• by Laurie Sullivan , Yesterday

Several recent policy changes at Amazon have prompted large sellers to boycott the online retailer's advertising business on Wednesday. 

The policy affecting advertisers most refers to April 2. Many sellers received notice that beginning April 15, 2026, Amazon advertising costs will automatically be deducted from retail proceeds first, with a card used only as a backup payment method if proceeds are insufficient, according to a post on X.

“Sellers have complained for years, but this feels different,” Million Dollar Sellers co-founder Eugene Khayman wrote in a post on X about the boycott. “The reason is simple: this is no longer just about irritation. It is about cash extraction.”

Million Dollar Sellers, a community of more than 700 members that collectively generates $14 billion in revenue, organized the 24-hour advertising boycott.

Khayman told one publisher that Amazon essentially rolled out three fees within a month, and also announced changes to how it will levy a temporary 3.5% fuel surcharge. 

"I will be boycotting Amazon’s advertising next week to protest the company’s greed," Molson Hart, founder and CEO of Viahart, a consumer products company, wrote on X last week. "I hope you all can join me in doing so and post a screenshot proving so after you have."

Amazon said it recently told a small number of advertisers it would update its payment methods to pay with their seller or vendor account balance or Pay by Invoice, the company wrote in a message to advertisers posted Tuesday on its Ads blog.

“Based on feedback we heard, we’re deferring this change until August 1, 2026, to give this group of advertisers more time to prepare,” according to the blog post.

The decision follows frustration among sellers. Many of them argued that the move would effectively force them to pay in advance on ads by using operating capital typically allocated in their Amazon accounts.

Sellers do have other options. For example, with Pay by Invoice, Amazon will send an invoice at the end of each month, and payment is due 30 days later. To select Pay by Invoice, advertisers need to update payment settings in the Billing section of the Ads Console.