: Prime Big Deal Days (October 6 to 7), all three BFCM inbound cutoffs (October 14, 21 and 28) and the original deal submission deadline (October 20) are behind you.
• Moved: the BFCM deal submission deadline was extended from October 20 to November 13, as reported by trade press (details below).
• New: holiday peak fulfillment fees run October 15 to January 14, and the January 31 holiday return deadline is now an annual rule.
• Added: a 2027 calendar through Prime Day, Prime Big Deal Days and BFCM 2027.

Quick Answer: The Dates That Matter in the Next 90 Days

Every date below carries one of four labels: confirmed (Amazon or its own announcement), reported (trade press, Amazon notice not loaded), expected (prior-year pattern) or calendar (fixed by the calendar).

• Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Black Friday is November 27 and Cyber Monday is November 30, 2026, confirmed on Amazon's own Black Friday FAQ.
• The opportunity: deal submissions are reported open until November 13, and you can still set pricing guardrails and ad budgets before the Cyber Five. Confirm in Seller Central which deal types the extension covers.
• The risk: inbound cutoffs were not extended with the deal deadline, so inventory that missed October 28 will not be Prime-eligible for most of the event. Peak fulfillment fees and $2.40 per cubic foot Q4 storage are also running now.
• What is still unannounced: the Black Friday Week event window. Last year's ran November 20 to December 1, which is the planning basis, not a commitment.
• After the holidays: peak fees end January 14, 2027, holiday returns close January 31, 2027, and Prime Day 2027 is expected mid-year but not announced.
• Our read: treat November 13 as the last open lever and January 31 as the date that sets your returns and cash exposure.

The 2026 to 2027 Holiday Calendar at a Glance

This table covers October 2026 through January 2027, the stretch where most Q4 money is made or lost.

Q4 2026: Most BFCM Deadlines Have Passed and One Is Still Open

What the passed deadlines already decided

The three BFCM inbound cutoffs fell on October 14 (AWD), October 21 (minimal splits) and October 28 (Amazon-optimized splits). Inventory that missed its cutoff still gets received, but it may not be processed in time for Prime eligibility during the event. If a top SKU is in that position, the realistic options are an FBM backup for the Cyber Five or reallocating ad budget to SKUs that are in stock. Our guide to what happens when you go out of stock on Amazon covers the ranking damage and how to limit it.

The original deal submission deadline was October 20. Prime Big Deal Days ran October 6 to 7, which gave you a live read on which SKUs convert under deal conditions before Black Friday.

The November 13 deal extension is reported, not confirmed by Amazon

Two trade sources, My Amazon Guy on October 23 and EcomCrew on October 25, report that Amazon moved the BFCM deal submission deadline from October 20 to November 13 and left inbound cutoffs unchanged. Prime Exclusive Discounts are confirmed in those reports. Lightning Deals and Best Deals are not. The primary source would be Amazon's Seller Central notice, which we have not loaded, so open Seller Central and check which deal types still accept submissions before you build a plan around the extension.

Black Friday Is November 27 and Cyber Monday Is November 30, but Amazon's Event Window Is Still Unpublished

Amazon's own FAQ confirms Black Friday on November 27 and Cyber Monday on November 30, 2026, and says to check back for more information on the deals event. Last year's Black Friday Week ran November 20 to December 1. That is the only basis for the 2026 window, so plan for a start around the week before Thanksgiving and watch for the announcement.

The fixed calendar anchors are Thanksgiving on November 26, Small Business Saturday on November 28 and Cyber Monday on November 30. Build your budget pacing around those days and adjust once Amazon's event window is published.

December 2026: Fee Windows, Returns Labels and the Last Gifting Days

Peak fees and Q4 storage are already in your margin

Amazon's holiday peak fulfillment fees run October 15 to January 14, an average increase of about $0.32 per unit in the US as reported by Supply Chain Dive. Separately, the standard-size monthly storage rate is $2.40 per cubic foot from October through December, against $0.78 from January through September. That is the seasonal storage rate, not an aged-inventory charge, so slow stock stays expensive for the whole quarter. Our Amazon seller fees breakdown explains how the pieces stack.

Green Monday, Super Saturday and the returns labels date

Green Monday (December 14) and Super Saturday (December 19) are the late-season demand spikes before shipping cutoffs bite. Trade press also reports that prepaid return labels become required on US seller-fulfilled orders on December 18. Confirm that in Seller Central if you ship FBM. Also reported: legacy Sponsored Ads and DSP report pages retire on December 31, so export any historical reports you rely on before then.

Q1 2027: Peak Fees End, Returns Close and Lunar New Year Hits Supply

Peak fees end January 14, and Amazon's annual US fee update has usually taken effect around January 15. No 2027 update had been announced as of November 3. Last year's was announced October 15, 2025, so treat a January 15 effective date as expected, not confirmed.

The holiday return window now closes January 31, 2027 for purchases made November 1 through December 31, and Amazon has made that an annual rule rather than a one-year exception (Amazon Seller News, October 16, 2026). Returns on holiday orders therefore keep arriving, and being refunded, for a full month after the season ends.

Lunar New Year falls on February 6, 2027, and factory closures typically run from late January to mid-February. Orders for spring inventory need to be placed before the closures, not after.

Spring and Summer 2027: Big Spring Sale and Prime Day Are Expected, Not Announced

The Big Spring Sale ran in late March in recent years, and we expect a similar slot in 2027. Prime Day ran in late June in 2026, so mid-year is the planning assumption for 2027. Neither has been announced. Amazon has typically confirmed event dates a few weeks ahead, and seller deadlines (deal submissions, inbound cutoffs) land well before the public announcement, so plan inventory against the expected window and adjust if dates move. Our Prime Day Qore playbook and Prime Day tips for sellers cover the prep sequence.

Mother's Day (May 9) and Father's Day (June 20) bracket the spring season, and back-to-school demand builds from July into August.

Fall 2027 and BFCM 2027: The Calendar Sets Thanksgiving Early

Thanksgiving 2027 is November 25, Black Friday is November 26 and Cyber Monday is November 29. Each date falls one day earlier than in 2026, which adds a day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Prime Big Deal Days is expected in October 2027 on the pattern of the last two years. If you ship ocean freight from Asia, BFCM 2027 inventory orders belong in the summer, not the fall.

How to Plan Around the Calendar: Four Levers on One Timeline

Dates only help if inventory, listings, pricing and ads move together. A well-stocked SKU with bad pricing loses the Buy Box, a perfectly priced SKU with a weak listing converts at half its potential, and a strong listing on an exhausted ad budget disappears when traffic peaks.

Where manual coordination breaks

Across a few hundred SKUs, the step that breaks first is hourly budget pacing during the Cyber Five. Costs swing hour by hour, and a manual pass leaves budgets empty by late morning or bids too low to hold position. Pricing is the second: Buy Box competition is continuous, and a spreadsheet leaves you either undercut or giving away margin.

That is the job of our platform Qinetix, which handles advertising automation and dynamic pricing inside the budgets, floors and ceilings you set. It does not decide your event strategy, pick which SKUs get inventory or confirm a deal deadline for you, and a seller with a short SKU list can run this from a calendar and a spreadsheet. If you want to turn your own peak-week review into a workflow that runs on its own, our product Qore is in open beta with public self-onboarding. To walk through your category, book a demo.

In Summary

Most of the BFCM 2026 deadlines are behind you, the deal extension to November 13 is the one open lever (confirm it in Seller Central), and Black Friday on November 27 and Cyber Monday on November 30 are fixed. Amazon's Black Friday Week window is the main unknown for now. After the season, peak fees end January 14 and holiday returns close January 31, 2027, and the 2027 calendar runs from late March through Prime Day, Prime Big Deal Days and BFCM on November 26 and 29.

Bookmark this page. We update it as Amazon confirms the dates marked expected or reported.