Understanding Amazon Fees for Sellers, FBA Fees, Referral Fees, and More

Amazon FBM and FBA Selling Fees 101

Need the 101 on Amazon FBA fees? Or maybe you’re an FBM seller shipping your own orders? Whatever the case, we’ve organized the numbers for you so you can have full transparency about the money you’ll be making.

We’ll cover the following:

• Individual Sellers vs. Professional Sellers
• Amazon FBA fees vs. FBM fees
• Referral (commission) fees
• Miscellaneous Fees
• Our Profitability Calculator

Read on to enlighten yourself.

Individual vs. Professional Selling Plans

When you first sign up as an Amazon seller, you’ll have to choose between Individual and Professional selling plans. Both come with their pros and cons.

In general, Individual is geared toward new sellers or ‘one-off’ sellers, while Professional is for those who want to establish a business.

Individual Sellers:

• Do not pay a monthly fee
• Pay a flat per-item fee of $0.99 in addition to referral (commission) fees
• Are limited to 40 units sold per month
• Do not have access to several features such as sponsored ads, additional product categories, and other tools/options
• This is ideal if you are new to ecommerce and/or would like to gain familiarity with Amazon Seller Central (Amazon’s selling platform)

Professional Sellers:

• Pay a monthly membership fee of $39.99
• May sell an unlimited number of units per month (great for selling wholesale on Amazon)
• May apply to additional product categories
• Have access to tools like in-platform advertising, bulk uploads, promotions, and more
• This is ideal if you are familiar with Amazon or ecommerce and plan to establish/grow an Amazon business

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) vs. FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) Models

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) Sellers:

FBA sellers have Amazon handle their shipping and the majority of their customer service. As an FBA seller, you send your inventory to an Amazon warehouse or fulfillment center. Amazon stores, picks, packs, and ships your products directly to customers when they make a purchase. Amazon also handles the majority of customer service issues, especially those concerned with shipping and delivery.

Under the FBA model, you are responsible for:

• Referral (commission) fees – typically a percentage of the item’s total sales
• FBA fulfillment fees – typically based on size and weight; this is the fee for having Amazon handle shipping and logistics
• Monthly storage fees – typically based on volume (cubic feet) and length of time in storage at an Amazon fulfillment center

FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) Sellers:

FBM sellers fulfill their orders themselves. That is, you as an FBM seller are responsible for storing your own inventory and packing/shipping items when customers place an order.

Under the FBM model, you are responsible for:

• Referral (commission) fees – typically a percentage of the item’s total sales
• Shipping costs – Amazon credits you shipping costs based on a set amount (as an Individual Seller) or an amount you set (as a Professional Seller)

Referral (Commission) Fees – All Sellers

All sales entail a commission Amazon fee, regardless of whether you’re a professional, individual, FBA, or FBM seller.

Commission fees are based on the TOTAL SALES price, which includes shipping charges if any. For example, if you are an FBM seller and charge $5 for shipping, that $5 will be factored into the commission percentage Amazon takes. Make sure to keep this seller fee in mind when determining your sales prices.

Total sales also mean that, if you sell your item at a discount due to a coupon code, promotion, or other discount, your referral percentage will be based on that discounted price.

Categories with Fixed Referral Fees

Pricing outlined by Amazon:

Category	Referral fee percentage	Referral fee minimum
3D Printed Products	12%	$0.30
Amazon Device Accessories	45%	$0.30
Automotive & Powersports	12%, except 10% for tires and wheel products	$0.30
Baby Products (excluding Baby Apparel)	· 8% for products with a total sales price of $10.00 or less, and · 15% for products with a total sales price greater than $10.00	$0.30
Beauty	· 8% for products with a total sales price of $10.00 or less, and · 15% for items with a total sales price greater than $10.00	$0.30
Books	15% + $1.80 closing fee	—
Camera & Photo ¹	8%	$0.30
Cell Phone Devices *	8%	$0.30
Clothing & Accessories (excluding Shoes, Handbags, & Sunglasses)	17%	$0.30
Collectibles – Books	15%	—
Collectibles – Coins	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $250 (with a minimum referral fee of $1.00) · 10% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $250 up to $1,000 · 6% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,000	$0.30
Collectibles – Entertainment or Sports	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $100 · 10% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $100 up to $1,000 · 6% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,000	—
Consumer Electronics	8%	$0.30
Electronics Accessories	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $100.00, and · 8% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $100.00	$0.30
Fine Art	· 20% for the portion of Sales Proceeds up to $100 (with a minimum Referral Fee of $1.00); · 15% for any portion of Sales Proceeds greater than $100 up to $1,000; · 10% for any portion of Sales Proceeds greater than $1,000 up to $5,000; and · 5% for any portion of Sales Proceeds greater than $5,000	—
Furniture & Décor	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $200.00, and · 10% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $200.00 Note: Mattresses will be charged 15% regardless of price point.	$0.30
Gift Cards	20%	—
Grocery & Gourmet Food	· 8% for products with a total sales price of $15.00 or less, and · 15% for products with a total sales price greater than $15.00	—
Health & Personal Care (including Personal Care Appliances)	· 8% for products with a total sales price of $10.00 or less, and · 15% for items with a total sales price greater than $10.00	$0.30
Home & Garden (including Pet Supplies)	15%	$0.30
Industrial & Scientific (including Food Service and Janitorial & Sanitation)	12%	$0.30
Jewelry	· 20% for the portion of the total sales price up to $250.00, and · 5% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $250.00	$0.30
Kitchen	15%	$0.30
Luggage & Travel Accessories	15%	$0.30
Major Appliances	· 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $300.00, and · 8% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $300.00	$0.30
Music	15% + $1.80 closing fee	—
Musical Instruments	15%	$0.30
Office Products	15%	$0.30
Outdoors	15%	$0.30
Personal Computers	6%	$0.30
Shoes, Handbags, & Sunglasses	· 18% for products with a total sales price of $75.00 or less · 15% for products with a total sales price above $75.00	$0.30
Software & Computer/Video Games	15% + $1.80 closing fee	—
Sports (excluding Sports Collectibles)	15%	$0.30
Tools & Home Improvement	15%, except 12% for base equipment power tools	$0.30
Toys & Games ²	15%	$0.30
Unlocked Cell Phones	8%	$0.30
Video & DVD	15% + $1.80 closing fee	—
Video Game Consoles	8% + $1.80 closing fee	$0.30
Warranties, Protection Plans, and Service Contracts	51%	—
Watches	· 16% for the portion of the total sales price up to $1,500.00 · 3% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,500.00	$0.30
Everything else ³	15%	$0.30

Fees that Amazon FBA Sellers Pay

FBA Fulfillment Fees (Non-Apparel)

Size tier	Max dimension	Shipping weight ¹	Packaging	Fulfillment fee per unit ²
FBA Small and Light	16″ x 9″ x 4″	4 oz. or less	0.7 oz.	$1.97
		4+ oz. to < 10 oz.	0.7 oz.	$2.39
Small standard	15″ x 12″ x 0.75″	10 oz. or less	4 oz.	$2.50
		10+ to 16 oz.	4 oz.	$2.63
Large standard	18” x 14” x 8”	10 oz. or less	4 oz.	$3.31
		10+ to 16 oz.	4 oz.	$3.48
		1 to 2 lb	4 oz.	$4.90
		2 to 3 lb	4 oz.	$5.42
		3 to 21 lb	4 oz.	$5.42 + $0.38/lb above first 3 lb
Small oversize	60″ x 30″	71 lb or less	1 lb	$8.26 + $0.38/lb above first 2 lb
Medium oversize	108” (longest side)	151 lb or less	1 lb	$11.37 + $0.39/lb above first 2 lb
Large oversize	108” (longest side)	151 lb or less	1 lb	$75.78 + $0.79/lb above first 90 lb
Special oversize	>108” (longest side)	N/A	1 lb	$137.32 + $0.91/lb above first 90 lb

FBA Fulfillment Fees (Apparel)

Size tier	Max dimension	Shipping weight ¹	Packaging	Fulfillment fee per unit ²
Small standard	15″ x 12″ x 0.75″	10 oz or less	4 oz.	$2.92
		10+ to 16 oz.	4 oz.	$3.11
Large standard	18” x 14” x 8”	10 oz or less	4 oz.	$3.70
		10+ to 16 oz.	4 oz.	$3.81
		1 to 2 lb	4 oz.	$5.35
		2 to 3 lb	4 oz.	$5.95
		3 to 20 lb	4 oz.	$5.95 + $0.38/lb above first 3 lb
Small oversize	60″ x 30″	71 lb or less	1 lb	$8.26 + $0.38/lb above first 2 lb
Medium oversize	108” (longest side)	151 lb or less	1 lb	$11.37 + $0.39/lb above first 2 lb
Large oversize	108” (longest side)	151 lb or less	1 lb	$75.78 + $0.79/lb above first 90 lb
Special oversize	>108” (longest side)	N/A	1 lb	$137.32 + $0.91/lb above first 90 lb

FBA Storage Fees

The inventory storage fee is based on the daily average volume for the space your inventory occupies in Amazon fulfillment centers. The volume measurement is based on unit size when properly packaged and ready to ship.

Month	Standard size	Oversize
January – September	$0.75 per cubic foot	$0.48 per cubic foot
September – January	$2.40 per cubic foot	$1.20 per cubic foot

Fees that Amazon FBM Sellers Pay 

FBM sellers (both Individual and Professional) receive fixed credits for shipping media (books, music, videos, DVDs).

Shipping method	Books	Music	Videos	DVDs
Domestic Standard *	$3.99	$3.99	$3.99	$3.99
Domestic Expedited **	$6.99	$6.19	$6.19	$6.19
Domestic Two Day ***	$14.95	$14.95	$14.95	$14.95
International Standard	up to 1 lb. – $16.95 over 1 lb. – $24.95	$14.95	$14.95	$14.95
International Expedited	$46.50	$46.50	$46.50	$46.50

For all other product categories, FBM sellers either set their own shipping fees (if Professional) or adhere to the following (if Individual):

Shipping Method	Video Games	Software & Computer Games	All other categories
Domestic Standard *	$3.99	$3.99	$4.49 + $0.50/lb***
Domestic Expedited *	$6.99	$6.99	$6.49 + $0.99/lb***
Domestic 2-Day **	Not available	Not available	Not available
International Standard	Not available	Not available	Not available
International Expedited	Not available	Not available	Not available

Miscellaneous Service Fees 

Administrative Refund Fees

Amazon will refund you your referral fee MINUS 20% of the referral fee OR $5.00 (whichever is less), should you refund a customer for an item for which you have already been paid. 

High-Volume Listing Fee 

This applies to sellers with several thousands of SKUs. Should you have multiple active (non-media) listings with no selling activity for over 12 months, Amazon charges you $0.005 per listing for the cost of maintaining a catalog entry.

This only applies after the first 100,000 listings/ASINs.

Rental Book Service Fees

Amazon will charge you $5 per rental textbook listing.

Helium 10’s Profitability Calculator

Is your head spinning yet? Want an easy way to simplify calculating your profits after all of these Amazon fees?

Check out our Profitability Calculator, a great tool for Amazon sellers which is part of our FREE Helium 10 Chrome Extension.

With this calculator, you can navigate to any listing on Amazon and get an idea of how much profit you could make selling a similar item. The Profitability Calculator takes into account things like Amazon FBA fees, current Amazon referral fees, current monthly storage fees, item weight, landed cost, and more.

The example screenshot below shows ROI and profits based on a $7.84 manufacturer cost, $200 freight cost per cubic meter, and estimated storage/sell-through rate.

The calculator’s referral fees are determined automatically by product category. Other fields are also populated automatically based on available Amazon listing data, but you can customize these entries as desired.

Download the Profitability Calculator for free and try it yourself!

Helium 10’s Profits

See the bigger picture with Helium 10’s Profits tool.

Whereas the Profitability Calculator is geared towards calculating Amazon fees on an item-by-item basis, Helium 10’s Profits lets you get an overview of your sales data, including gross sales, net profits, ROI, and more based on your Amazon fees, manufacturing costs, and other details you set.

The tool also displays historical data over different time periods, from one day up to one year, or any time range you determine.

Don’t get tunnel vision just focusing on your total sales. Know how much you’re really making by taking into account Amazon fees, landed cost, and other fees.

Go Forth and Conquer

That’s a lot of numbers. We know. That’s why we’re proponents of studying your market very carefully and conducting product research long before you even start selling.

Make sure that whatever you’re going to jump into is profitable!

Choosing between FBA or FBM is often a question of convenience vs. costs. FBA brings the convenience but at a higher cost; FBM puts more of the legwork on you but with potentially fewer fulfillment fees (if fulfilling yourself or at your own 3PL is less expensive).

There’s also the FBA Onsite program that negotiates between the two, but at this time it’s invite-only, like many of Amazon’s ‘secret’ programs.

Either way, get out there and keep #CrushingIt!