There are many different fees for sellers working through the Amazon marketplace which can often lead to confusion. Forgetting to account for all of these fees (or even just misunderstanding them) can be the difference between profit and loss.
That is why we have made this guide to help FBA sellers work through Amazon’s fees, and help determine how to best price their products.
Fees for All Sellers
Regardless if you use FBA or are an FBM seller, everyone who sells through the Amazon platform must pay referral fees.
This is the commission paid to Amazon for every item sold using their platform. You pay this fee whenever you make a sale on Amazon, and directly from your Amazon account.
These vary widely from 6% to 20% but average at 15%. The only outlier is the Amazon Device Accessories category at 45%
For a complete list, sellers should consult Amazon’s referral category guidelines provided on Seller Central.
Individual vs Subscription fees
Amazon features two options for seller accounts. These are professional and individual.
Whichever account you have will determine if you pay a fee whenever you make a sale or a monthly fee.
Individual seller fee
For unsubscribed sellers, Amazon charges $0.99 for every sale. This is best for small volume sellers that expect less than 40 sales a month, but not ideal for scalability.
Similar to the referral fee, this is a fee that is only paid once an item sells.
Professional seller subscription
This option is best for sellers who intend to have more than 40 sales in a month. Professional sellers pay a monthly fee of $39.99 rather than a per-item fee.
Amazon charges this subscription directly to your Amazon account balance or your credit card every month.
Refund administration fees
Whenever a customer requests a refund and Amazon issues the refund, Amazon charges you a fee for processing. Depending on the cost of the item, Amazon will charge $5.00 or 20% of the refund depending on which is less.
FBA-Only Fees
FBA sellers must pay a unique set of fees that cover the cost of fulfillment and storage.
FBA fulfillment fees
Amazon charges a fulfillment fee according to the size of the product in question. This payment is to cover the cost of Amazon fulfillment employees picking, packing, and shipping your inventory for you,
These vary based on category and size tier; charges are on a per-item basis. Accounting for the 5% fuel and inflation surcharge introduced on April 28, this fee ranges from $3.07 for a small standard, non-apparel, non-dangerous good at the least.
At its highest, this fee is $179.28 + $0.83/lb above the first 90lb for a special oversized, dangerous good.
For a complete chart of FBA fulfillment fees including categories and size tiers, sellers can consult the FBA fulfillment fee help page on Seller Central.
Storage Fees: Monthly
Amazon charges a fee for every month based on the average unit count of an item stored at their fulfillment center. This amount for this charge varies based on the size tier of the item and according to the time of year.
January through September, non-dangerous good storage fees range from $0.83 per cubic foot for standard-sized items to $0.53 per cubic foot for oversized items.
This spikes significantly during the holiday season of October through December. This time may range from $2.40 per cubic foot to $1.20 per cubic foot respectively.
Sellers interested in calculating their expected monthly storage costs can follow the following formula provided by Amazon:
Fee per product = average daily units x volume per unit x applicable rate.
Storage fees: long-term
In addition to the monthly storage fee, Amazon charges for long-term storage. This is for inventories that have been in storage for more than 365 days.
The charge for this fee is “$6.90 per cubic foot or $0.15 per unit, whichever is greater.”
Amazon FBA calculates the age of inventory on a first-in, first-out basis across their entire fulfillment network. Items that have sold deduct from the oldest inventory. This means any time an item leaves a seller’s FBA inventory, new or old, the item deducts from the oldest stock of that same item.
FBA sellers interested in avoiding these fees can use Amazon’s Recommended Removal report to determine which ASINs they should remove. This report identifies ASINs subject to long-term storage fees up to 30 days before the charge date.
Conclusion
Tracking the fees Amazon charges is essential for FBA sellers to make a profit.
Contact us today for help doing just that. The services we provide range from education to the total handling of your Amazon profile. This frees you to work on the big picture, and not stress the minutia.
We’re dedicated to your success because we don’t get paid unless you do.
