FBM + FBA: Why Peak Season Success Requires a Hybrid Fulfillment Strategy

Highly-respected Amazon coaches Brian and Robin Joy Olson are the founders of OfficialOlsons.com and creators of the P.A.T.H. framework for Amazon sellers.

Every Q4 we notice the same thing in the Amazon seller community. People share their frustration because their inventory is stuck in receiving while prices are tanking. We’ve seen it happen year after year, and it’s a reminder that Q4 success comes from sourcing good products and making sure they’re live when buyers are ready.

Many third-party arbitrage sellers build their entire business model around Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). And for good reason: the Prime badge, Buy Box preference, and hands-off logistics make FBA the default choice for most products.

But during Q4 2025, and in any high-demand period like Prime Day or back-to-school, relying on a single method of fulfillment creates unnecessary vulnerability.

The Q4 2025 Receiving Reality

Amazon established critical deadlines this year: October 31 for Black Friday/Cyber Monday inventory, December 1 for general holiday inventory. After these dates, fulfillment centers shift from receiving shipments to processing customer orders, and receiving windows stretch from the standard 3-7 days to 10-24 or more days during peak congestion.

Add peak fulfillment fees (October 15, 2025 through January 14, 2026) of $0.20 to $1.00 per unit, and the cost of FBA-only dependency becomes clear.

A Tale of Two Approaches

One of our coaching clients learned this lesson during her second year selling on Amazon. She found several incredible toy deals in early November. Good margins. Hot demand.

Year one, she sent everything to FBA on November 10th, properly spreading risk across multiple ASINs like we teach. It sat in receiving until December 8th. By the time it went live, peak demand had passed and prices dropped significantly. Her profit got cut by more than half.

Year two, she deployed a hybrid strategy: listed a portion as FBM, sent the rest to FBA. The FBM inventory listed immediately and captured early high-price sales. The FBA inventory, which still took three weeks to receive, handled volume orders once live.

Result: She hit her profit targets. Same products, same timeline, different strategy.

Understanding the Hybrid Model

FBM (where sellers handle their own storage, packing, and shipping) doesn’t have to be a replacement for FBA. It can be a strategic supplement for specific situations:

1.  Post-Deadline Sourcing Finding products after Amazon's October 31 or December 1 deadlines doesn't mean missing the selling window. FBM enables same-day listing capability while FBA shipments process through extended receiving queues.

2.   Product Testing Before Full Commitment Testing a handful of units via FBM before committing larger quantities to FBA reduces risk and validates demand without tying up capital in inventory that might not perform.

3.  Margin Preservation on Fee-Sensitive Products Oversized items facing $1.00 peak surcharges, or products where FBA's fee structure eliminates profitability, often work better via FBM when sellers account for all costs accurately. Important context: peak season increases costs across the board. FBA fees rise, but so do carrier shipping rates from USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

4.  Inventory Continuity During Stockouts When FBA inventory sells faster than expected, having some units listed as FBM backup can maintain a Buy Box presence instead of going out of stock and completely missing out on sales.

The Buy Box Consideration

Amazon's algorithm does favor FBA offers, and about 82% of sales occur through the Buy Box. So, it’s natural for sellers who’ve built their business on Prime eligibility to hesitate when it comes to FBM.

But the reality is: FBA preference doesn’t help when your inventory is stuck in receiving. Even slower FBM sales beat no sales at all.

Cost Structure Realities

FBM isn’t free pizza delivery. Someone still has to buy boxes, tape them up, and deal with carrier surcharges. And those surcharges always seem to show up at the worst time, kind of like a flat tire when you’re already late. Sellers must account for:

• Shipping costs (Amazon Buy Shipping offers 31% average discount vs. retail rates)

• Packing materials and labor

• Time investment in fulfillment operations

• Peak season impact on carrier rates (not just FBA fees)

During peak season, these costs must be compared against FBA's regular fees plus peak surcharges ($0.20 to $1.00 per unit) and the opportunity cost of delayed inventory availability.

Implementation Framework

A hybrid approach doesn’t mean you abandon FBA or overhaul your systems. It simply means you add another option to your toolkit. Here’s how to start:

1. Evaluate each product through both lenses.
   Ask yourself: Is this time-sensitive? Will peak FBA fees cut too deep into profit? Could it serve as backup inventory if FBA stock runs out?

2. Start small.
    Test one product by splitting it: list a few units as FBM and send the rest to FBA. The goal isn’t maximum profit on day one, it’s learning how each method performs.

3.  Expand what works.
    Once you’ve seen the benefits on a small scale, repeat the process with more products. Over time, hybrid fulfillment becomes a normal part of your system, not an extra project.
   

The Broader Application

While Q4 2025's compressed timeline makes this strategy immediately relevant, the principle extends beyond holiday season. Prime Day, back-to-school rushes, and any high-demand period creating FBA receiving backlogs present similar opportunities for strategic FBM deployment.

Sellers building sustainable businesses recognize that fulfillment method flexibility (like any competitive advantage) gets built before it's desperately needed.

Moving Forward

The sellers who stick around season after season are the ones who keep their options open. Hybrid fulfillment gives you flexibility and resilience, with more than one way to win as the market shifts.

Want more insights like this? Visit OfficialOlsons.com for strategies to grow your Amazon business with confidence.