US marketplace pricing (2024–2026): fees are the real battlefield — track the ‘all‑in’ price and the backend fees

In the US, “price competition” is not just what’s on the product page.

It’s increasingly about how the total price is constructed:

• platform referral fees (marketplaces)
• fulfillment/network fees (FBA-style backend fees)
• and where mandatory charges show up in the funnel (“all-in pricing” expectations)

If your tracker only stores a single sticker price, you’ll miss the real battlefield.

2024–2026: the hidden-fee era got more explicit

Amazon: backend fees that change unit economics

Two examples that directly change per-unit profitability:

• Low-inventory-level fee (effective April 1, 2024): a per-unit add-on for consistently low inventory relative to sales (historical days of supply). Amazon’s help page even shows example math like a $0.36 per-unit fee for a specific days-of-supply range. citeturn1search0
• Inbound placement service fee: per-unit fees tied to how inventory is distributed across the fulfillment network (and how you split shipments). citeturn0search0

And Amazon continues to iterate: its Seller Central documentation includes 2026 US FBA fulfillment fee changes. citeturn1search9

Amazon also provides tooling to preview fee changes (Revenue Calculator / Fee Preview reporting) before launches — which is a nice reminder that fees move as often as prices. citeturn1search4

Walmart Marketplace: category-based referral fees are the baseline

Walmart’s official pricing page lists referral fee examples by category and price band (e.g., grocery differs by total sales price; other categories have different percentage tiers). citeturn1search2

In other words: in marketplace land, “price” isn’t one number — it’s price minus platform take, and that varies by category.

“All-in pricing” expectations are rising (even beyond the rule’s narrow scope)

The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (effective May 12, 2025) is targeted at live-event tickets and short-term lodging, but it reflects a broader direction: disclose the total price up front and avoid bait-and-switch fee presentation. citeturn0search3turn0search7

What Trackabl should store for US-mode alerts

Even if Trackabl starts with DTC/webshop competitor tracking, US market mechanics suggest you should capture offer structure, not only list price.

Minimum offer snapshot

• Sticker price (PDP)
• Shipping price / threshold for free shipping
• Mandatory fees (if visible) and where they appear (PDP vs cart vs checkout)
• Coupon mechanics (code required? auto-applied? threshold-based?)
• Delivery promise (date range or days)
• Returns signal (free returns? restocking fee?)
• Payment “friction” cues (guest checkout? wallet options?)

Marketplace-aware signals (optional but high value)

• Category assignment (because referral fees are category-driven)
• “Fulfillment economics” flags (e.g., low inventory fee risk, inbound placement fee exposure) for sellers analyzing Amazon competition

Alerts that reflect reality

Instead of “price down,” generate messages like:

• “All‑in price down (shipping threshold lowered)”
• “All‑in price up (mandatory fee appears later in funnel)”
• “Coupon now auto-applied (effective price down)”
• “Delivery promise improved (value signal, not a sticker change)”

Takeaway

US pricing is increasingly fee-shaped.

Track the total, track where charges appear, and (for marketplace contexts) track the fee mechanics that change unit economics — that’s how your competitor intelligence stays honest.