Amazon Fees Explained

Selling on Amazon is a major growth opportunity, but fees are where many sellers lose control of their margins. The most common mistake is treating Amazon fees as a single percentage taken off the top. That assumption is wrong, and it explains why profitability often looks healthy in forecasts but collapses in real cash flow.

Amazon fees are layered, applied at different moments across the order lifecycle, and shaped by decisions you make long before a unit sells. This breakdown explains what Amazon fees actually are, how core and situational fees interact, and why they are so frequently underestimated. You will also find a practical fee chart and direct links to Amazon’s official documentation so you can verify current rates for your marketplace.

The Basics

Amazon fees are transaction based costs applied from listing to fulfillment to post sale handling. They are not charged all at once, and they are not tied to a single action.

Some fees are mandatory, such as referral fees and fulfillment fees. Others are situational, including storage, aged inventory, returns, and removals. Some fees are driven by what you sell, since category selection determines referral rates and minimums. Others are driven by how you sell, including fulfillment method, product size, weight, and inventory velocity.

There is also a category of optional services that often become functionally required. Removals and advertising are technically optional, but in most categories they are unavoidable if you want to remain competitive.

Because fees apply at different times and for different reasons, viewing them as a single blended percentage creates a false sense of profitability. Two products with the same price can carry very different fee profiles based on category, size tier, fulfillment choice, and how quickly inventory turns.

Core Amazon Seller Fees

Key clarifications matter here. Referral fees are calculated as a percentage of the total sale price and often include shipping. Fulfillment fees for FBA are not percentages at all. They are fixed per unit costs based on physical characteristics. Professional accounts pay a flat monthly fee, while Individual accounts pay more per unit and lose access to critical features.

Refunds deserve special attention. While referral fees may partially reverse, fulfillment fees are often not fully recovered. This creates hidden margin loss on high return SKUs.

Variable and Situational Amazon Fees

Beyond core fees, Amazon applies additional charges based on inventory behavior and operational decisions.

Situational fees are often underestimated because they do not appear on every order. At scale, however, they can rival core fees in total impact, especially for slow moving inventory or high return categories.

Advertising costs require clarification. They are not platform fees. They are optional spend. In practice, however, many categories cannot generate meaningful sales without advertising. Treating ads as unrelated to fees may be technically correct, but strategically misleading when evaluating true profitability.

Why Amazon Fees Are Commonly Underestimated

The first reason is fee stacking. Referral, fulfillment, storage, returns, and removals compound across the lifecycle. Each looks manageable alone. Together, they materially change margin.

Small percentage changes matter more than most sellers expect. A one percent referral fee increase or a minor size tier shift can erase meaningful profit when applied to thousands of units.

Another issue is the gap between projected and realized fees. Fee calculators assume ideal conditions. Real world performance includes returns, aged inventory penalties, seasonal storage increases, and incomplete fee reversals.

Visibility is also a major problem. Many fees appear weeks or months after the sale. Sellers reviewing per order profitability miss downstream costs that only surface later in cash flow.

Without a full lifecycle view, brands believe they are profitable until the balance sheet proves otherwise.

Official Amazon Fee Guides to Bookmark

• Selling on Amazon fees overview
  https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/G6F7CN3EQS7MEGCN
• FBA fulfillment fees by size and weight
  https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/GPDC3KPYAGDTVDJP
• FBA storage and aged inventory fees
  https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/G201074400

Closing Thoughts

Amazon fees are not mysterious, but they are layered and unforgiving. They are ongoing, situational, and directly influenced by how you price, fulfill, advertise, and manage inventory. Treating them as a simple percentage of revenue leads to distorted decisions and margin surprises.

The brands that remain profitable on Amazon model fees across the entire lifecycle and manage them proactively. When you understand where fees apply, when they trigger, and how they interact, margin stops being an accident and becomes something you can actually control.