Amazon FBA fees are more complex than they first appear. Most sellers are familiar with the basic referral fee, but the full cost of selling through FBA — once all charges are included — often surprises sellers who haven't modelled it carefully. Here's a comprehensive breakdown.
Amazon charges a referral fee on every sale, calculated as a percentage of the total sale price including VAT. Rates vary by category: typically 7–8% for electronics, 15% for clothing, 15% for beauty, 15% for supplements, and 15% for home goods. The referral fee is the unavoidable cost of selling on Amazon regardless of fulfilment method — FBA or FBM.
The FBA fulfilment fee covers picking, packing, and shipping the order from an Amazon fulfilment centre. It's charged per unit and scales with size and weight. Small standard items (under 400g) pay around £3.30–£3.50. Large standard items (up to 12kg) can pay £5.00–£9.00+. These fees increase annually and Amazon occasionally introduces surcharges during peak periods.
Monthly storage fees are charged per cubic foot of space occupied in Amazon's fulfilment centres. Standard rates apply January–September; higher rates apply October–December (peak period). Long-term storage fees apply to units that have been in a fulfilment centre for more than 365 days — these can become significant for slow-moving SKUs and seasonal products.
Amazon processes returns on behalf of FBA sellers. The returns processing fee was historically absorbed by Amazon, but Amazon has introduced customer returns processing fees in some categories, charged when a customer return exceeds what Amazon considers a normal rate for the category. These fees are not always clearly communicated in advance.
Amazon may charge an inventory placement fee for sending stock to a single fulfilment centre rather than distributing it across multiple locations as Amazon requests. This fee is relatively new and adds complexity to inbound shipping cost calculations.
For non-Amazon channels, a UK 3PL like PackPro typically costs less than FBA on a like-for-like basis — without the complexity of fee structures that change annually. Use our cost calculator to compare FBA against 3PL for your specific products, or request a bespoke quote.