Amazon FBA Fees: Everything You Need To Know [Guide]
Partnering with Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) can increase seller sales by around 30-50%.
That’s a pretty significant increase. And it’s probably got a lot to do with the fact that customers can see Amazon’s stamp on FBA listings: ‘fulfilled by Amazon’.
What does ‘fulfilled by Amazon’ mean?
To customers, it means speed, efficiency, and usually, free delivery.
Sellers need to pay to have that attractive label on their listings, and this payment comes in the form of Amazon FBA fees.
Sadly, there aren’t just two or three fee types. They’re not always fixed either, and Amazon deducts them before you receive your payouts.
So in order to protect your profit margins and make informed estimates about what you could owe Amazon today, tomorrow, and next year, you’ll need a comprehensive understanding of how FBA fees work.
That’s what you’ll find here. And not only that, we’ll look at how to reduce, manage, and track your fees so that you can have the most profitable Amazon FBA business possible.
In this guide on Amazon FBA fees:
Table of Contents
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As the crown jewel of the Amazon seller offering, FBA can be a huge advantage if understood and used well.
So with that in mind, let’s explore the world of Amazon FBA fees.
What is Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)?
Fulfilment by Amazon is a service that allows sellers like you to outsource your fulfilment to the experts.
They’re not just any experts - they’re the world leaders in ecommerce and offer fast delivery.
When you use FBA, Amazon stores your inventory in its warehouses across the US (or overseas as part of its international programs), then picks, packs, and ships your orders as they come through. It’s all automatic, and your customer service and returns are also handled for you.
Your listings will be tagged as “fulfilled by Amazon”, and your customers will get access to those super quick delivery options that Amazon is famous for.
As an FBA seller, all you need to do is correctly package and label your items, and send them to an Amazon warehouse.
There’s no upfront cost to use the service. Instead, FBA fees are deducted from your Amazon payouts before they reach your bank account.
What Are Amazon FBA Fees?
Amazon FBA fees are deducted from your Amazon payouts before you receive them to cover the costs of servicing your business.
These might be quite straightforward and simply cover storing, handling, and shipping your items. But more often than not, there are circumstantial costs that arise too.
Perhaps your items have been in storage for a long time, were oversize or overweight, something was damaged, returned, or needed to be disposed of by the team.
This all takes Amazon (wo)manpower, and by extension, costs you extra.
And this, quite simply, is the reason for all the guides about FBA fees on the internet.
They exist to help you foresee these costs (as far as possible), track, and manage them so that you remain feeling in control of your cash flow.
Because it’s possible, and the data suggests that using FBA can potentially double your Amazon sales.
We will explore the fees in detail, but it’s worth noting upfront that Amazon updates these yearly with some increases and reductions - so it quite literally pays to stay informed.
Are there any new Amazon FBA fees for 2021?
Every year, Amazon posts updates to its fees with any changes by type and category. Here, we’ll pick out some of the key changes and these will be applied throughout this guide so that you have the most up-to-date information.
For more information on each policy update, check out the links provided below.
A quick overview of the changes to Amazon FBA selling fees from June 2021:
- Most referral fees have not changed from 2020.
- Increases to FBA fees are around 2-3%.
- In line with seller feedback, the returns processing fee has been reduced.
Links to the official Amazon pages:
- 2021 FBA fulfilment fee changes
- 2021 FBA returns processing fee changes
- 2021 FBA fee changes for removal, disposal, and manual processing
- 2021 FBA small and light fee changes
- 2021 Multi-Channel Fulfilment fee changes
The information in this blog is based on these latest changes.
The Amazon FBA Fee Structure (Fees Lists + Costs)
Here we’ll list FBA transaction fees for easy reference.
Costs are included where possible as well as a comparison to last year so that you can get a feel for how much they increase or decrease (yes, some do decrease!).
The “New” fulfilment fees went live from June 1, 2021.
Below we list the standard fulfilment fees by size and weight (for apparel and non-apparel items), the FBA Small and Light program and its fees, the Multi-Channel Fulfilment program fees for non-Amazon sellers, and the other fee types you may come across.
Remember: These are all in addition to your other Amazon selling fees and transactions, not instead of them.
They are separate from your selling fees but are reduced if you are a native seller to the platform.
Let’s start with the easier ones: Standard fulfilment fees. All tables have links to the original Amazon pages for more information and verification of fee amounts.
US Amazon FBA fulfilment fees (non-apparel)
| Size tier | Shipping weight | Previous fulfilment fee per unit | NEW fulfilment fee per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Standard | 6oz or less | $2.50 | $2.70 |
| 6-12 oz | $2.63 | $2.84 | |
| 12-16 oz | $4.90 | $3.32 | |
| Large Standard | 6 oz or less | $3.31 | $3.47 |
| 6-12 oz | $3.48 | $3.64 | |
| 12-16 oz | $4.90 | $4.25 | |
| 1-1.75 lb | $4.90 | $4.95 | |
| 1.75-2 lb | $5.42 | $4.95 | |
| 2-2.75 lb | $5.42 | $5.68 | |
| 2.75-3 lb | $5.80 | $5.68 | |
| 3-3.75 lb | $5.80 | $5.68 | |
| 3.75-4 lb | $6.18 | $5.98 | |
| 4-4.75 lb | $6.18 | $6.28 | |
| 4.75-5 lb | $6.56 | $6.28 | |
| 5-5.75 lb | $6.56 | $6.58 | |
| 5.75-6 lb | $6.94 | $6.58 | |
| 6-6.75 lb | $6.94 | $6.88 | |
| 6.75-7 lb | $7.32 | $6.88 | |
| Small Oversize | 70 lb or less | $8.26 + 38c/lb above the first 2 lb | $8.66 + 38c above the first lb |
| Medium Oversize | 150 lb or less | $11.37 + 39c/lb above the first 2 lb | $11.37 + 39c above the first lb |
| Large Oversize | 150 lb or less | $75.78 + 79c/lb above the first 90 lb | $76.57 + 79c above the first 90 lb |
| Special Oversize | Over 150 lb | $137.32 + 91c/lb above the first 90 lb | $138.11 + 79c above the first 90 lb |
Source: Amazon.com.
US Amazon FBA fulfilment fees (apparel)
| Size tier | Shipping weight | Previous fulfilment fee per unit | NEW fulfilment fee per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Standard | 6oz or less | $2.92 | $3.00 |
| 6-12 oz | $3.11 | $3.14 | |
| 12-16 oz | $5.35 | $3.62 | |
| Large Standard | 6 oz or less | $3.70 | $3.87 |
| 6-12 oz | $3.81 | $4.04 | |
| 12-16 oz | $5.35 | $4.65 | |
| 1-1.75 lb | $5.35 | $5.35 | |
| 1.75-2 lb | $5.95 | $5.35 | |
| 2-2.75 lb | $5.95 | $6.08 | |
| 2.75-3 lb | $6.33 | $6.08 | |
| 3-3.75 lb | $6.33 | $6.38 | |
| 3.75-4 lb | $6.71 | $6.38 | |
| 4-4.75 lb | $6.71 | $6.68 | |
| 4.75-5 lb | $7.09 | $6.68 | |
| 5-5.75 lb | $7.09 | $6.98 | |
| 5.75-6 lb | $7.47 | $6.98 | |
| 6-6.75 lb | $7.47 | $7.28 | |
| 6.75-7 lb | $7.85 | $7.28 |
Source: Amazon.com.
For dangerous goods, find the fee costs and comparisons here.
FBA Small and Light program fees
The FBA Small and Light initiative helps keep fulfilment costs down for sellers trading smaller items, priced under $7.
Items must meet the following criteria to qualify for the Small and Light fees:
- New condition.
- Max dimensions: 16 x 9 x 4 inches.
- Max weight: 10 oz.
- Max price tag: $7.
There are also certain product categories that are ineligible. See the Small and Light page for the list here.
You need to enroll in the program via Seller Central in order to use it.
These are the Small and Light fees for eligible products:
| Size | Weight | Fee per unit |
|---|---|---|
| 16 x 9 x 4 in (or less) | Less than 4 oz | $1.97 |
| 4 oz - 10 oz | $2.39 |
Source: Amazon.com.
Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) fees
Amazon sellers using FBA have a different set of rates to those that sell via another platform (e.g. Shopify) but outsource fulfilment to FBA.
These fees are for non-Amazon sellers using FBA as of June 1, 2021.
Standard domestic shipping (3-5 business days) fees for Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfilment
| Size tier | Shipping weight | 1 unit | 2 units | 3 units | 4 units | 5 units + |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Standard | 2 oz or less | $3.99 | $2.75 | $2.40 | $1.89 | $1.79 |
| 2-6 oz | $5.29 | $3.45 | $2.99 | $2.29 | $2.09 | |
| 6-12 oz | $5.95 | $4.20 | $3.55 | $2.75 | $2.49 | |
| 12-16 oz | $6.20 | $4.30 | $3.75 | $3.19 | $2.79 | |
| Large Standard | 2 oz or less | $3.99 | $2.75 | $2.40 | $1.89 | $1.79 |
| 2-6 oz | $5.29 | $3.45 | $2.99 | $2.29 | $2.09 | |
| 6-12 oz | $5.95 | $4.20 | $3.55 | $2.75 | $2.49 | |
| 12-16 oz | $6.20 | $4.30 | $3.75 | $3.19 | $2.79 | |
| 1-2 lb | $6.39 | $4.35 | $3.80 | $3.35 | $2.85 | |
| 2-20 lb | $6.39 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | $4.35 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | $3.80 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | $3.35 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | $2.85 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | |
| Small Oversize | Up to 30 lb | $12.09 + 29c/lb above first 2 lb | $7.48 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | $6.38 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | $5.28 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb | $4.18 + 38c/lb above first 2 lb |
| Over 30 lb | $20.59 + 38c/lb above first 30 lb | |||||
| Medium Oversize | $16.85 + 43c/lb above first 2 lb | |||||
| Large Oversize | $86.15 + 88c/lb above first 90 lb | |||||
| Special Oversize | $143.30 + 92c/lb above first 90 lb |
Source: Amazon.com.
You can find MCF fees for expedited shipping (2 days) and priority shipping here.
Key changes from 2020-2021 to fees for MCF sellers:
- Some increases from 2020 rates.
- Many of the MCF product tiers are more closely aligned to FBA tiers now, with the addition of: Small Standard Size (2 oz or less).
- Expedited and priority shipping is no longer an option for Large Oversize or Special Oversize products.
- The packaging weight adjustment fee has been removed.
- You can now block orders from being fulfilled by Amazon at a 5% surcharge in reaction to the carrier restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
NB: This may change as the situation recovers although when this blog was published, Amazon had not specified either way.
FBA Export fees
For international orders on Amazon, there aren’t any additional fees. You can use the fulfilment fees listed above to advise your costs.
For international orders made via MCF, use this table to advise your fees. All three fees will be applied to each unit and order.
| Standard Size Units (per unit) | Americas | Africa & Middle East | Asia & Oceania | Europe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBA order handling fee | $13.65 | $13.65 | $13.65 | $13.65 |
| FBA pick & pack fee | 60c | 60c | 60c | 60c |
| FBA weight handling fee | (per lb, first 15 lbs) $2.40 | (per lb, first 15 lbs) $3.60 | (per lb, first 15 lbs) $3.00 | (per lb, first 15 lbs) $2.20 |
| (+ next 16 - 20 lb) 50c | (+ next 16 - 20 lb) 50c | (+ next 16 - 20 lb) 50c | (+ next 16 - 20 lb) 50c |
Source: Amazon.com.
Other types of Amazon FBA fee
| Fee type | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| FBA monthly storage fees | Fees for storing your products in an Amazon warehouse. These are based on each calendar month and the daily average volume of items. Find out more here. | January-September (Standard Size): 75c/cubic foot. (Oversize): 48c/cubic foot. October-December (Standard Size): $2.40/cubic foot. (Oversize): $1.20/cubic foot. |
| FBA long-term storage fees | Any item that has been stored for over 365 days will be charged an LTSF every month. This is in addition to the monthly storage fee. Find out more here. | $6.90/cubic foot or 15c/unit, whichever is greater. |
| FBA removal fees | You can have inventory removed by Amazon to avoid long-term storage fees. A per-item fee is applied. Requests are typically handled in 14-30 business days. Find out more here. | Weight and size-dependent, see all tiers listed here. Standard Size items: $0.25 - $0.40+ per unit. Oversize and Special items: $0.60 - $1.90+ per unit. |
| FBA returns processing fees | When Amazon offers free return shipping and your customer opts for this, you are charged a processing fee. In the event that Amazon was at fault, you may be reimbursed this fee. Find out more here. | The fee charged is the same as the fulfilment fee for that product. You may find discrepancies, however, if items are shipped in multiples but returned differently. |
| FBA unplanned service fees | These apply if your items arrive at a warehouse and are not prepared or labeled properly. There are “first instance” and “subsequence instance” fees that may penalize sellers for making the same error repeatedly. Find out more here. | Mislabelling your products: $0.20 - $0.40, depending on the level of service required to fix. Safety problems (packaging, product, or pallet-related): $25 - $150, depending on the level of service required to fix. |
| FBA inventory storage overage fees | If your inventory exceeds the storage allowance FBA has given you, you will be charged. These are in addition to your monthly storage fees and any long-term storage fees. Find out more here. | $10/cubic meter of space that is beyond your inventory limit, each month. This is based on your average daily volume. Find out more about inventory storage limits here. |
Source: Amazon.com.
As you can see, there are rather a few different types of fees and how much these cost you, in the end, is determined by multiple factors.
To be able to predict your fees relatively accurately and stay ahead of them, you need to know how Amazon calculates them and where you can find reports and updates on yours.
(Hint: There’s even an Amazon FBA fee preview tool you can use, as well as calculators).
How to Calculate Amazon FBA Fees
Amazon FBA fees are calculated and charged when shipments leave the warehouses, so the rates applicable will be based upon that date.
If you sent inventory to Amazon before June 1, 2021, but it wasn’t sold and sent until after this date, it will be subject to the new fees.
In order to estimate your Amazon FBA fees, you need to understand how your item/s will be categorized.
“Fulfilment fees are based on the weight and dimensions of the packaged item.”
“Standard Size” vs. “Oversize”
If your item meets the following criteria, it is counted as Standard Size:
- It weighs 20 lb or less.
- Its longest side is 18 in or less.
- Its median side is 14 in or less.
- Its shortest side is 8 in or less.
For items in a set, the combined totals of the set are combined for one total.
Size tiers within “Standard” and “Oversize”
Once you know whether your items count as Standard or Oversize, use this table to figure out which tiers within those will dictate your FBA fees.
A few notes before we get into this:
- For Standard Size products weighing 1 lb or less, and for Special Oversize products, use the unit weight to estimate costs.
- For all other products, use the larger of either the unit weight or dimensional weight.
Dimensional weight = unit volume (length x width x height) ÷ 139.
And to calculate the length plus girth as shown in the table below, follow these steps:
- Measure the length, height, and width.
- Add the shortest and median sides together, then multiply by 2. This is the girth.
- Now you can add the girth and longest side.
This table shows the maximums for an item to be categorized in each size tier.
| Size tier | Weight | Longest side | Median side | Shortest side | Length + girth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Standard | 12 oz | 15 in | 12 in | 0.75 in | n/a |
| Large Standard | 20 lb | 18 in | 14 in | 8 in | n/a |
| Small Oversize | 70 lb | 60 in | 30 in | n/a | 130 in |
| Medium Oversize | 150 lb | 108 in | n/a | n/a | 130 in |
| Large Oversize | 150 lb | 108 in | n/a | n/a | 165 in |
| Special Oversize | Over 150 lb | Over 108 in | n/a | n/a | Over 165 in |
Source: Amazon.com.
NB: Please use the Amazon official pages to verify the fees above. In the instance where your calculations do not marry with Amazon’s, they do specify on the page linked above that their measurements are final.
Amazon FBA fee preview
To help you foresee your FBA fees, you can access a fee preview report in Seller Central.
This report breaks down your fees based on your current inventory but the data can be up to 72 hours old.
Here’s a breakdown of the fields you might find in the report and what they mean:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| sku | A Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is a combination of letters and numbers that identify your products. You assign these. |
| fnsku | A unique identifier that Amazon assigns to products stored in its fulfilment warehouses. |
| asin | Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs) are assigned by Amazon. These can be found on product detail pages. |
| product-name | The name or title of your item. |
| product-group | The Amazon category it belongs to. |
| brand | The brand of the item. |
| fulfilled-by | The entity that completed fulfilment (MFN or AFN). |
| your-price | The price you are selling the item for. |
| longest-side | Measurement of the longest side of your product including packaging. |
| median-side | Measurement of the median side of your product including packaging. |
| shortest-side | Measurement of the shortest side of your product including packaging. |
| length-and-girth | The measurement of your item’s length + girth (see how to calculate this above). |
| unit-of-dimension | The unit used in the above measurements (i.e. inches). |
| item-package-weight | The product’s weight including packaging. |
| unit-of-weight | The unit for the above measurement. |
| product-size-tier | Based on the dimensions and weight, Amazon has assigned your product this size tier. |
| currency | Currency used in fee totals. |
| estimated-fee-total | The estimated fee total for your item fulfilment. |
| estimated-referral-fee-per-unit | The estimated Amazon referral fee you’ll be charged per item. |
| estimated-variable-closing-fee-per-unit | If applicable, the estimated variable closing fee per item. |
| estimated-order-handling-fee-per-unit | The estimated order handling fee per item. |
| estimated-pick-pack-fee-per-unit | The estimated pick and pack fee per item. |
| estimated-weight-handling-fee-per-unit | Based on the outbound shipping weight, your item’s estimated weight handling fee. |
Source: Amazon.com.
Amazon FBA fee calculators
We have a blog dedicated to the Best Amazon Fee Calculators of 2022 in which we break down how to calculate Amazon FBA fees (and non-FBA fees).
In this blog, we list some of the top free calculators on the internet and step-by-step instructions on how to use them.
Check out this blog for more detail and these instructions.
Are Your Amazon FBA Fees Too High? Here’s How to Reduce Them
If you’re interested in how to lower Amazon FBA fees, we have a few pointers to help you.
When it comes to the shipping fees for your products, it’s difficult to reduce these costs unless you sell different, smaller, and lighter products - or perhaps package them differently.
We’re going to focus on the ways you can actually avoid those avoidable fees before it’s too late.
-
Use the FBA fee preview tool
This report tells you the current fee state of your inventory in the Amazon warehouses. It serves as a live tracker of what you will be charged when sales go through.
This is a great way to stay informed about your liabilities so that you can avoid certain unplanned service fees, like the long-term storage fee, for example.
-
Keep an eye on your inventory storage limits
You can be charged for sending too much stock to Amazon warehouses. Depending on your seller account type, you have restrictions on floorspace that, if exceeded, will lead to overage fees.
The overage fee is calculated by the amount of space you have exceeded your limit by, so stay on top of this in your inventory performance dashboard in Seller Central.
-
Remove excess inventory to avoid overage fees
If you have exceeded your storage limits, you can request that Amazon remove inventory for you. This will cost you too, but it’s a way of avoiding the ongoing overage fees that come with taking up excess space.
-
Pay attention and learn from your inbound performance alerts
Amazon tells you about issues with your shipments via inbound performance alerts. When issues arise, Amazon charges you to rectify them, so don’t let easy mistakes repeat and lead to rising fees.
You can find inbound performance feedback in Seller Central for details about what went wrong and how to avoid it for future fulfilment.
-
Estimate your fees so that you can contest any discrepancies you might find
How can you catch any mistakes (and they do happen) if you don’t know what fees should be? It’s possible that shipping weights are not calculated correctly by FBA, and in these cases along with a few other scenarios, you can request fee reimbursements.
Tracking your Amazon fees, however, is easier said than done. Amazon doesn’t quite give you the tools you need to make it easier, but A2X does.
How To Track Your FBA Fees on Amazon (Hint: Get Your Accounts To Do It For You!)
Tracking your fees for Fulfilment by Amazon is the best way to ensure you make the most profit you possibly can.
But Amazon doesn’t make it easy, and whilst having cloud accounting software onside is important, this doesn’t help much with tracking fees.
Catching Clouds’ Patti Scharf found that her Amazon seller clients noticed fees increasing at the beginning of the year. They knew this because of the software that was automating their fee calculations for them. Without this, if they didn’t spend hours manually calculating themselves, then it might’ve been missed altogether.
A2X integrates with Amazon and your accounting software to make sense of your fees for you.
Each Amazon payout is captured by A2X and all the deductions and inclusions for that deposit are laid out in neat journal summaries. These are posted to your accounting software for tidy, accurate accounts - without the fuss.
A2X also organizes your books via the accrual method, giving you monthly performance visibility and a more dynamic view of your cash flow for better forecasting and planning.
“If you’re not using A2X for Amazon accounting, you’re doing it wrong!”
Try A2X for Amazon for free today.
Fees for Fulfilment by Amazon: FAQs
Here are some quick answers to your top FBA fees questions.
Does Amazon charge for FBA?
Yes, Amazon charges a number of fees for its FBA service. These range from shipping fees to unplanned service fees and also depend on what you sell and how. Check out our guide on Everything You Need to Know About Amazon FBA here for more information.
Is there a monthly fee for Amazon FBA?
Some of the Amazon FBA fees are charged monthly, but there isn’t a monthly subscription fee equivalent for FBA. The monthly storage fee and long-term storage fees are deducted from each payout, but wouldn’t apply unless certain criteria are met.
What Amazon FBA fees are there?
There are Amazon FBA fees for shipping and fulfilment, storage, long-term storage, overage (excessive inventory), returns processing, and more. These depend on what you sell and how, plus whether you sell on Amazon. Non-Amazon sellers can use FBA at different rates.
How much are Amazon FBA fees?
The cost of FBA fees depends on what you sell and where. If you are an Amazon seller using FBA, your rates will be lower than a non-Amazon seller. Rates depend on item type, weight, and dimensions.
Fees are also charged for storage, long-term storage, mislabelling, returns, and any other unplanned services that Amazon needs to undertake on your behalf. You can find the fees listed above in this blog.
Do Amazon FBA fees include shipping?
Yes. Once an item is shipped, FBA fees are charged. These fees will include shipping as well as any other service fees applicable to that shipment. You can anticipate these fees by checking your fee preview report in Seller Central.
How are Amazon FBA fees calculated?
Amazon FBA fees are calculated based on the type of product being shipped, its weight and dimensions, and how it has been stored. If there are any complications with the product like mislabelling, damaged packaging, or returns, this will also incur fees. Detailed instructions on calculating fees can be found above and in our Best Amazon Fee Calculators blog here.
Are Amazon FBA fees COGS?
You could either account for your fees as Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) or as a business expense. Either could be considered correct, but it would be worth discussing with a specialist ecommerce accountant for the best method for you. Find one from our trusted directory here.
Is selling on Amazon FBA worth it?
Yes, selling on Amazon FBA can be very profitable. Like with any business model, if you are informed, active, and engaged in exactly where you are making and losing money, you can ensure success.
Next in the Series…
This blog is part of the A2X Amazon Accounting Hub. Next up, we tackle the tricky topic of Amazon taxes: sales tax, income tax and overseas taxes. Everything you need to know to collect, manage and file these taxes correctly.
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