The three main Amazon seller fees are sale-related fees, seller account fees, and shipping/fulfillment fees.
Amazon Seller Fees: Cost of Selling on Amazon Explained
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This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
The three main Amazon seller fees are sale-related fees (which include referral and closing fees), seller account fees, and shipping/fulfillment fees. Miscellaneous fees may also apply in rare cases. Amazon deducts these fees directly from your sales earnings before payouts every 14 days.
Sale-related fees range from 8% to 45% of each product’s selling price, with the average seller paying about 15%. Account fees range from 99 cents per item sold to $39.99 per month. Fees related to fulfilling and shipping your orders vary widely depending on your products and fulfillment method. In addition to these, you may incur other miscellaneous fees for things like dangerous goods or refurbished items.
We’ll walk you through all of the selling on Amazon fees and show you how to estimate what you’ll pay for each product you sell.
Amazon Sale-related Fees
There are two primary types of sale-related fees that you may pay each time you sell products on Amazon: referral fees and closing fees. If your orders are returned, you’ll also pay refund administration fees.
These fees vary based on your item category and selling price, so getting an accurate picture of your specific costs might take a little research—but we’ll show you the right resources to use.
Here’s a snapshot of these fees, and we’ll examine each in detail below.
Seller Fee | Amount | Based on | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
Referral Fee | Ranges from 8%–45% (most sellers pay 15%), charged if minimum referral fee is less than referral percentage of sale | Category | Home and Kitchen products:  Referral fee percentage: 15%  Minimum referral fee: 30 cents |
Closing Fee | $1.80 | All Media Categories | Books, music, video, and DVD products: Â $1.80 closing fee + referral fee |
Refund Administration Fee | Lesser of $5 or 20% of referral fee | Original selling price of refunded items | A refunded item with a $10 referral fee: Â Refund administration fee is $2 (20% of $10) |
Referral Fees
All Amazon sellers (on Individual and Professional accounts alike) pay a referral fee for every item that sells on the marketplace. The two things that determine your referral fee are your: product category and selling price.
Referral fees are calculated as a percentage of your product’s selling price. Most sellers pay an 8%–15% referral fee. But these fees can go all the way up to 45%, depending on which categories your products fall under.
You can determine exactly what referral fees you’ll pay on the products you sell by checking Amazon’s Seller Fee Schedule, which lists referral fees for specific Amazon categories.
2024 Amazon seller fee changes: Beginning January 2024, referral fees decreased from 17% to 5% for apparel priced under $15 and from 17% to 10% for apparel under $15–$20.
Minimum Referral Fees
Amazon assigns a Minimum Referral Fee to most categories. If a category in which you sell has a minimum referral fee, you’ll pay the greater of the two fees (not both) based on your product’s selling price.
Items in the fine art, grocery & gourmet, media, video games & accessories, and video game consoles do not have a referral fee minimum amount.
Example of Amazon Referral Fees
The following products sell in Amazon’s Home and Kitchen category. Products in this category incur a 15% Referral Fee or a 30-cent Minimum Referral Fee, whichever is higher.
Here are the fees that sellers pay on two items with different selling prices.
Single Drink Coaster  | Set/4 Throw Pillows  | |
Selling price | $1.50 | $24.99 |
15% Referral Fee | 22 cents (not applied since it is less than the minimum referral fee) | $3.75 (applied since it is greater than the minimum referral fee) |
Minimum Referral Fee | 30 cents (applied since it is greater than the 15% referral fee) | 30 cents (not applied since it is less than the 15% referral fee) |
Closing Fees
Amazon seller fees include an additional fee for products sold under its media categories. This is the Closing Fee, and it’s a flat $1.80 charge, which is added to the Referral Fees for items in any media category, including:
- Books
- DVD
- Music
- Software and computer/video games
- Video
- Video game consoles
In the past, Amazon’s closing fee was charged as a percentage of the sale price. Now, it charges one set amount. But because of the old way, some sellers still call it “variable closing fee.”
Amazon pays sellers every 14 days and holds funds from each sale for seven days after delivery. It also takes three to five days for funds to reach your bank. This schedule can slow your cash flow; to get payments faster, consider using a service like Payability for daily payouts.
Payability is a factoring service that connects to your Amazon Pro Seller account, tracks your sales, and offers daily direct deposits based on your sales for a 2% fee. Visit Payability.
Amazon Seller Account Fees
Amazon offers two types of Amazon seller accounts— individual and professional. The fees and features of each type are geared toward the specific selling needs of low-volume individuals and high-volume business sellers.
Both account types enable you to sell on the platform, manage and list products one at a time, set static prices, receive help from Seller Support, and give you access to tools like Seller University trainings, Help pages, a Revenue Calculator, and the Amazon Seller App.
Account Type | Best for | Monthly Fee | Listing fee |
|---|---|---|---|
Individual Seller | Individuals and occasional business sellers | $0 | 99 cents per item sold |
Professional Seller | Businesses and volume sellers | $39.99 | Varies |
Along with the differences in fees, each type of account offers features that accommodate small or large sellers’ particular needs.
Individual Seller Accounts
Amazon Individual Seller accounts are ideal for occasional and low-volume sellers. These accounts are easy to set up and have no monthly fees, but they come with a 99-cent fee per item sold and cannot be used to sell more than 40 units each month. Additionally, they have more restrictions compared to Professional Seller accounts:
- Limit of 40 product sales per month
- Cannot use paid advertising or advanced tools
- Requires manual listing creation in the Amazon Seller Central dashboard (bulk uploads aren’t supported)
- Cannot apply to sell products that require approval
- Cannot offer gift wrap
Professional Seller Accounts
Amazon Professional Seller accounts are designed to meet larger businesses’ needs and provide many volume-selling features for your $39.99 per-month fee:
- Features unlimited product listings and restricted categories
- Advertising and advanced selling tools are allowed
- Offers bulk product uploads
- Connects to ecommerce platforms and order management systems
- Has inventory management and FBA inventory management
- Can offer gift wrap
Professional Sellers can also enroll in any of Amazon’s optional paid programs, including:
- Amazon Ads
- Lightning and 7-Day Deals
- Amazon Currency Converter
- Counterfeit protection
- Amazon Global Logistics ocean freight
- Amazon Lending
- Customer Service by Amazon
- Strategic Account Services
Which Amazon Account Is Best for You?
If you’re an established ecommerce seller moving to Amazon, the Professional Seller account is your best pick, since the Individual Seller account is very limited in comparison and requires more hands-on management.
However, if you’re just getting started on Amazon or still deciding what products to sell, you can sign up for an Individual Seller account with no up-front costs. This plan will only charge fees when your products sell. In fact, you’re not even “charged”—Amazon takes its cut from your payout, so you don’t pay a dime out of pocket.
Amazon Fulfillment & Shipping Fees
Your Amazon fulfillment and shipping fees will depend on your products as well as your fulfillment method. Amazon lets sellers fulfill their orders in three different ways:
- Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM): You store, pack, ship, and service all your orders on your own and cover the associated costs. This fulfillment method has the least amount of requirements and Amazon fees but isn’t eligible for the Prime badge.
- Seller-fulfilled Prime (SFP): You offer Prime shipping on your orders while storing, packing, and shipping them on your own. You must adhere to Amazon Prime’s packaging and delivery speed requirements, and a 2% fee is charged per order.
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): You ship your products to Amazon and it stocks, packs, ships, and services your products for you. FBA gives your products the prime badge plus maximum visibility in search, but it has the greatest Amazon fees.
Here’s a detailed explanation of the costs and fees associated with each Amazon fulfillment method. Remember, these costs are charged on top of your other selling on Amazon fees.
Amazon FBM Fees
With the Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) method, sellers primarily bear the costs of storage, packaging, and shipping. Amazon doesn’t charge a shipping or fulfillment fee for FBM; instead, the seller is in charge of getting things done.
Even if having fewer Amazon fees seems like a money-saver at first, sellers have to think about costs like rent for storage, boxes, and tape for packing, postage for shipping, and potentially paying employees to help. Also, without the coveted Prime badge, your products won’t perform as well on the platform compared to those with Prime listings.
Shipping software can help you save money on shipping costs. Read our buyer’s guide to the best shipping software for small businesses.
Amazon SFP Fees
If you choose Seller-fulfilled Prime (SFP), you’ll handle storage, packing, and shipping on your own, just like in FBM. But you have to follow Amazon’s rules for packaging and quick delivery so that your goods can be part of the Prime program.
Amazon charges a 2% fee for each of your SFP orders for the privilege of displaying the Prime badge, which is very effective at attracting customers. This cost falls on top of your fulfillment and shipping expenses as well as your Amazon fees, which can take a bite out of your bottom line. That said, you get to take advantage of Amazon Prime’s 24/7 customer service offering, helping reduce your personal workload.
Seller-fulfilled Prime participants have to keep up with a hefty list of requirements, including offering free one-day and two-day delivery for Prime members, free standard shipping for all customers, and free returns on items under 50 lbs. Before qualifying for Amazon SFP, you must have done the following in the past 90 days:
- Self-fulfilled at least 100 packages through FBM
- Maintain a cancellation rate less than 2.5%
- Have a valid tracking rate greater than 95%
- Make late shipments less than 4% of the time
In the News:
Amazon adds a new fee for sellers who ship their own packages
Amazon’s Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) program added a new 2% fee that took effect beginning Oct. 1, 2023.
FBA Fees
Both Individual and Professional sellers can use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to stock, pack, and ship their Amazon products. Beyond the typical benefits of outsourcing your order fulfillment, using FBA also attracts customers by making your listings part of the Prime program and giving them maximum visibility on the marketplace—which may make FBA worth the price.
Want to know how FBA compares to other fulfillment solutions? Read our top picks for the best order fulfillment services.
Here’s an overview of Amazon FBA fees:
The price for keeping your products in Amazon’s FBA warehouses changes with the season, notably shooting up by as much as 200% from October to December. This price varies based on your product’s size and classification, especially if it’s considered a “dangerous good” by Amazon. Such items—including laptops, smartphones, household cleaners, cosmetics, and spray paints—come with a heftier storage fee.
Non-dangerous goods | ||
|---|---|---|
Month | Standard-size | Oversize |
January–September | 87 cents per cubic foot | 56 cents per cubic foot |
October–December | $2.40 per cubic foot | $1.40 per cubic foot |
Dangerous goods | Â | |
Month | Standard-size | Oversize |
January–September | 99 cents per cubic foot | 78 cents per cubic foot |
October–December | $3.63 per cubic foot | $2.43 per cubic foot |
FBA also charges long-term storage fees for inventory held at an FBA warehouse longer than 181 days. This added surcharge ranges from $0.50 per cubic foot for items aged 181–210 days, up to $690 per cubic foot for items aged 365+ days.
Fulfillment by Amazon’s fee structure covers a range of services, from picking an order from storage to packaging, shipping, and even handling customer service and returns. The cost begins at $3.22 per unit and increases up to $200+ for certain oversized items. However, items under $10 qualify for the Low-price FBA program, which offers reduced fulfillment fees.
Factors determining this fee include the product’s size, weight, quantity, and category. Multichannel sellers should note that FBA charges greater fulfillment fees to fulfill non-Amazon orders. It also tacks on a greater fee for items in certain categories—such as apparel and dangerous goods, regardless of sales channel.
During the peak holiday season (Oct. 15–Jan. 14), FBA charges slightly higher fulfillment fees.
For a full list of FBA fulfillment fees, see our Fulfillment by Amazon review.
Upcoming changes:
- Beginning February 2024, Fulfillment fee discounts ranging from 4 cents to $1.32 per item will apply to products shipped in their own packaging through the Ships in Product Packaging program.
- Beginning March 2024, A new inbound placement service fee will be added, averaging 27 cents per unit for standard items and $1.58 per unit for large, bulky items. Sellers can reduce or eliminate this charge by distributing their inventory across multiple warehouse locations.
- Beginning April 2024, Fulfillment fees will decrease on average by 20 cents per unit for standard items and 61 cents per unit for large items; A low-inventory-level fee will be introduced for standard items when a seller’s inventory levels are consistently low relative to sales; Non-peak storage fees will drop by an average of 9 cents per cubic foot/month for standard items.
In addition to the two primary FBA fees, you may also be charged other FBA fees depending on your products, packaging, and sales:
- Stock Removal Fees: For retrieving or disposing of unsold Amazon inventory, fees are set by the item’s size and weight.
- Labeling Fees: Items sent to FBA must meet barcode standards. Mislabeled items incur a 55-cent fee per unit.
- FBA Prep Service & Unplanned Prep Service Fees: FBA requires specific packaging. You can pay Amazon for this, or if items aren’t prepped correctly, an additional fee applies.
- Return Processing Fees: While most returns are included in the fulfillment fee, some categories (like apparel) aren’t. For these, FBA charges a return fee plus potential repackaging costs.
Miscellaneous Amazon Seller Fees
In addition to the main selling on Amazon fees, several miscellaneous charges may apply depending on your specific selling scenario, products, and choices:
- High-volume Listing Fee: For those with an extensive inventory (100,000 listed products or more), there’s an additional monthly charge of 0.005 cents per qualifying item. This fee aligns with the timing of your regular FBA storage fees.
- Amazon Currency Convertor for Sellers (ACCS) Fees: If you aren’t based in the US and sell to US customers, you can use the Amazon Currency Converter for your disbursements. Fees range from 0.75% to 1.50% and are based on net proceeds over a 12-month period.
- Textbook Rental Fees: For textbook rentals, Amazon charges a $5 fee per rental, which is deducted when a sale is made.
- Refurbished Items: Amazon’s refurbishment program doesn’t usually come with a fee, but certain product conditions might entail extra charges.
- Repackaging Service Fee: Not all buyers are diligent about packaging when returning items. If Amazon has to step in and repackage a product for you, a service fee will apply, although the specific amount depends on the case.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
These are some of the questions people typically ask about Amazon seller fees.
Amazon charges sellers a referral fee that ranges from 0% to 45% depending on the item category. Most products have a 15% referral fee, while categories like video games and fine art have 0%. The only category with a 45% referral fee is Amazon Device Accessories.
Refund administration costs can also be charged. Instead of a referral fee, Amazon charges $1.80 per sale for media products.
You can sign up for an Amazon Individual Seller account for free; the only charges occur after you make a sale. Amazon charges Individual sellers 99 cents for every sale, plus referral fees and sometimes other platform costs.
Yes, Amazon sellers have to pay referral fees or closing fees as well as a monthly seller account fee, which is either $39.99/month or 99 cents per sale (depending on the type of membership). Additionally, sellers may pay miscellaneous fees for things like optional programs and high-volume listing activity.
FBA’s storage fee is all you’ll be charged if nothing sells during the month. Your pick-pack-ship fees are assessed on top of your storage fees and tally up as items sell and orders ship.
If you let your stock sit unsold for too long, FBA tacks on added fees for aging stock.
The Amazon seller fee is a separate charge, but the FBA fee previewer does include both the Seller Fee and FBA estimated fee in your cost estimates. Here is what the Amazon Fee Preview page states:
“The Fee Preview column showcases the core fees for Selling on Amazon and Fulfillment by Amazon for a given product. The Fee Preview is only an estimate and does not include all fees that may apply. The fees shown are based on the list price, estimated shipping cost (where applicable), and available data for the product in our system. Actual fees may vary and are subject to change.”
Bottom Line
Amazon is forecast to reach $746.22 billion in sales in 2023 and scores over 2 billion visitors a month—even in the low seasons. Its enormous popularity and customer-centric reputation make it a highly promising marketplace to use, but these advantages come at a significant cost with many complex parts.
The difference between profit and loss can be slim on every item you sell on Amazon, so it’s vital that you understand the Amazon seller fees and other costs that incur. With this knowledge in mind, you’ll be able to find profitable products to source and sell and enjoy success in this huge, ever-growing marketplace.
