Your Q4 peak planning calendar for marketplaces

A month-by-month plan from September to January covering stock and inbound deadlines, deal submissions, ad budgets, content, customer service and returns.

Q4 is won or lost before it starts. The deadlines that matter most fall in late summer and early autumn: deal submissions, inbound cut-offs for Amazon's fulfilment centres and the purchase orders that feed them. Use the calendar below as a plan you can repeat every year. The dates quoted come from Amazon's 2026 peak season announcement for its European stores, including the UK. Amazon publishes new dates each year, so check Seller Central before relying on them. In 2026, Black Friday falls on 27 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November.

Three principles run through every month. Work back from deadlines rather than forward from today. Protect stock on your best sellers before you chase new lines. And keep a margin view that includes peak-season fees, because a deal that looks profitable in July can lose money once higher storage and fulfilment costs are added.

Before September: forecast, order and submit early

• Forecast unit sales by SKU for October to December using last year's data, current trends and planned promotions, then work back from supplier lead times and freight to set purchase order dates.
• Submit deals early where it saves money. For 2026, Amazon offered 30% off the upfront promotion fee for Prime Big Deal Days deals submitted by 5 August and Black Friday Week deals submitted by 5 September.
• If you expect much higher volumes, look at Capacity Manager, which lets you bid for extra space in Amazon's fulfilment centres.
• Check your other channels. Most marketplaces run seasonal campaigns with their own opt-in windows and rules, so review each seller portal over the summer.
• Check current promotion fees in Seller Central before you budget for deals, as Amazon revises them.

September: stock in, listings ready

• Get stock in for October. For 2026, Amazon asked for inventory to arrive at UK facilities by 16 September for Prime Big Deal Days, and said fulfilment centres focus on receiving in September and October, with limited inbound slots.
• Submit Prime Big Deal Days deals before the window closes (23 September in 2026).
• Refresh content while things are calm: main images, gift-focused copy, A+ Content, Brand Store pages and variation structure. Edits can take time to appear, and you do not want to change listings mid-event.
• Clear slow stock before October, when storage rates rise, and before units reach Amazon's aged inventory surcharge, which applies to units stored for more than 241 days.
• Agree weekly ad budgets for October to December, with extra headroom for event days.
• Fix account health issues, suppressed listings and missing compliance information now, while there is still time to resolve cases before the busiest weeks.

October: the first event and the Black Friday deadline

• Prime Big Deal Days runs in October. Raise budgets for the event days, watch for campaigns that run out of budget, and check stock daily on deal products.
• Peak costs begin. At the time of writing (November 2026), Amazon's UK festive peak fulfilment fee applies to units shipped from 15 October 2026 to 14 January 2027, and storage for standard-size items in most categories rises from £0.76 to £1.51 per cubic foot from October to December.
• Send Black Friday stock. The 2026 UK inbound deadline for Black Friday Week was 28 October.
• Test new campaigns, keywords and creative early in the month, so you are not experimenting during Black Friday Week.
• For merchant-fulfilled orders, confirm carrier collection capacity, order packaging and arrange extra warehouse and customer service cover.

November: Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday

• Submit Black Friday Week deals before the window closes (18 November in 2026).
• Update margins: from 2 November 2026, Amazon's fuel and logistics surcharge on UK fulfilment fees rises from 1.5% to 2%.
• Check budgets and bids daily in event weeks. Competition for clicks rises, so protect performance and brand defence campaigns first and cap discovery spend.
• Answer buyer messages quickly. Amazon tracks how many messages you answer within 24 hours, so plan cover for weekends.
• Prepare for the longer returns window. Amazon.co.uk says most items bought between 1 November and 25 December 2026 can be returned until 31 January 2027, or within 30 days of receipt if that is later.

December: Christmas cut-offs and Boxing Day

• Set handling times and delivery promises for merchant-fulfilled orders against your carriers' published Christmas last posting dates, and update shipping settings as each cut-off passes.
• Keep FBA stock topped up on best sellers, but allow for slower receiving in December; late shipments may not be available to sell before Christmas.
• Review ad spend as delivery cut-offs pass, and set up Boxing Day and post-Christmas promotions and budgets in advance rather than on the day.
• Roster customer service across the bank holidays, and keep your out-of-hours replies and delivery information accurate.

January: returns season and reset

• Expect returns until the extended window closes at the end of January. Process merchant-fulfilled returns and refunds promptly.
• Check FBA returns and reimbursements: review the condition of returned units and claim for any stock that was lost or damaged.
• Once the peak fee ends (14 January 2027 for this season) and storage falls back to January to September rates, decide which slow lines to remove, liquidate or move to FBM before they reach the aged inventory surcharge.
• Update forecasts with actual sell-through and place spring orders. If you buy from Chinese suppliers, allow for factory closures around Chinese New Year.
• Review the season: stock-outs, overstock, deal results, advertising efficiency and customer feedback. Put next year's key dates in the calendar now.

How Farioxa can help

Farioxa can run your peak plan end to end, from demand forecasting and inbound scheduling to deal submissions, seasonal ad budgets, listing updates and extra customer service cover across Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop and other marketplaces. If you already have a team, we can add capacity for the busiest weeks.