There are many types of fees that FBA sellers will incur. Knowing what to expect helps you plan future expenses, while understanding how those fees are calculated can help you stay clear of additional fees or unplanned charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we\u2019ll take a close look at all fees which are specific to Amazon FBA sellers, in particular storage fees and fulfillment fees. We\u2019ll show you how each type of fee is calculated and how much they actually cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Contents:<\/b><\/h3><\/p>\n\t
1. What do Amazon fees depend on?<\/a><\/p>\n\t 2. What are Amazon FBA fees?<\/a><\/p>\n\t 3. Amazon FBA inventory storage fees<\/a><\/p>\n\t 4. Aged inventory surcharge, previously known as Amazon FBA long-term storage fees<\/a><\/p>\n\t 5. Amazon FBA fulfillment fees<\/a><\/p>\n 6. Additional fees – types and costs<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Selling on Amazon might confuse new entrepreneurs because of various Amazon seller fees. The fees mainly depend on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two types of plans or account types to choose from: individual and professional<\/a>. With Amazon\u2019s individual selling plan, the seller pays $ 0.99 per item sold, while Amazon\u2019s professional selling plan charges $ 39.99 per month, regardless of how many items are sold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Just looking at the numbers, we can see that if you\u2019re selling less than 40 items per month, an individual plan might be a good option. Otherwise, a good choice will be a professional account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon charges a percentage of the total price which includes the item price, shipping cost, and gift-wrapping charges or a minimum amount, whichever is greater. The referral fee<\/a> depends on the type of product you sell. As an example, referral fees start at 3% for watches priced over $1,500. The maximum referral fee is 45% for Amazon device accessories. The minimum referral fee is $0.30 and the average rate is between 8% and 15%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two methods of fulfillment, depending on who\u2019s handling the logistics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fulfillment by merchant refers to the handling of storing, shipping, and customer care by the sellers themselves or with the help of a third party. This type of fulfillment allows you to economize on Amazon fulfillment fees but leaves you with the extra work of managing the shipping of your products. If you want to display Amazon\u2019s Prime badge <\/a>while fulfilling orders from your own facility, there\u2019s a waiting list and the process of qualification you need to go through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon boasts one of the most advanced logistic networks around the world. Fulfillment by Amazon<\/a> includes receiving and storing inventory at Amazon fulfillment centers, picking, packing, shipping, and handling, as well as customer service and product returns. FBA sellers automatically get Amazon\u2019s Prime badge with their listings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you choose Amazon\u2019s FBA program<\/a>, the process of selling on Amazon includes these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon provides you with some tools, like a fee calculator<\/a> that can help you estimate your Amazon sales margin and compare your current fulfillment methods with Amazon\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sellers who use Amazon FBA need to know about the following fees<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some fees are unavoidable, like storage or fulfillment fees, but others, like removal or unplanned fees, can be avoided once you know exactly what they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out <\/em>what the best products to sell on Amazon FBA are<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With so many different types of FBA fees, it\u2019s impossible to give a single number. However, we can provide a range of fees that you can expect to be charged for each type of fee. Here are the fee ranges for Amazon FBA 2023: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The wide range of fee amounts depends on many factors which include, the type of products, the size, the time of the year, and many more. We will dive into details for all of the above fee ranges below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you sell products on Amazon FBA, one of the types of fees that you\u2019re bound to incur is storage fees. The standard type of storage fee is your monthly storage fee<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon charges monthly storage fees<\/a> for storing products in Amazon FBA fulfillment centers. The amount of fees that a seller needs to pay depends on several criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the formula Amazon FBA gives for monthly storage fee calculation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fee per Product = Average Daily Units x Volume per Unit x Applicable Rate<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The applicable rate includes the time of the year, the tier of product sizes, and whether the goods are classified as dangerous or not. Since the average daily units and volume per unit are calculations based on how many of your products are stored at Amazon FBA (in units and volume), they\u2019re the variables of your business. <\/em>What Amazon FBA can provide are rates<\/em> that are used to calculate your monthly storage fees. So let\u2019s take a look at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The products in Amazon FBA are divided into 2 main groups – standard-size <\/em>items and oversized<\/em> items, which are then further divided into subcategories giving a total of 6 tiers of product sizes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To determine which of the above tiers the products are in<\/a>, you need to know the unit weight, product dimensions, and dimensional weight of a packaged item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon FBA storage fee applies a higher rate to the peak season (October – December) than to the off-season months (January – September). <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, for the goods stored in the off-peak season from the 1st of February 2023, Amazon FBA sellers will pay monthly $0.87 per cubic foot for standard-size and $0.56 per cubic foot for an oversized product. For items stored during the peak season, Amazon FBA sellers will pay monthly $2.40 per cubic foot for standard size and $1.40 per cubic foot for an oversized product. These rates apply to non-dangerous goods only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the above example, we can see that the peak season will cost more for storing compared to the off-peak season, which isn\u2019t really a surprise. However, it\u2019s cheaper to store oversized goods than standard-sized ones. That\u2019s something unusual. Amazon explains it by saying that it\u2018s actually more expensive to store standard-sized items due to special shelving, drawers, and bins that these products need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This metric provides the volume per unit, measured in cubic feet. This applies to the fully packaged product in accordance with Amazon FBA regulations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the average daily units stored in Amazon FBA per month. It\u2019s best to check your Monthly Storage Fees Report<\/em> to see what that number for your business is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon FBA provides sellers with an option to sell and store goods that are classified as dangerous items. It might seem that this category will concern a very limited number of Amazon FBA sellers, but actually, that\u2019s not the case. What\u2019s classified as dangerous goods includes smartphones, laptops, spray paints, household cleaners, cartridges, toners, perfumes, and many more. For more examples check the list<\/a> provided by Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, what\u2019s classified as dangerous goods makes up a very large group of items. It\u2019s necessary to know whether your items belong to this category, or are classified in another group of products. Without proper classification, your products will be set to inactive,<\/em> in other words, you\u2019ll not be able to sell them. That\u2019s why learning about classification is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon provides a <\/em>Dangerous Goods Identification Guide (Hazmat)<\/em><\/a> to help you determine whether your products belong to this category. This guide also provides information about goods that are prohibited to sell on Amazon. Classification of the goods with Amazon FBA is crucial as such items need to be stored and transported in a special manner. Moreover, storage can be done only in fulfillment centers that deal with such materials, while transporting usually requires ground transport as opposed to faster air transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FBA Dangerous Goods Program<\/a> offers Amazon FBA sellers the option to sell such items and includes a special set of fees that applies to handling, fulfillment, storage, and other matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the dangerous goods stored in the off-peak season, Amazon FBA sellers will pay monthly $0.99 per cubic foot for standard-size and $0.78 per cubic foot for an oversized product. For the same type of items, stored during the peak season, Amazon FBA sellers will pay monthly $3.63 per cubic foot for standard size and $2.43 per cubic foot for an oversized product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the 1st of April 2023, Amazon FBA will introduce a storage utilization surcharge<\/a> that\u2019ll be added to the monthly storage fee but only for the professional sellers who have a high volume of goods stored in Amazon FBA centers compared to the sales (storage utilization ratio above 26 weeks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The storage utilization fee will not<\/strong> apply to the following groups of sellers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The amount of the storage utilization surcharge depends on the storage utilization ratio. The ratio is calculated by dividing the average daily inventory volume stored in the Amazon FBA center by the average daily shipped volume. In other words, the ratio reflects how much inventory you keep with Amazon FBA vs how much of your inventory leaves the center. The volume is calculated in cubic feet and applies to the trailing 13 weeks period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During the off-peak season (January – September), starting from the 1st of April 2023, professional sellers of storage utilization ratio between 26 – 39 weeks will have an additional surcharge of $0.69 per cubic foot added to their base monthly storage fee ($0.87 per cubic foot) for the standard-sized items. This will total $1.56 per cubic foot of monthly storage fee. While oversized items will incur an additional surcharge of $0.46 per cubic foot added to the monthly storage fee ($0.56 per cubic foot), totaling out to $1.02 per cubic foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the utilization ratio, during off-peak season exceeds 39 weeks, professional sellers will have an additional surcharge of $0.94 per cubic foot added to their base monthly storage fee ($0.87 per cubic foot) for the standard-sized items. This will total $1.81 per cubic foot of monthly storage fee. While oversized items will incur an additional surcharge of $0.63 per cubic foot added to the monthly storage fee ($0.56 per cubic foot), totaling out to $1.19 per cubic foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to note that during the peak season (October – December), the utilization surcharge itself doesn\u2019t change so the same fee structure applies to off-peak and peak seasons. However, since the monthly storage fees fluctuate depending on those seasons, the total amount of storage fees will be different for those 2 time periods (higher for the peak season).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Amazon FBA fee structure, what was known as long-term storage fees is now called aged inventory surcharge<\/em><\/a>. The main concept remains the same – it\u2019s a fee that applies to the old stock that you keep at the Amazon FBA fulfillment center. The assessment of the fee is conducted on the 15th of every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The aged inventory surcharge starts to be effective for units that have been stored for 271 or more days. There are 2 tiers in this group of fees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the 15th of April 2023<\/a>, the inventory surcharge will be divided into 7 tiers to reflect the different time periods that the inventory stays in the Amazon FBA centers. The fee structure will look as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon FBA centers ship items on a first-in, first-out basis (FIFO). However, if you have old units stored in the Amazon FBA center, but the one shipped to your customer was actually a new unit, Amazon reassures its FBA sellers that the oldest unit is the one that\u2019ll be deducted from the inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out <\/em>everything you need to know about successful Amazon dropshipping<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A large portion of Amazon FBA fees comes from fulfillment, so let\u2019s have a look at the fee structure for these expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon FBA offers different plans for different types of products, business models, or shipping destinations. So fulfillment fees can vary according to the chosen plan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon FBA has special fulfillment fees for the FBA Small and Light plan<\/a> and Multi-Channel Fulfilment plan<\/a>, so if you subscribed to one of those, different rates will apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon FBA fulfillment fee is calculated on a per-unit basis<\/em> and is sometimes referred to as a \u2018pick and pack\u2019 fee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To calculate the fulfillment fee, Amazon FBA uses the following metrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Product size tiers rules remain exactly the same as for the storage fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shipping weight is calculated based on the unit weight or dimensional weight, whichever is greater, for large standard size and oversize items except special oversize. For small standard-size and special oversized items, unit weight is always used to calculate the shipping weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above rules of calculating shipping weight already apply to FBA non-apparel, and dangerous goods and will apply to apparel products from February 16, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly to storage fees, products in this group will require different handling during packing and shipment so their fulfillment fee is on average higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When selling on Amazon FBA, apparel goods make a special category in regards to a fulfillment fee, with apparel goods on average having a higher fee amount than non-apparel items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve seen how the fee is calculated, now let\u2019s look at the actual cost of fees<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The products can be further divided into 3 sections: non-apparel, apparel, and dangerous goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For standard-size non-apparel, non-dangerous goods, the fee ranges from $3.22 to $7.17 + $0.16\/half-lb above the first 3 lb, depending on the shipping weight. For oversized non-apparel, non-dangerous goods, the fee ranges from $9.73 + $0.42\/lb above the first lb to $158.49 + $0.83\/lb above the first 90 lb, depending on the shipping weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For standard-size apparel goods, the fee ranges from $3.43 to $7.17 + $0.16\/half-lb above the first 3 lb, depending on the shipping weight. For oversized apparel goods, the fee ranges from $9.73 + $0.42\/lb above the first lb to $158.49 + $0.83\/lb above the first 90 lb, depending on the shipping weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For standard-size dangerous goods, the fee ranges from $4.19 to $7.63 + $0.16\/half-lb above the first 3 lb, depending on the shipping weight. For oversized dangerous products, the fee ranges from $10.48 + $0.42\/lb above the first lb to $179.28 + $0.83\/lb above the first 90 lb, depending on the shipping weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your products belong to a group of items that requires special handling during packing and shipping, you\u2019ll incur additional charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the products you sell have lithium batteries, an additional $0.12 fee<\/a> per unit will be applied to your fulfillment fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This type of fee applies to TVs that are 42 inches or larger. The special handling fee<\/a> costs $42 per unit. Smaller TVs might also be subject to this fee due to fragility or weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Storage and fulfillment fees amount to the main element of your fee structure with Amazon FBA. However, there are also other types of fees that you should know about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If within your inventory there are some items that you choose to remove, they can either be returned or disposed of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you choose to return <\/a>the items, they can be sent to your warehouse, your supplier, your distributor, or to you. You can\u2019t send them to another fulfillment center or to your customers. The removal might take 90 days and then a further 2 weeks needs to be allowed for shipment. So it isn’t a short process, and Amazon stresses that unfortunately, it can\u2019t be expedited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The removal order fee<\/a> is charged per unit, based on the shipping weight. From January 17, 2023, for standard-sized items rates vary from $0.97 to $2.83 + $1.06\/lb above 2 lb, depending on the shipping weight. For oversized and special handling items (this includes dangerous goods but also some apparel, shoes, watches, jewelry, and more) rates range from $3.12 to $13.05 + $1.06\/lb above 10 lb depending on the shipping weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you choose to dispose of your inventory<\/a>, the fee structure and costs are identical to those of the removal order fee. However, the process is much shorter, as it usually takes 14 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon FBA provides detailed guidelines for how the product should be prepared<\/a> before being shipped to the fulfillment center. If those conditions aren\u2019t met, the product has to be adequately prepared for storing and further shipping by Amazon staff. This service triggers an unplanned service charge<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The charge is applied on a per-unit basis and the services include bagging, bubble wrapping, taping, and providing Amazon labels. Depending on whether the problem with the order is categorized as standard, elevated or critical, services range from $0.20 to $2.00, per single service, per unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This fee only applies to certain types of items that customers return. It\u2019s charged on the per unit basis depending on the size tier in the Apparel and Shoes categories. This fee doesn\u2019t apply to products in Jewelry, Sunglasses, Luggage, Handbags, and Watches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The return processing fee<\/a> for standard-size items ranges from $2.12 to $3.41 + $0.20\/lb above the first 3 lb, depending on the shipping weight. For oversized items it varies from $4.19 + $0.20\/lb above the first 2 lb to $75.08 + $0.25\/lb above the first 90 lb, depending on the shipping weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are additional Amazon fees that you should know about. These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When selling on Amazon, there are a number of optional programs you can use to scale your business:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n While fees are a standard part of any Amazon FBA business, they are other costs you need to consider before joining this venture. We\u2019ve already mentioned Amazon\u2019s professional selling plan ($ 39.99 per month), here are other expenses that need to be allocated, such as: purchasing your inventory, making product photography, barcode purchase, or some marketing efforts (Amazon ads, social media ads, and other). All those expenses add up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A study by Jungle Scout<\/a> found that when sellers started their Amazon business the range of expenditure varied between $500 or less (17% of sellers) up to more than $10,000 (22% of sellers) with the average range being somewhere between $1001 and $5000 (36% of sellers). Their calculations of Amazon FBA expenses showed a range between $2,790 and $3,940.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s an interesting finding especially since the report also states that 89% of Amazon sellers are profitable<\/a>. Meaning, regardless of their budgets the vast majority of Amazon sellers are able to make profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When using Amazon FBA, fees are a part of your business that you need to be clear about in order not only to save on storage and fulfillment costs, but also avoid all the unplanned charges. We hope that those detailed descriptions of fees give you a better understanding of Amazon’s FBA fee structure and will help you plan better for your business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re looking to streamline your accounting when selling on Amazon and possibly on other e-commerce platforms, Synder<\/a> will do it for you, bringing all the data into one place. Synder is a reliable partner that syncs all your e-commerce platforms and payment gateways, giving you accurate and detailed information about all your transactions. Check out our free trial<\/a> or book a demo<\/a> to find out what Synder can do for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat do Amazon fees depend on?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Amazon seller plan or account<\/strong>: individual or professional<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Referral fees: percentage of the total sales price of a product<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Type of fulfillment<\/strong>: Amazon FBA or FBM<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Fulfillment by merchant<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Fulfillment by Amazon<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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What are Amazon FBA fees?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How much do FBA fees usually cost?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Amazon FBA inventory storage fees<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Amazon FBA monthly storage fees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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How to calculate monthly storage fees?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Product size tier<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Time of the year<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Volume per unit<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Average daily units<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Dangerous goods<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Storage utilization surcharge<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Storage utilization surcharge – fee structure for off-peak season<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Storage utilization surcharge – fee structure for peak season<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Aged inventory surcharge, previously known as Amazon FBA long-term storage fees <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Amazon FBA fulfillment fees<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to calculate the fulfillment fees?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Product size tiers <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Shipping weight<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Dangerous goods<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Apparel vs non-apparel<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Fulfillment fee – the actual cost of FBA fees<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Non-apparel fees<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Apparel fees<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Dangerous goods fees<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Special fulfillment fees<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lithium batteries fee<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Special handling fee<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Additional fees – types and costs<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to remove or dispose of your inventory products<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Removal order fee<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Disposal fee<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Unplanned service charge<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Return processing fee<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Other costs and additional Amazon selling fees<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow much does it cost to start an Amazon FBA?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Closing thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n