Selling on Amazon FBA looks simple until you get your first settlement report and realise fees ate 30% of your revenue. Here is a complete breakdown of every fee type, how they are calculated, and what you can do to protect your margins.
Use the Amazon FBA Calculator to calculate your exact fees before listing any product.
The Three Main FBA Fee Types
1. Referral Fees
Amazon takes a percentage of every sale, regardless of how the item was fulfilled. Rates vary by category:
- General merchandise: 15%
- Electronics: 8%
- Clothing and accessories: 17%
- Books: 15%
- Beauty and personal care: 8%
- Jewelry: 20%
- Grocery: 8%
Referral fees apply to the total sales price including any shipping charges you collect. If you sell an item for [PriceExample] and charge [ShippingExample] for shipping, the referral fee applies to the combined total.
2. FBA Fulfillment Fees
These are per-unit fees Amazon charges to pick, pack, and ship your orders. The fee depends on the product's size tier and shipping weight:
Small Standard (up to 15oz): approximately $3.22-3.58 per unit Large Standard (up to 20lbs): approximately $3.77-8.26 per unit depending on weight Oversize: starts around $9.73 per unit
Amazon uses the greater of actual weight and dimensional weight when calculating fees. Large, lightweight items can be charged at a much higher rate than their weight suggests.
3. Storage Fees
Monthly storage fees apply per cubic foot of space your inventory occupies in Amazon's fulfilment centres:
- Standard-size: approximately $0.75/cubic ft (Jan-Sep) and $2.40/cubic ft (Oct-Dec)
- Oversize: approximately $0.48/cubic ft (Jan-Sep) and $1.20/cubic ft (Oct-Dec)
The October-December uplift reflects peak season demand. Products sitting in Amazon warehouses for more than 365 days incur additional long-term storage fees.
What Most New Sellers Miss
The 30%+ reality: Referral fee (15%) + FBA fee (~12% at typical price points) + storage (1-3%) = 28-30%+ before your product cost. Add COGS and you need a high selling price to be profitable.
Returns and refunds: Amazon's return policy is generous. FBA sellers incur return processing fees and may receive damaged goods back. Factor in a 3-8% return rate depending on category.
Closing fees: Some categories have additional per-item fees. Books, DVDs, and media items incur a $1.80 closing fee per sale.
How to Improve Your FBA Margins
- Optimise dimensions before shipping to FBA — ensure your packaging is as compact as possible to minimise storage fees and avoid bumping up size tiers
- Check dimensional weight — courier packaging that is larger than necessary can push you into a higher fee bracket
- Monitor inventory age — use the Inventory Age report in Seller Central to identify slow-moving stock before it incurs long-term storage fees
- Research category rates before sourcing — electronics at 8% is very different from jewelry at 20%
- Build fees into your sourcing price — before purchasing inventory, model the full fee stack and ensure at least 20% net margin remains
Marketplace Comparison
UK sellers should note that Amazon.co.uk fees are similar in structure but quoted in GBP. The FBA fee schedule for .de, .ca, and .com.au also follows similar structures with local currency and some rate variations. Use the calculator above to compare margins across all five marketplaces.
Before You List
The most common FBA mistake is listing a product without running the full fee calculation. Use the Amazon FBA Calculator to confirm profitability at your target selling price, then compare against other marketplaces with the Seller Fee Comparison tool.