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 in 2023
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This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
If you sell your wares on Amazon, you’ll pay several different types of 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 99 cents per item sold to $39.99 per month. You’ll also encounter fees related to fulfilling and shipping your orders, which 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: $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: 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.
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.
Example of Amazon Referral Fees
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) |
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
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.”
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. 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.
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
Geared for occasional and low-volume sellers, Amazon Individual Seller accounts require little setup and have $0 monthly fees. However, you’ll have to pay a 99-cent per-item fee, and this account type comes with some additional restrictions compared to the Professional Seller accounts:
- Limit of 40 product sales per month (not the number of product listings but actual products sold)
- Cannot use paid advertising or advanced tools
- Requires manual listing creation in the Amazon Seller Central dashboard (bulk uploads aren’t supported)
- Certain categories are restricted or off-limits
- 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
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 upfront 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 Amazon selling 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 maybe even paying someone to help with orders. Also, without the coveted Prime badge, your products might sell a bit slower compared to other ways of selling on Amazon.
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.
In the News:
Amazon adds a new fee for sellers who ship their own packages
Amazon’s Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) has a new 2% fee that takes effect beginning Oct. 1. This change forces sellers to either raise their prices or absorb the cost, impacting their profits.
FBA Fees
Both Individual and Professional sellers can use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to stock, pack, and ship their Amazon products. While FBA has higher fees than other Amazon fulfillment methods, many sellers find that FBA costs are quite reasonable for many items. Plus, it takes time-consuming daily order packing and shipping tasks off your shoulders. 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 | ||
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.
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.
Here are FBA’s base fulfillment fees for non-apparel items:
Size Tier | Shipping Weight | Fulfillment fee per unit |
|---|---|---|
Small standard | 4 oz or less | $3.22 |
4+ to 8 oz | $3.40 | |
8+ to 12 oz | $3.58 | |
Large standard | 12+ to 16 oz | $3.77 |
4 oz or less | $3.86 | |
4+ to 8 oz | $4.08 | |
8+ to 12 oz | $4.24 | |
12+ to 16 oz | $4.75 | |
1+ to 1.5 lb | $5.40 | |
1.5+ to 2 lb | $5.69 | |
2+ to 2.5 lb | $6.10 | |
2.5+ to 3 lb | $6.139 | |
3+ lb to 20 lb | $7.17 + 16 cents/half-lb above first 3 lb | |
Small oversize | 70 lb or less | $9.73 + 42 cents/lb above first lb |
Medium oversize | 150 lb or less | $19.05 + 42 cents/lb above first lb |
Large oversize | 150 lb or less | $89.98 + 83 cents/lb above first 90 lbs |
Special oversize | Over 150 lb | $158.49 + 83 cents/lb above first 90 lbs |
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 Fees
In addition to the main selling on Amazon fees, there are several miscellaneous charges that 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 .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 those in the textbook rental space, Amazon levies 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.
Amazon Seller Fees 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% 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 to source and sell and enjoy success in this huge, ever-growing marketplace.