Seller's HomeOn the eighth day of the first lunar month, the day back to work, I wish sellers: joy as soon as you open the door, and all orders when you close your eyes.
At the beginning of 2026, Amazon's US site officially introduced a new policy: Starting from March 12, 2026, the "DD+7" funds reservation policy will be fully implemented for global sellers.For domestic sellers accustomed to the rhythm of "sales and immediate payment," this sudden delay in funds may be a major test of cash flow that could affect their survival.
01
What is "DD+7"?
"The biggest wish for 2026 is that the cash flow doesn't break!" This was written by Mr. Liu, a 3C accessories seller in Shenzhen, on his first day back to work. For most small and medium-sized sellers, cash flow is the lifeline of the business.
On March 12, Amazon's "DD+7" funds reservation policy will be fully implemented.The so-called "DD+7" refers to "Delivery Date + 7 days".
According to Amazon's official announcement, under the new rules, sellers' capital turnover will go through a "freezing period": when you send an order, the funds will be collected and added to your deferred transaction amount. After delivery, the funds become reserve funds, which are used to enable Amazon customers to receive and view orders, while you can accumulate fees and costs. Seven days later, the funds will be transferred to your account balance, and you can choose to allocate funds automatically through the automatic settlement cycle or on-demand daily payment requests.
To understand this change more intuitively, Amazon gave an example: if a seller sells goods on January 1 and delivers them on January 3, under the DD+7 policy, the funds for that order cannot be applied for payment until January 11. This means that even if the logistics is very smooth, the payment cycle for an order is invisibly extended by many days. If there are logistics delays, customs clearance obstacles, or severe weather, the payment path will be infinitely extended.
As for the reason for implementing this policy, Amazon said that it is to give buyers enough time to receive and evaluate goods, and also to give sellers time to accumulate fees and other costs before the funds are allocated. From the perspective of platform governance, this can indeed reduce the risk of platform advance payment due to returns, disputes, or logistics abnormalities.
However, for sellers, especially small and medium-sized sellers using the FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) model, this undoubtedly pinches the lifeline of cash flow.Some sellers angrily said in forums: "Every day I wake up and start spending money, but now I have to wait so long to receive money, which completely disrupts the business rhythm!"
02
Different sellers are affected differently
Although the new rules apply to all sellers, the degree of impact varies greatly.
Self-shipped FBM sellers are the hardest hit. Since their delivery time is already long, plus a 7-day funds reservation period, the overall payment cycle may be extended to 20 to 30 days. If the seller's capital reserve is already tight, future operations will need more attention. In addition, high-turnover, low-margin sellers also need to pay attention. These sellers rely on small profits and quick turnover and are extremely sensitive to the speed of capital return. Once the funds are delayed, the next batch of replenishment and advertising will be forced to shrink, forming a vicious circle.
It can be said that this requires a high level of capital from sellers. Especially during peak seasons, before the funds are returned, the next batch of goods needs to be paid for, and the mismatch of funds between new and old batches can easily lead to stockouts during peak seasons.
Besides worrying about the new policy, some sellers also hope that Amazon can be more flexible when implementing the new policy, instead of making all sellers bear the same financial pressure. A seller said: "For old sellers with good reputation like us, can we consider shortening the reservation period appropriately? Or treat them differently according to the store's performance?"
Less than a month away from the implementation of the new policy, complaints can no longer change the reality of the policy implementation.
For sellers, instead of passively adapting, it is better to actively optimize strategies. On the one hand, sellers need to re-evaluate cash flow, including first-mile freight, advertising budget, warehousing costs, etc. Reserve sufficient emergency funds to ensure normal operation during the payment gap; on the other hand, use ERP tools to accurately calculate inventory turnover, avoid capital precipitation due to blind stocking. At the same time, choose logistics service providers with stable timeliness and timely update of tracking information as much as possible to reduce the delay in fund unlocking caused by logistics information lag.
At the beginning of 2026, sellers are facing new challenges, and sellers also need to appropriately consider adjusting growth expectations, putting the health of cash flow first, which may be the key to "surviving longer" under the new rules.
The information in this article is for reference only and is not intended as a basis for investment decisions
