As of today, Amazon Germany are going to get a little tougher on reference pricing and recommended retail prices displayed in their store. This has already been implemented as of the 23rd of June in the UK, and Amazon stores in other EU countries will follow suit.
Starting on the 9th of September 2026, Amazon are changing how they validate the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) you provide, and some of your current reference prices may be affected.
Amazon recently launched a price history graph on Rufus that shows customers each day’s lowest Featured Offer price for an item. They are updating our RRP validation requirements so the reference prices they display match what customers see on the graph. This keeps savings clear and meaningful for customers and helps maintain trust in Amazon store’s pricing.
What’s changing
Currently, an RRP you provide is validated if it meets one of these criteria:
- The product has been recently offered at this RRP at another reputable retailer.
- The product was purchased as the Featured Offer on Amazon at this RRP, with at least nine days of Featured Offer data.
Starting on the 9th of September 2026, purchases on Amazon at your RRP will count toward validation only if that offer was also shown as the Featured Offer on the price history graph for a meaningful number of days.
What you need to do
Review your current RRPs and update any that may not meet the new criteria. RRPs that don’t meet the criteria may be suppressed, which means the reference price will stop showing on your listings.
Example of validated recommended retail prices
- Example of a validated RRP: Headphones with an RRP of €50.00 would qualify if customers purchased them on Amazon at €50.00 (or within a small margin) on a meaningful number of days in the last 90 days — or if other retailers recently offered them at €50.00 (or within a small margin).
- Example of an invalidated RRP: Computer speakers with a RRP of €100.00 would not qualify if customers have not purchased them on Amazon at €100.00 (or within a small margin) in the last 90 days, and other retailers have not recently offered them at that price.
A price matches RRP when it is equal to or within a small margin above the RRP. For example, consider an ASIN with an RRP of €29.49. An internal offer price of €40.00 would not validate the RRP—the product is being offered well above the stated price, meaning the RRP does not reflect the prevailing offer price. However, a price of €29.99 would count as a match. This applies to all ASINs, including seasonal products. The lookback period is 90 days.
One Response
A Seller’s View of the Problem
The issue is not simply Amazon’s RRP policy.
The deeper problem is that Amazon often imposes rules and prices that do not reflect the real costs faced by UK sellers.
I sell on Amazon. I see this directly.
Take Garnier Skin Naturals Cleansing Milk 200ml.
Amazon can push me towards a selling price of around £2.50.
But if I sell at that price, I still pay Amazon around £3.30 in fees per unit.
That means even if I received the product for free, I would still lose money.
So what exactly is the seller supposed to do?
….
I have many examples like this.
The same problem appears with FBA reimbursements.
Amazon may value a Mielle product at around £2.14.
But the wholesale cost can be around £4.88 plus VAT.
Then I pay delivery from the wholesaler.
I pay staff to receive and prepare the stock.
I pay for labelling.
I pay again to send the stock into FBA.
My real cost is over £5.
Yet if Amazon loses or damages the item, its reimbursement value may be around £2.14.
Then there is the claims process.
If Amazon loses or damages hundreds of units, I may have to deal with them one by one.
Three hundred units can mean hundreds of separate cases, repeated messages, invoices and evidence.
Even if I spend 300 hours doing this and win only 50 cases, at around £2 reimbursement per case I may recover only £100.
At UK labour costs, that makes no commercial sense.
This is the real problem.
Amazon makes the rule.
Amazon calculates the value.
Amazon controls the case system.
Amazon decides whether the seller’s evidence is accepted.
And there is no effective independent referee for the seller when the result is unreasonable.
Amazon now wants sellers’ prices to reflect market reality.
That is fair.
But then Amazon should also recognise real UK wholesale prices, VAT, wages, transport costs and replacement costs.
Market reality cannot work in only one direction.
For UK sellers, the concern is simple:
if Amazon can dictate the economics, control the dispute process and decide the reimbursement, while the seller carries the loss, the relationship is no longer balanced.