Amazon Black Friday 2026: Deadlines and Seller Checklist

Key Takeaways

Dates: Black Friday Week on Amazon from November 19 to 30, 2026, Black Friday on November 27, Cyber Monday on November 30.
FBA inbound: by October 21 for amazon.de. Your last shipment has to go out now.
Prices: no more permanent price cuts from October 20, as they push down your deal price ceiling for November.
Deals: submission by November 18, upfront fee of 16 euros per promotion plus 0.75 percent of promotional revenue. Since October 15, the peak fulfillment fee also applies.
PPC: ramp up budgets step by step from November 9, check them several times a day from November 19 to 30, reset them starting December 1.

In 2026, Black Friday falls on Friday, November 27, and Cyber Monday on Monday, November 30. On Amazon, the deal phase starts eight days earlier: for sellers, Black Friday Week runs from November 19 to 30, as the deal event selection in Seller Central showed. At twelve days, it is the longest deal event of the year: Prime Day ran for four days in 2026, Prime Big Deal Days for two.

For sellers, the event hinges on three dates that fall well before November 27: FBA inbound by October 21, the 30-day lookback starting October 20 and deal submission by November 18. This guide assigns a date to every step through Cyber Monday, from the last shipment and the deal calculation to resetting bids in December.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026: Black Friday Week on Amazon runs from November 19 to 30.

Dates: Black Friday Week from November 19 to 30, 2026

Black Friday Week is Amazon's deal event around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Black Friday is the Friday after the US Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. In 2026, that is November 26, which makes Black Friday November 27 and Cyber Monday November 30.

Start: Thursday, November 19, 2026
Black Friday: Friday, November 27, 2026
Cyber Monday and end: Monday, November 30, 2026
Duration: twelve days, according to the deal event selection in Seller Central

This continues the pattern of previous years: a start on a Thursday eight days before Black Friday and an end on Cyber Monday.

2024: November 21 to December 2
2025: November 20 to December 1
2026: November 19 to 30

Amazon has not yet publicly announced Black Friday Week 2026. In 2025, the announcement came on November 13, one week before the start. For sellers, the window in Seller Central is therefore what counts, because deal submission and run time are based on it. The dates Seller Central shows for your marketplace are always binding.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 in Numbers

Last year's data shows how big the event is and where competition for clicks gets toughest:

Germany: The German retail association HDE expected sales of 5.8 billion euros for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, just under 2 percent less than the previous year and the first decline since the survey began in 2016. 48 percent of the online shoppers surveyed planned to shop on Black Friday
Amazon.de: Black Friday Week 2025 ran from November 20 to December 1, twelve days with more than one million deals, according to Amazon
Worldwide: Salesforce put sales on Black Friday 2025 at 79 billion dollars, up 6 percent. 70 percent of online orders during Cyber Week came through mobile devices
US: According to Adobe, Cyber Monday brought in 14.25 billion dollars in online sales, up 7.1 percent. For 2026, Adobe expects 15.1 billion dollars on Cyber Monday and 12.9 billion on Black Friday
Advertising: On Black Friday 2025, Amazon Ads spend rose 12.4 percent and clicks 22 percent, according to Skai, while cost per click was just under 8 percent lower
AI assistant: Amazon reports more than 300 million Rufus users in 2025. On Black Friday, purchase sessions with Rufus grew 75 percent over the previous day according to Sensor Tower, those without Rufus 35 percent

For your planning, this means two things. Sales come mainly from more clicks, not more expensive ones, so plan your budget around the expected click volume. And willingness to buy in Germany is subdued: according to bevh, online retail grew only 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2026, less than inflation. Deals therefore need to be calculated carefully, and listings built so that Rufus can answer product questions from the title, bullet points and A+ content.

Deadlines Through Cyber Monday at a Glance

These dates apply to amazon.de, as of October 14, 2026:

Date	What happens	Status
September 5	Early bird: 30 percent discount on the deal upfront fee	passed
October 15	Peak fulfillment fee starts, applies until January 14, 2027	running
October 20	Start of the 30-day lookback before the event begins	open
October 21	FBA inbound deadline for Black Friday Week	open
November 18	Final deadline for deal submission	open
November 19	Start of Black Friday Week	open
November 27	Black Friday	open
November 30	Cyber Monday, end of Black Friday Week	open

Some English-language articles list different deadlines. These usually apply to the US stores, while the dates above count for amazon.de.

Inventory: The Last Shipment by October 21

The inbound deadline is the date with the smallest buffer. Anything not in the warehouse on October 21 may sell without the Prime badge during Black Friday Week, and without the badge you lose visibility in search and the Buy Box on exactly the days when traffic is most expensive.

Estimate demand from real data: Take your daily unit sales from the last 30 days, multiply them for the event days by the factor your own Prime Day and October data show, and add a safety buffer. As a rule of thumb, many sellers plan with a factor of three to five
Subtract October: Whatever sold during Prime Big Deal Days is now missing from your warehouse. Reconcile stock per deal ASIN with the sell-through from October 6 and 7 before you plan your last shipment
Count available inventory: For deal planning, what counts is the stock listed as available in the warehouse. Inventory in transit or in receiving may arrive in time, but you should not firmly plan on it
Check storage capacity: A low IPI score limits your capacity exactly when replenishment needs to get into the warehouse. In November and December, inbound delivery slots are also tight, and Amazon allocates additional capacity through the Capacity Manager. How to improve your IPI score is explained in the IPI score guide
Better fewer ASINs than an empty warehouse: If your stock is not enough for twelve event days, submit fewer products or plan shorter deal formats. A deal that sells out on the first weekend costs you ranking on Black Friday itself

Prices: Why October 20 Matters

In Germany, every advertised price reduction is subject to a legal rule: the reference price stated must be the lowest total price of the last 30 days before the reduction, as set out in Section 11 of the German Price Indication Ordinance (Preisangabenverordnung). Amazon also measures deal eligibility against the lowest price in this period. This leads to a date that many overlook: Black Friday Week starts on November 19, and its 30-day lookback begins on October 20.

No permanent discounts from October 20: Every regular price cut in this period becomes the new reference price and lowers the ceiling for your Black Friday deal
Work backward: Set the deal price for Black Friday Week first. This tells you how far your price may drop at most in the 30 days before, so that the deal still qualifies as a discount. For price discounts, Amazon requires a price at least 5 percent below the lowest price of the last 30 days, according to the Seller Forums. If you want to sell for 39.99 euros in November, you must not go below 42.10 euros beforehand
Mind the cascade: Every deal price affects the following 30 days. A top offer at the end of October sets the limit for November, and a Black Friday price sets the one for December
Prime Big Deal Days are out: Amazon announced in the European Seller Forums that promotional prices from Prime Big Deal Days do not affect deal eligibility for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Regardless, there are 43 days between October 7 and November 19, so an October deal falls outside the 30-day lookback anyway

Seller Central shows which price is allowed for a SKU when you create the promotion. Check this for your top ASINs before October 20, not only when you submit in November.

Deals: Formats, Fees and the November 18 Deadline

Fees on amazon.de are uniform for event deals, which makes the calculation easier than choosing the format:

Upfront fee: 16 euros per promotion during Black Friday Week. With the early-bird discount until September 5, it would have been 11.20 euros
Variable fee: 0.75 percent of promotional revenue, capped at 1,000 euros. A promotion therefore costs at most 1,016 euros
Peak fulfillment fee: from October 15, 2026, to January 14, 2027, an average of 0.27 euros extra per unit for small and standard parcels. Oversize, Low-Price FBA and deliveries to other EU countries are exempt
Fuel and logistics surcharge: since April 17, 2026, 1.5 percent on the FBA fulfillment fee, around 5 cents per unit on average

The formats themselves: Lightning Deals run for a few hours with high visibility on the deals page. Best Deals run over a longer period and require a minimum discount off the reference price. Prime Exclusive Discounts require at least 3.5 stars during the event. With a price discount, you show a strikethrough price on the product detail page, while coupons bring the green badge into search results. A comparison of all formats and their hurdles is in the guide to deals, coupons and promotions.

The November 18 deadline is the last opportunity, not the best time. If you submit by the end of October, you have time in case Amazon rejects a deal and price or selection need to be adjusted.

Sample Calculation: What Is Left of a Black Friday Deal

Whether a deal pays off depends on the margin after all fees, not on the discount. An example with assumed values for a standard parcel:

Item	Amount
Regular price (gross)	39.99 euros
Deal price with 20 percent discount (gross)	31.99 euros
Net deal price at 19 percent VAT	26.88 euros
Referral fee, assumed 15 percent of the gross price	minus 4.80 euros
FBA fulfillment fee, assumed	minus 3.50 euros
Peak fulfillment fee, average	minus 0.27 euros
Fuel and logistics surcharge, 1.5 percent of the fulfillment fee	minus 0.05 euros
Variable deal fee, 0.75 percent of the gross price	minus 0.24 euros
Cost of goods, assumed	minus 9.00 euros
Contribution margin before advertising and upfront fee	9.02 euros

With these assumptions, just over 9 euros per unit remain, from which advertising costs and the share of the upfront fee still have to be deducted. If a promotion sells 100 units, that is 16 cents of upfront fee per unit, at 10 units it is 1.60 euros. Use the actual fees from the Fee Preview for your products. Our guide to Amazon profitability shows how to calculate the contribution margin per ASIN properly.

PPC Across Black Friday Week

Ad costs rise during Black Friday Week mainly through click volume. So tie your budget logic to specific days instead of doubling everything once on Black Friday:

By November 8: Clean up your campaign structure, analyze keywords and search terms from Prime Big Deal Days, and test new campaigns now while CPCs are normal
November 9 to 18: Raise daily budgets and bids for your top ASINs step by step. The goal is visibility before the event, not only during it
November 19 to 26: Set budgets so that no campaign runs out before the end of the day, and check spend every two to three hours. A budget-constrained campaign no longer responds to bid increases, which is the most common avoidable mistake on event days
November 27 to 30: Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the days with the highest click volume. Set budgets highest here and step up brand defense, as competitors bid more heavily on your brand keywords
From December 1: Actively reset bids and budgets and start retargeting. If you leave the event settings in place, you pay event prices for normal traffic

How to steer budgets by TACoS instead of pure campaign metrics is covered in the guide to Amazon PPC strategy, budget planning in the guide to advertising costs and budget. If you want to hand over management for Black Friday Week, our Amazon PPC agency page shows how we set it up.

What Prime Big Deal Days Reveal About November

Prime Big Deal Days on October 6 and 7 were the dry run. In the US, consumers spent 9.86 billion dollars online on those two days according to Adobe, 8.5 percent more than the previous year, across all retailers. Amazon has not published its own results, and there were none for Black Friday Week 2025 either. That makes your own data all the more important. Three analyses belong before your Black Friday submission:

Which ASINs carried the event? For November, submit the products that sold with a deal in October and drop deals that had no effect. Every promotion costs an upfront fee
Which keywords converted? The search terms from the event days are the best basis for bid increases in November
How did inventory hold up? If you sold out after the first day in October, you need more than twice the quantity for twelve days in November

Detailed planning for the October event is in our Prime Big Deal Days checklist, the framework for every Prime event in the Prime Day guide.

After Cyber Monday: Plan December Too

The phase after November 30 decides whether Black Friday Week leaves behind ranking and reviews or just revenue:

Retargeting: Shoppers who viewed your product during Black Friday Week but did not buy are a warm audience. Display ads, formerly Sponsored Display, bring these visitors back in December at a lower cost than new-customer traffic. More on this in the guide to display advertising
Reviews: Trigger the review request for event orders after a few days. The high order volume is the best opportunity of the year for new reviews
Holiday season: Many shoppers keep buying in December. Keep the budget for your top ASINs slightly above normal for one to two weeks so the new ranking stabilizes
Plan for returns: In 2025, purchases made from November 1 to December 25 could be returned until January 31, but Amazon has not yet published the rule for 2026. Since September 1, 2026, only the statutory return period applies in 16 categories, including beauty, drugstore and pet supplies. Expect part of your November sales to be final only in January

Common Mistakes in Black Friday Preparation

Underestimating the inbound deadline: October 21 is five weeks before Black Friday. If you only plan your last shipment at the end of October, you will sell without the Prime badge in November
Cutting prices in October: Permanent discounts from October 20 push down the reference price and with it the possible deal price for Black Friday Week
Forgetting the peak fee: An average of 0.27 euros more per unit tips tightly calculated deals into the red
Submitting too many ASINs: Every promotion costs an upfront fee of 16 euros plus the variable fee. Deals on products without sales or without a review base burn budget
Changing listings during the event: Changing titles, images or A+ content between November 19 and 30 risks approval delays. Finish all changes by November 18
Switching to business as usual on December 1: Retargeting and review building in December are the cheapest part of the holiday season

Timeline: October to December 2026

From October 15: Peak fulfillment fee applies, recalculate deal margins
By October 20: Set your regular price for November, no permanent discounts after that
By October 21: Get your last FBA shipment for amazon.de into stock
By the end of October: Submit deals so there is a buffer for corrections
By November 8: Clean up campaigns, test new campaigns, finalize listings
November 9 to 18: Raise budgets and bids step by step, final deal deadline on November 18
November 19 to 30: Black Friday Week, budget monitoring every two to three hours, peak on November 27 and 30
From December 1: Reset bids, start retargeting, request reviews
December: Support the holiday season, plan for returns, document your analysis for 2027

Conclusion

In 2026, Black Friday Week has a fixed window from November 19 to 30, but its most important dates fall in October. First comes inbound delivery by October 21, then price discipline from October 20, then deal submission, ideally by the end of October and no later than November 18. If you complete these three steps now and use the data from Prime Big Deal Days, you will go into the most expensive days of the year with full stock, clean deal prices and a PPC plan.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Black Friday 2026 on Amazon?

In 2026, Black Friday falls on Friday, November 27, and Cyber Monday on Monday, November 30. For sellers, Black Friday Week runs from November 19 to 30, according to the deal event selection in Seller Central, that is, from eight days before Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Amazon has not yet publicly announced the date.

When does FBA inventory for Black Friday 2026 need to be in Amazon's warehouse?

For amazon.de, Amazon names October 21, 2026, as the inbound deadline so that your inventory sells with the Prime badge during Black Friday Week. Anything that arrives later may not be stocked in time. So plan your last shipment right away and factor the sell-through from Prime Big Deal Days into your demand.

When is the deadline to submit deals for Black Friday Week?

For amazon.de, submission closes on November 18, 2026, one day before Black Friday Week starts. The binding date is the one Seller Central shows for your marketplace under Advertising and Deals. Still, submit earlier, ideally by the end of October, so there is time left if Amazon rejects a deal.

How much does a deal cost during Black Friday Week on amazon.de?

Each promotion carries an upfront fee of 16 euros, plus 0.75 percent of promotional revenue, with this variable portion capped at 1,000 euros. The 30 percent early-bird discount applied until September 5. Since October 15, the peak fulfillment fee of 0.27 euros per unit on average also applies, along with a 1.5 percent surcharge on the fulfillment fee.

Can I still lower my prices before Black Friday?

You should avoid permanent price cuts from October 20 onward. They fall into the 30-day lookback before Black Friday Week starts on November 19 and lower the reference price against which Amazon measures your highest possible deal price. It is therefore better to plan short-term promotions as a deal during the event week itself.

Amazon Black Friday 2026: Deadlines, Deals and Seller Checklist