Chapter 5.1: The fees on every sale
What you'll learn: the two main fees Amazon takes on every FBA sale, how a product's size, weight and price set the fulfillment fee, and the surcharge added on top. We'll follow one product, a boxed toy, from here through to a profit figure in Chapter 7.
The two main fees
Each time a unit sells through FBA, Amazon deducts two main fees:
- The referral fee: a percentage of the sale price, set by the product's category. It's Amazon's commission for selling on its marketplace.
- The FBA fulfillment fee: a set amount per unit, based on the product's size tier, its weight and its price. It covers picking, packing, shipping to the customer and customer service.
Around these sit a fuel and logistics surcharge (below), monthly storage and inbound fees (5.2), and any sales tax you paid on the stock (Chapter 6).
Referral fees
The referral fee is calculated on the total sale price, including any shipping or gift-wrap charge the customer pays. Most categories charge 15%, but some have a lower rate on cheaper items, and most have a minimum fee per unit. Some common examples:
| Category | Referral fee | Minimum per unit |
|---|---|---|
| Toys and Games | 15% | $0.30 |
| Home and Kitchen | 15% | $0.30 |
| Beauty, Health and Personal Care | 8% if the price is $10 or less; 15% above $10 | $0.30 |
| Grocery and Gourmet | 8% if the price is $15 or less; 15% above $15 | None |
| Video Games and Gaming Accessories | 15% (consoles 8%) | None |
| Clothing and Accessories | 5% up to $15; 10% from $15 to $20; 17% above $20 | $0.30 |
Media products (books, music, video and DVD) also carry a $1.80 closing fee per unit sold.
Source and the full list: Amazon US pricing and Referral fees (Seller Central). Always check the category on the live page before you buy, because the bands are revised from time to time.
The referral fee follows the category the Amazon listing sits in, not where you'd expect the product to be. ArbiSource shows the listing's category on each result panel, so glance at it when a fee looks surprising.
FBA fulfillment fees
Three things set the fulfillment fee:
- The size tier, decided by the packaged dimensions and weight.
- The shipping weight, which may be the dimensional weight (below).
- The price band: Amazon charges different rates for items priced under $10, $10 to $50 and over $50.
| Size tier | Maximum dimensions | Maximum weight |
|---|---|---|
| Small standard | 15 × 12 × 0.75 in | 16 oz |
| Large standard | 18 × 14 × 8 in | 20 lb |
| Small bulky | 37 × 28 × 20 in | 50 lb |
| Large bulky | 59 × 33 × 33 in (length plus girth up to 130 in) | 50 lb |
Anything bigger or heavier is extra-large. Most arbitrage products are small standard or large standard. Notice how thin a small standard item must be: anything thicker than three-quarters of an inch is large standard, however light it is. Product size tiers (Seller Central)
Dimensional weight. From large standard upward, Amazon charges on whichever is greater: the item's actual weight or its dimensional weight. Dimensional weight is length × width × height in inches, divided by 139, giving a figure in pounds. Small standard items are charged on their actual unit weight. Dimensional weight (Seller Central)
our boxed toy measures 9 × 6 × 2 in and weighs 10 oz. At 2 inches deep, it's too thick for small standard, so it's large standard. Its dimensional weight is 9 × 6 × 2 ÷ 139 = 0.78 lb, or about 12.4 oz. That's more than its 10 oz actual weight, so Amazon charges it as a 12–16 oz item.
Some typical fees (standard rates outside the peak season, before the surcharge below):
| Size tier and shipping weight | Under $10 | $10 to $50 | Over $50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small standard, up to 2 oz | $2.43 | $3.32 | $3.58 |
| Small standard, 14 to 16 oz | $2.95 | $3.96 | $4.22 |
| Large standard, up to 4 oz | $2.91 | $3.73 | $3.99 |
| Large standard, 12 to 16 oz | $3.78 | $4.60 | $4.86 |
| Large standard, 2.75 to 3 lb | $5.85 | $6.67 | $6.93 |
An item priced at exactly $10 or $50 uses the $10-to-$50 rate. Our boxed toy, selling at $24.99, pays $4.60. Full tables, including bulky and extra-large: FBA fulfillment fees (Seller Central).
The under-$10 rates are lower (on average about $0.86 below the $10-to-$50 rate), which helps cheap, light items. But a product that slips just under $10, or climbs just over $50, changes band, and the fee moves with it. ArbiSource recalculates the fee when you change the price in a result's Sell box.
Charges on top
| Charge | What it is |
|---|---|
| Fuel and logistics surcharge | A percentage added to FBA fulfillment fees, including peak fees (3.5% when we last checked). Allow for it whenever you work out a fee by hand. Details |
| Peak fulfillment fee | Every year Amazon raises fulfillment fees for its busiest season, which has run from mid-October to mid-January. The increase per unit is modest, but it applies to every sale in that window. Amazon announces the dates and rates ahead of time, so check the fulfillment fees page each year before you plan your Q4 buying (Chapter 32) |
| Digital services fee | None for US-based sellers selling on Amazon.com. Sellers based in some other countries pay one, but it doesn't apply if your business is in the US. Details |
There's no VAT on Amazon's fees in the US either, so the fees you see are the fees you pay.
Putting it together: our boxed toy
Selling at $24.99 in Toys and Games, outside the peak season:
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Referral fee (15% of $24.99) | $3.75 |
| FBA fulfillment fee (large standard, 12–16 oz, $10–$50 band) | $4.60 |
| Fuel and logistics surcharge (3.5% of $4.60) | $0.16 |
| Total per sale | $8.51 |
Add a little storage and an inbound placement fee (5.2), plus any sales tax you paid on the toy (Chapter 6). We turn this into a profit figure in Chapter 7.
In ArbiSource
You don't have to work any of this out by hand. ArbiSource calculates the referral fee, the fulfillment fee and the surcharge on every result, using the product's category, size, weight and price.
- Hover over the Fees figure (under the Buy and Sell prices) to see the breakdown: the Referral Fee and the Fulfillment Fee.
- Fees shown in red mean Amazon hasn't supplied all the fee data, so the profit isn't fully reliable. It can also mean the product has never been sold through FBA. Check it in Amazon's free Revenue Calculator before buying.
- Check the category. If it looks wrong, the referral fee may be too.
Checklist
- I know the difference between the referral fee and the FBA fulfillment fee
- I can explain dimensional weight (inches ÷ 139) and why a thick, light box can cost more
- I know fulfillment fees depend on the price band as well as size and weight
- I know peak fees apply every year from around mid-October, and I'll check Amazon's live page for the dates and rates
- I know where to see the fee breakdown in ArbiSource, and what red fees mean