Key Takeaways
Amazon FBA has ended its prep services, causing a higher workload for sellers. An Amazon FBA VA can ease these operational challenges by writing prepping SOPs or finding 3PLs.
Amazon has also raised the cost of FBA fees, MCF, Buy with Prime, aged inventory and more.
If your product is measured incorrectly and you’re charged higher fees, your VA can submit a remeasurement and reimbursement request.
Amazon has consistently been the largest online marketplace. In 2025, the company generated $717 billion in revenue, surpassing all other e-commerce platforms by a huge margin.
One reason for its popularity among sellers is its wide range of product categories. You can sell electronics, home goods, apparel or even food.
Moreover, Amazon helps its sellers streamline their businesses with different subscriptions and services.
You can manage all packaging and shipping tasks yourself by starting an Amazon FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) shop. Or you can let Amazon help you by opting for Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon).
But even if you choose FBA, running a store isn’t easy. As your business booms and sales increase, so will your workload. To stay efficient, you’ll need the right help—someone to handle daily duties.
For busy sellers, the answer can be Amazon FBA virtual assistants.
How Does Amazon FBA Work?
Amazon FBA is a part of Amazon’s Supply Chain Services. It allows sellers to offload parts of their order processing, order fulfillment and shipping operations to Amazon.
By paying a monthly subscription fee, you can apply for Amazon FBA and let Amazon take care of storing, picking and shipping your products.
Thanks to how convenient Amazon FBA is, it has achieved staggering success across the world. In 2023, 56% of orders in Ireland and 49% in the UK were fulfilled by Amazon FBA.
It has also become the go-to for many Amazon sellers.
But if you’re wondering why you need to pay attention to your supply chain, just listen to the masters. Martin Christopher hit the nail on the head when he said:
The real competition is between supply chains, not companies.
The smoother your supply chain is, the better your business performs. And who better to fulfill orders than Amazon?
There is no doubt that FBA makes your work easier. However, this doesn’t mean all your job is done.
As a seller, you still need to manage your products, maintain contact with manufacturers, handle product sourcing, monitor your seller account and do a hundred other tasks every day!
If you want to achieve true efficiency that gives you concrete results, you need to hire a Amazon seller virtual assistant for your Amazon FBA business.
But first,
How Is Amazon FBA Changing in 2026?
Amazon has recently rolled out some big changes.
From charging higher fees due to inflation to saying goodbye to their long-standing prep services, these new developments will significantly affect sellers.
Here’s what you need to know to adjust quickly to this new era.
No More Prep Services
As of January 1, 2026, Amazon has put an end to its prep services. This means sellers are now responsible for labeling, packaging and bagging products on their own.
This is a major change, posing several challenges for sellers.
Failing to label and pack items as per Amazon’s compliance policies can lead to your products being rejected, delayed or returned.
Expenses will also increase as sellers must invest in more staff or third-party logistics (3PL) providers to handle prep.
What’s more, the cost of a simple labelling error is grave. In the food industry, 40% of food recalls between 2010 and 2019 were due to mislabeling.
With such high stakes, sellers have no room for mistakes. These recent changes are undoubtedly extremely stressful, but an Amazon FBA can still ease your worries.
If you’re managing prep in-house, your VA can draft detailed SOPs for labeling, polybagging, bubble-wrapping, bundling and more.
Clear guidelines will ensure consistency and help your team avoid errors.
And if you choose to partner with a 3PL, your VA can help you find one that’s affordable, experienced and certified in Amazon compliance.
Increase in FBA Fees
Unfortunately for sellers, Amazon has also increased its FBA fees by an average of $0.08 per unit sold or less than 0.5% of an average product’s selling price.
The increments depend on the size and price of your items. Small standard-sized products below $10 will increase by $0.12 per unit, while products priced between $10 and $50 will increase by $0.25 per unit and so on.
These granular changes can be difficult to track.
In case your product is measured incorrectly and you’re charged higher fees, your VA can request remeasurement and reimbursement through Seller Central.
Beyond this, MCF fees will increase by $0.30 per unit, while Buy with Prime will rise by $0.24 per unit.
Inventory fees are changing as well.
Low-inventory fees will be applied at the FNSKU level rather than the parent-ASIN level. This means sellers need to keep a close eye on stock levels to avoid being charged.
Additionally, for inventory that’s 12 to 15 months old, fees will increase by $0.15 to $0.30 per unit per month.
You need to maintain a healthy turnover, so products aren’t sitting in the warehouse for too long.
To ensure this, your VA can regularly monitor inventory levels, identify dead stock and notify you about products nearing 12 months old.
| Fee Type | Meaning | Hike Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) | Amazon fees for storing, shipping and providing customer service. | +$0.08 per unit sold |
| Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) | Using Amazon’s FBA services on non-Amazon platforms like own website on Shopify, etc | +$0.30 per unit |
| Buy with Prime | Fee for offering Prime shopping benefits on Amazon as well as showing the Prime badge on non-Amazon platforms | +$0.24 per unit |
| Aged Inventory | Inventory being stored for more than 12 to 15 months | +$0.15 to +$0.30 per unit per month |
Top Tasks Amazon FBA VAs Can Do For You
Amazon FBA virtual assistants come with a specific skill set to handle routine tasks for your business.
They can communicate with vendors, keep tabs on your inventory, update your seller account and more.
Here is a list of the top tasks you can delegate to your VA.
Set Up Your Amazon Account
Amazon FBA VAs have experience working with the Amazon platform.
This means they can help you in every step of your business, starting with setting up your Amazon Seller Central account.
They can put in all your personal information, make sure addresses are right and that all necessary licenses and documentation are up to date.
They can also register you for FBA, start Prime delivery, list all your products and help you launch your store.
Moreover, after setting up, they can also manage the account dashboard and make sure all processes are up to Amazon’s rules and regulations.
With Amazon FBA VAs, you can give your business the strong start it needs.
Read more: How Virtual Store Management Assistants Transform E-Com Businesses
Manage Inventory
One of the toughest and most repetitive tasks of starting a store is inventory management.
Even though you don’t have to keep inventory in person with FBA, you still have to keep track of your products. This can help you make smart decisions and avoid overordering. This is another long process that is better delegated to your Amazon FBA VA.
FBA VAs can keep track of your stock, whether it’s reaching the fulfillment center without issues and when the next restocking is scheduled. They can also update this information on timetables, spreadsheets and your Amazon account.
Amazon FBA VAs ensure your account always shows accurate inventory, so you can avoid miscommunication and misplaced orders.
Keep Records
Once your business is up and running, you’ll have to deal with all sorts of business records. These include invoices, receipts, registrations and financial documents.
An organized system can be a saving grace when the tax season comes around. Moreover, it allows you to make sound decisions in the future.
But keeping updated spreadsheets and records is tiring. So why not delegate it to your Amazon FBA VA?
Amazon FBA VAs can come up with a personalized filing system for your business. They can also collect, manage and organize all your important documentation in a single place.
Moreover, they can keep records of your electronic data interchanges (EDIs), organize invoices and upload relevant data on the cloud so you can easily access it when you need it.
Create Listings
Product listings offer the first view of your products. Through them, customers engage with your brand and decide to buy from you.
So the importance of making competitive product listings can’t be overstated.
Because Amazon FBA VAs have experience with the platform, they know the secret to creating SEO-optimized listings.
They research and incorporate high-ranking keywords into your product titles and write accurate, engaging descriptions. This helps your listings appear higher in the search results.
They can also choose clear product images and upload them.
All these make Amazon FBA VAs the best support for increasing your product visibility and attracting more customers.
Handle FBA Logistics
So, Amazon FBA VAs are good at handling administrative tasks, but what about advanced duties? Can they help with ground-level logistics? Can they resolve issues between different departments?
The answer is yes! Amazon FBA VAs can do this, too. They maintain smooth communication channels, coordinate between different departments and keep everyone in the loop to reduce confusion.
They can talk to the vendors about product status, update Amazon fulfillment centers and ensure timely pickups for smooth FBA shipments.
Your VA can also set up Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) for your account if you have shops on different platforms.
Conduct Market Research
To become a successful Amazon seller, just posting listings won’t do. You need data-driven strategies to expand your business.
This requires some grueling research work. But don’t worry. Your Amazon FBA VAs can take over this part, too!
They can conduct methodical market research for your products. This means diving deep into your competitors, their strategies and pricing.
Your VA can also analyze your customers, what product features they want and what kind of marketing they respond to.
Moreover, they can run A/B tests on your various listings and strategies and compile that data into reports.
You can use this information to brainstorm new and improved strategies.
Offer Marketing Support
Speaking of what gets your business off the ground and to the top, you can’t forget about marketing. Without it, you can’t reach your audience and encourage them to buy your brilliant products.
The bad news is that marketing isn’t a simple task. You need someone with a specific skill set. The good news is that with Amazon FBA VAs can help you with it!
These virtual assistants have basic Amazon marketing skills. They can help you run various marketing campaigns.
For instance, they can use email marketing to reach your audience and send them personalized offers or respond to customer queries on social media.
Moreover, they can track the performance of your Amazon PPC campaigns.
Provide Customer Service
Customer service plays an important role in business. It not only improves the experience of shoppers but also boosts your shop’s credibility.
This encourages people to buy from your store and even leave good reviews for future customers. Good customer service increases sales and benefits your business in the long run.
FBA VAs can be your go-to for all customer relationship management tasks. While you work on expanding your business, they can ensure customer satisfaction.
Amazon FBA VAs can reply to your customers’ emails, answer their queries and inform them about your products.
They can also reply to reviews, comments and posts on social media platforms, enhancing your brand’s customer support and ultimately helping you nurture a loyal customer base.
Why You Should Hire Amazon FBA Virtual Assistants
Amazon FBA virtual assistants are a must-have for every Amazon seller. They are all-rounders who can perform a range of tasks. But what exactly do they add to your business?
Save Time
As a business owner, your biggest asset is your time. If you want to complete your to-do list with perfection, you need to prioritize and delegate.
By offloading routine duties to Amazon FBA virtual assistants, you can allocate your precious time to high-end tasks.
This means you get more time to do what only you can do: come up with creative business strategies and expand your business.
Reduce Costs
If you want to run a successful business, you have to be smart with your finances. You need to make sure you always get your money’s worth and that’s exactly what happens with virtual assistants.
Hiring Amazon FBA VAs allows you to save on unnecessary overhead costs like rent and equipment.
Moreover, since they are not regular employees, they aren’t on your payroll and don’t need benefits or insurance.
When you consider these factors along with the long list of tasks they perform, you realize FBA VAs are a wise investment.
Plus, by hiring through virtual assistant service providers like Zenius, you can cut your hiring costs further.
At Zenius, we screen, interview and recruit top-quality candidates.
We also understand that the whole point of hiring a VA is to make work easier, not add more to your plate! That’s why we take care of payroll, leave management and attendance for your VAs as well.
You just have to ensure a comprehensive onboarding experience that covers all the bases!
Get Reliable Support
The best part about hiring a virtual assistant is that you don’t need to worry about geographical boundaries.
You get access to a global talent pool and can look far and wide for your ideal Amazon FBA VA.
This also allows you to enjoy additional benefits that come with hiring overseas virtual assistants, like lower labor costs and greater time zone coverage.
Enjoy Flexible Hiring
Every business has its lazy and busy seasons. While you may manage most tasks on your own during a slow period, you can easily get overwhelmed when the sales skyrocket.
Hiring in-house, permanent employees is not always the best option. In fact, they can be a bit of a resource drain whenever there is a dip in business.
But with Amazon FBA VAs, you can scale your business as per your business needs.
You can hire them for a particular project or a period of time. You can even hire them as part-time or full-time support, depending on your workload.
Maximize Productivity
Virtual assistants are versatile and dedicated remote assistants. They not only take over repetitive tasks you don’t want to do, but also offer reliable support to your other teammates.
Whether it’s supporting your sales team with competitor or product research or assisting your marketing staff by tracking PPC performance, FBA VAs can jump from task to task depending on the day’s needs.
Ultimately, their goal is to streamline your daily business processes.
With an Amazon FBA VA by your side, you can rest assured that someone is always handling all the background processes to increase your business’s overall productivity.
Wrapping Up
Amazon FBA virtual assistants are an essential part of any Amazon business.
They can undertake all Amazon and FBA management tasks like creating listings, managing inventory, coordinating with suppliers and more.
And with recent FBA changes increasing operational complexity, having a skilled FBA VA is more important than ever.
