As awesome as it would be, selling on Amazon isn’t as simple as uploading an item/description and watching the money roll in. There are various fees involved, and RepricerExpress will break them down for you so you know exactly how to budget for them — and are able to maximise your profits.
The Different Types of Amazon FBA Fees You’ll Encounter
As we said, there are a number of different kinds of Amazon seller fees, but we can generally categorise them into one of three different kinds.
1. Fees That Have to Do With Sales
No matter if you’re a casual (i.e. individual) or serious (i.e. professional) seller, you’ll have to give Amazon a fee each time you sell a product. The amount of the fee has to do with the product’s price and category and it ranges from 6-20%.
And just to make it even more fun, there’s also something called the Variable Closing Fee, which you would pay on media items (e.g. music, books, DVDs, consoles, software/video games, and videos). This is a flat fee of $1.35-1.80 that’s added on top of the regular selling fee.
To get an accurate idea of how much profit you’ll net, use an Amazon fee calculator.
There’s also something called the Minimum Referral Fee and this ranges from $0-2. You won’t have to pay both, just whichever is greater of the ‘regular’ referral fee or the minimum one. For example, if the referral fee comes out to $1.69 and the minimum referral fee is $2, you would pay the $2 (and not the two added together, only the greater amount).
2. Fees That Have to Do With the Type of Account You Have
Sales fees are also calculated differently depending on if you’re an individual or professional seller.
If you’re an individual seller, you pay $0.99/£0.75 for each product, but you do not pay a monthly fee. And if you’re a professional seller, it’s the opposite. You pay a $39.99/£25 monthly fee, but no individual fees on products themselves.
Typically, the tipping point between the two types of accounts is about 40 products per month. If you usually sell less than 40, stick with an individual account until your sales increase. But if you find yourself regularly exceeding 40 items per month, then a professional account is probably more cost-effective.
3. Fees That Have to Do With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
No matter which method you choose to ship your products, there’ll be a cost involved. If you use local shipping/courier companies because you want to ship yourself, you’ll have to pay them. And if you want Amazon to take care of the shipping process, well, there’s a cost involved with that, too.
When it comes to FBA, you’re looking at two different types of fees.
Fulfillment Fees
This is what Amazon charges you to pack and ship the product (and all the service stuff in between, like customer support and returns). This fee is further subcategorised into:
- Standard Sized Items: Anywhere from $2.41 for an item under a pound to $4.71 if the item is over 2lbs (plus an extra $0.38 for each pound over 2lbs).
- Oversized Items: If the item is big but weighs under a pound, you start at $8.18 and $0.38 for every extra pound over 2lbs. And if the item is a special oversized product over 2lbs, then your fees will be $137.32 and $0.91 for every pound over 90lbs.
Storage Fees
Each month, you pay Amazon a monthly inventory storage fee based on how many cubic feet your stock uses at a fulfillment centre, as well as the volume of your inventory in the facility. Just like fulfillment fees, storage fees are divided into:
- Standard Size: $0.64/cubic foot (January-September) or $2.35/cubic foot (October-December).
- Oversize: $0.43/cubic foot (January-September) or $1.15/cubic foot (October-December).
While the shipping fees are quite a bit more for oversized items, you do pay less for storing them. And if sell fewer of them but at a much higher cost, it may be more profitable for you to go with that. But as a general rule, smaller and lighter packages are usually most profitable for sellers.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know exactly how much you’ll be spending in Amazon seller fees, you’re more than equipped to use RepricerExpress and set your rules for maximum profitability — but only if you sign up! We’ve got a pretty good incentive, too (other than being able to save money and beat your competitors). When you sign up now, you start off with a 15-day free trial so you can tinker to your heart’s delight.
