Amazon Opens Paid Placement in Its Sub Same-Day Network to FBA Sellers — Bid a Per-Unit Price to Get More ASINs Into the 2-to-5-Hour Delivery Tier, Charged Only on Units That Actually Ship SSD (August 2026)
Amazon has started inviting FBA sellers to pay for additional placement in its Sub Same-Day (SSD) network, the tier that gets eligible orders to customers in roughly 2 to 5 hours across areas near about 2,300 metro zones. Until now Amazon decided on its own which products moved into the dedicated SSD fulfillment centers, and sellers paid nothing for that placement. Under the new option, sellers can bid a per-unit price to get more of their catalog into the network, and are charged only for the units that actually ship through Sub Same-Day — never more than the price per unit they set. Participation is optional, and Amazon says the existing free automatic placement continues unchanged. Amazon told sellers that products placed in the SSD network have seen 12% higher sales than standard FBA delivery in areas where the program is available. Trade-press coverage notes it is possible that fewer products end up qualifying for the free tier as more sellers pay in, though Amazon has not said so.
Real-World Impact
Amazon's cited 12% lift is the number to price the bid against: on an ASIN that would otherwise sell 1,000 units a month inside SSD coverage, a 12% lift is about 120 extra units. The bid only pays off if the per-unit price you set stays below the contribution margin those incremental units generate.
Key Points
- Sub Same-Day (SSD) is Amazon's fastest FBA tier — eligible products reach customers in about 2 to 5 hours in areas near roughly 2,300 metro zones, shipped from dedicated SSD fulfillment centers
- Amazon has historically selected SSD products itself based on customer demand and supply signals and placed them automatically at no cost to the seller — Amazon says that automatic placement continues unchanged
- New option: FBA sellers can bid a per-unit price to get additional products into the SSD network
- Sellers pay only for units that actually ship through Sub Same-Day, and are never charged more than the per-unit price they bid
- Participation is optional — sellers who do nothing keep whatever automatic placement Amazon gives them
- Amazon told sellers that SSD-placed products have seen 12% higher sales than standard FBA delivery in areas where the program is available
- Trade-press coverage raises the possibility that fewer products qualify for free automatic placement as paid participation grows — Amazon itself has not said this, and no effective date or enrollment deadline was published
What You Should Do Now
- 1Check which of your ASINs Amazon has already placed in Sub Same-Day for free before bidding on anything — you do not want to pay for placement you are getting at no cost today
- 2Calculate your per-unit contribution margin on candidate ASINs and use it as the ceiling for any SSD bid, since the fee applies to every unit that ships through the network
- 3Start with fast-moving, high-margin, replenishable SKUs where a delivery-speed lift is most likely to convert, rather than bidding across the whole catalog
- 4Keep an eye on how many of your ASINs stay in the free automatic tier over the coming months, so you notice if the mix shifts once paid participation ramps up
- 5Track SSD units separately in your fee reconciliation so you can measure the actual sales lift against what you spent on bids before scaling the program