Amazon Seller Fees: Cost of Selling on Amazon in 2023
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Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
The four primary Amazon seller fees are sale-related fees, seller account fees, shipping costs, and Amazon FBA fees.
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 $0.99 per item sold to $39.99 per month. You’ll also need to fulfill and ship your orders, which varies widely in cost, depending on your products and fulfillment method.
We’ll walk you through each type of Amazon seller fee below and show you how to estimate the fees you’ll pay for each product you sell on the ecommerce platform. You can also download our Amazon Seller Fees ebook to use as reference later.
Download Amazon Seller Fees ebook
1. Amazon Sale-Related Fees
There are three types of Amazon seller fees that you may pay when you sell products on Amazon: referral fees, minimum referral fees, and closing 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 |
|---|---|---|
Referral Fee | Ranges from 8%–45% (most sellers pay 15%), charged if minimum referral fee is less than referral fee | Category |
Minimum Referral Fee | $0 or $0.30; $2 for Amazon Explore, charged if referral fee is less than minimum referral fee | Category |
Variable Closing Fee | $1.80 | All Media Categories |
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 a 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.
Minimum Referral Fees
Amazon assigns a Minimum Referral Fee to some 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.
The following products sell in Amazon’s Home and Kitchen category. This category has a 15% Referral Fee but also has a 30-cent Minimum Referral Fee. 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) |
The drink coasters’ 15% referral fee is 2 cents—which is less than 30 cents—so Amazon applies the 30-cent Minimum Referral Fee. However, the throw pillows’ 15% Referral Fee is $3.75—which is greater than 30 cents—so the $3.75 Referral Fee is what Amazon applies when this item sells.
Closing Fees
Amazon charges an additional fee for products sold under its media categories. This fee 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
Did you know?
Amazon takes its cut from your payouts, which happen every 14 days.
However, Amazon also holds funds from each sale for seven days after a product is received to account for any unexpected charges. And you’ll likely need to wait an additional three to five days for funds to be deposited into your bank account after the payout.
If Amazon is your main source of sales, this slow payout schedule can seriously impact your cash flow. While you can’t change Amazon’s payout schedule, you can get daily payments using a service called Payability.
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.
2. Amazon Seller Account Fees
Amazon offers two types of Amazon seller accounts. The fees and features of each type are geared toward the specific selling needs of low-volume individuals and high-volume business sellers.
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.
Geared for occasional and low-volume sellers, Amazon Individual Seller accounts require little setup and have $0 monthly fees—but they come with some additional restrictions compared to the Professional Seller accounts.
- Allow up to 40 product sales per month—not the number of product listings but actual products sold
- Cannot use paid advertising or advanced tools
- Need to create listings manually in the Amazon Seller Central dashboard—bulk uploads aren’t supported
- Is limited to certain categories
- Cannot offer gift wrap
Amazon Professional Seller accounts are designed to meet 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
Which Account Is Best for You?
If you’re an established ecommerce seller moving to Amazon, the Professional Seller account is your best pick; the Individual Seller account is very limited in comparison and requires more hands-on management.
However, if you’re just starting to sell products on Amazon, you can get started on Amazon with no up-front costs at all using an Individual Seller account. It costs $0 to register an Individual Seller account and list products, and you’re only charged 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.
3. Shipping Credits & Costs
These charges are not seller fees, but they can cost you money if you’re not careful. If you ship Amazon orders yourself, Amazon pays you a shipping credit on every sale to cover your shipping costs—but there’s a catch. The credit Amazon pays sellers is generally low compared to the shipping rates you actually pay to ship orders.
Depending on what you sell and the total size and weight of each package you ship, you may wind up spending far more to ship orders than you receive from Amazon’s shipping credit. To ensure you don’t lose all of your profits to shipping costs, you need to know how much you’ll get from Amazon for each item you sell.
You can use the Amazon shipping credit chart below to estimate your credits for each product.
(Source: Amazon)
To see if credits will cover your shipping costs, use the chart above to figure out what Amazon will offer you for shipping your products. Then, compare these amounts to your actual shipping costs.
If you sell small, lightweight items, you might come out ahead. But if your products ship in large and/or heavy boxes, you might find you’ll lose on every sale.
One thing that can lower your shipping costs dramatically and boost your Amazon profit is shipping software. With it, you can quickly compare costs and automate your shipping tools.
Read our buyer’s guide to the best shipping software for small businesses.
Some shipping software, like Stamps.com, imports orders directly from your Amazon account, selects the best shipping rate based on price, offers discounted postage rates, and even emails tracking information to your customers. This helps you ship every order at the lowest possible rate while shipping more efficiently. Visit Stamps.com to start a four-week trial and get $5 in free postage, or read our in-depth Stamps.com review.
Understanding your shipping credits vs. actual shipping costs is vital to determining whether you can price items profitably. You’ll likely find that Amazon is a feasible (or even ideal) marketplace for certain items but may not be right for everything you sell.
In fact, shipping costs are a top reason that Amazon sellers, especially Professional Seller account holders, turn to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to ship the goods they sell on Amazon.
Want to get this article as a PDF? Click here to get it for free.
4. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Fees
Both Individual and Professional sellers can use FBA to stock, pack, and ship their Amazon products. Of course, Amazon charges fees for this, but many Amazon sellers find the FBA fees are quite reasonable for certain items. Plus, it takes time-consuming daily order packing and shipping tasks off your shoulders and even makes your items Prime-eligible.
A majority of sellers use Amazon FBA while working from home. It’s definitely worthy of consideration. However, FBA fees vary based on product size and weight. Like every other facet of selling on Amazon, you need to understand the total fees you’ll pay to store and ship your products with FBA before jumping onboard.
Interested to know how FBA compares to other fulfillment solutions? Read our top picks for the best order fulfillment services.
FBA Fees by Service
Amazon’s FBA fees are pretty streamlined—the picking, packing, and shipping costs are compiled into one charge, and the other charge is for inventory storage. FBA fees include boxes and packaging and even cover returns handling if your buyers return items to Amazon.
The two types of FBA fees you’ll see are:
- Pick, pack, and weight handling fees: This is your entire pack-through-shipment fee, including your shipping cost.
- Monthly storage fees: This is the cost of storing your products in Amazon’s warehouse.
Product Size Determines FBA Fees
FBA fees are based on the size of the product you’re storing and shipping. Size includes any packaging for your product, such as shoe boxes, blister packs, or retail packaging. Amazon divides FBA products into two size categories.
- Standard-sized products: Small standard-sized items, fully packaged, must weigh less than a pound and not exceed 15″ x 12″ x 0.75″, while large standard packages can be up to 20 pounds and 18″x14″x8″.
- Oversized products: Any item over 20 pounds and/or exceeding 18″x14″x8″ is considered oversized.
Remember: The FBA fees below are added on top of the Referral and Account Fees discussed earlier.
Click on the tabs below for a look at how current FBA fees stack up based on size and item type.
FBA Inventory Storage Fees
FBA also charges inventory storage fees that increase dramatically during the October to December holiday season. These storage rates are charged in addition to referral fees, account fees, and fulfillment fees.
Monthly Inventory Storage per cubic foot | Standard Size | Oversize |
|---|---|---|
January–September | 75 cents per cubic foot | 48 cents per cubic foot |
October–December | $2.40 per cubic foot | $1.20 per cubic foot |
If you’re considering FBA, you need to be aware of other fees that can creep onto your bill. These include long-term storage fees and relabeling fees for improperly prepared products. If you don’t stay on top of these, they can quickly eat away at your profits.
To learn more about FBA fees, read our full Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) review.
Amazon Fee Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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 generates nearly 40% of ecommerce sales 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 fees and costs that incur. With this knowledge in mind, you’ll be able to find profitable products and enjoy success in this huge, ever-growing marketplace.
Ready to get started? Follow our step-by-step guide on How to Sell on Amazon.
