Amazon FBA fees explained: what you pay and how to lower it
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) means Amazon stores, picks, packs and ships your orders, and handles customer service and returns. You pay for that on top of your selling fees. Here’s how Amazon splits the charges, where to see your exact numbers, and how to keep them down.
Selling fees vs FBA costs
Amazon separates two kinds of charges:
- Selling fees — what every seller pays: the selling plan fee, referral fees and other selling fees. See Amazon selling plans, the Amazon referral fee and the Amazon fee calculator.
- Costs — optional programs you choose, such as FBA and Amazon Ads.
What FBA costs are made of
| Cost | What it’s based on |
|---|---|
| Fulfillment | Picking, packing, shipping, customer service and returns — priced by the product’s size and weight |
| Storage | Charged monthly by the cubic feet your inventory takes up — higher in holiday months |
| Other | Aged inventory, returns processing, removal or disposal, and the FBA inbound placement service |
Rates change, so check Amazon’s FBA costs help page in Seller Central for current numbers.
See your exact fees
- Per product: the Estimated fee per unit sold column on Manage Inventory.
- Before you list: the Revenue Calculator compares FBA with fulfilling orders yourself.
- All FBA products at once: Reports → Fulfillment → Payments → Fee preview, then download.
- Fees already charged: the Payments dashboard.
How Amazon suggests lowering them
- Don’t overstock. Watch the FBA dashboard, Inventory Performance dashboard and your IPI score to avoid storage and aged inventory costs.
- Plan for seasonal storage. Sell through stock before November and December rates — use discounts, Amazon Outlet or removal orders.
- Pick small, light, fast-selling products. Fees are tiered by size and weight.
- Use Low-Price FBA for products under $10.
- Package smaller and lighter — for example polybags instead of boxes — while meeting FBA packaging and prep requirements.
- Use cost-saving programs: the Partnered Carrier program for inbound shipments, Amazon Stickerless (ship with your existing barcodes) and Ships in Product Packaging.
Is FBA worth it?
Amazon suggests weighing how much you sell, how fast you need to ship, and how much hands-on work you want. For winning the Featured Offer, Amazon says fulfilling orders yourself can be just as effective as FBA — see Amazon Buy Box. Only FBA products can use Amazon Vine.