Amazon Fees Explained: Complete 2025 Guide for Sellers
Understand all Amazon seller fees in 2025 with this comprehensive breakdown of FBA fees, referral fees, storage fees, and hidden costs affecting your profits.
Understanding Amazon fees is essential for any seller looking to build a profitable business on the platform. With an increasingly complex fee structure in 2025, many sellers struggle to accurately calculate their true costs and profit margins.
This comprehensive guide breaks down all Amazon seller fees you need to know, including recent changes, hidden costs, and strategies to minimize their impact on your bottom line. Our Amazon profit tracking tool can help you monitor these fees automatically.
Amazon Seller Account Fees
Before you can sell anything, you need to decide between Amazon's two selling plans:
Individual Selling Plan
- Cost: $0.99 per item sold
- Best for: Sellers with fewer than 40 units/month
- No monthly fee: Pay only when you sell
- Plus standard selling fees: Referral fees, FBA fees (if applicable)
Professional Selling Plan
- Cost: $39.99/month flat fee
- Best for: Selling more than 40 units/month
- No per-item fee: Monthly subscription only
- Plus standard selling fees: Referral fees, FBA fees (if applicable)
The Professional plan provides access to additional features like bulk listing tools, inventory reports, and eligibility for the Buy Box. For most serious sellers, the Professional plan is essential despite the monthly fee.
Amazon Referral Fees
Referral fees are Amazon's commission on each sale. Think of it as Amazon's payment for providing access to their customer base. These fees vary significantly by category:
| Product Category | Referral Fee (2025) | Minimum Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Device Accessories | 45% | $0.30 |
| Clothing & Accessories | 17% | $0.30 |
| Electronics | 8% (≤$100) 15% (>$100) | $0.30 |
| Furniture | 15% (≤$200) 10% (>$200) | $0.30 |
| Grocery & Gourmet Food | 15% | $0.30 |
| Health & Personal Care | 15% | $0.30 |
| Home & Kitchen | 15% | $0.30 |
| Toys & Games | 15% | $0.30 |
| Most other categories | 15% | $0.30 |
Key 2025 update: Amazon has implemented tiered referral fees in more categories, with higher-priced items often receiving slightly lower percentage fees. This benefits sellers of premium products, but the difference is typically modest.
Amazon FBA Fees (Fulfillment by Amazon)
If you use Amazon's FBA service, you'll incur several additional fees:
FBA Fulfillment Fees
These fees cover picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and product returns. In 2025, FBA fulfillment fees are primarily based on:
- Size tier: Standard, oversized, special handling
- Weight: Both unit weight and dimensional weight
- Seasonality: Peak season (October-December) surcharges
2025 FBA Fulfillment Fee Examples (Standard Size)
| Size Tier | Weight | Jan-Sept Fee | Oct-Dec Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Standard | ≤ 8 oz | $3.22 | $3.79 |
| Small Standard | 8.1-16 oz | $3.40 | $4.15 |
| Large Standard | ≤ 8 oz | $3.86 | $4.45 |
| Large Standard | 8.1-16 oz | $4.08 | $4.80 |
| Large Standard | 1-2 lb | $5.35 | $6.10 |
| Large Standard | 2-3 lb | $5.92 | $7.05 |
Note: These are example fees for common size/weight combinations. Actual fees may vary based on dimensions and exact weight. The complete fee schedule is available in Amazon Seller Central.
FBA Storage Fees
Storage fees are charged monthly based on the daily average volume of space your inventory occupies in Amazon fulfillment centers:
Monthly Storage Fees (2025)
| Month | Standard-Size | Oversize |
|---|---|---|
| January-September | $0.87/cubic ft | $0.56/cubic ft |
| October-December | $2.40/cubic ft | $1.40/cubic ft |
Long-Term Storage Fees (2025)
For inventory stored longer than 365 days:
- Monthly fee: $1.50 per cubic foot
- Minimum charge: $0.50 per unit
- Assessment: 15th of each month
- Age calculation: Based on FIFO inventory method
2025 Storage Fee Update: Amazon has continued its trend of increasing storage fees, particularly during Q4. The holiday season rates have increased approximately 8% from 2024, reflecting Amazon's emphasis on efficient inventory management.
Additional FBA Fees
Several other FBA fees may apply depending on your business operations:
- Removal Order Fees: $0.25-$0.60 per standard-size unit, higher for oversized items
- Disposal Fees: $0.15-$0.40 per standard-size unit, higher for oversized items
- Returns Processing: Equal to the fulfillment fee in most categories (effectively doubling your fulfillment cost for returned items)
- Label Service: $0.30 per item if Amazon applies barcode labels
- FBA Prep Service: Varies by service required (polybagging, bubble-wrapping, taping)
- Repackaging Fees: $1.00-$2.00 for items that Amazon needs to repackage
Track All Amazon Fees Automatically
Calculating all these fees manually is time-consuming and error-prone. MarginsBuddy's profit tracker automatically monitors all your Amazon fees, alerts you to unusual charges, and helps you calculate true profit after all costs.
Amazon FBM Fees (Fulfillment by Merchant)
When you fulfill orders yourself (FBM), you avoid FBA fees but still pay:
- Referral fees: Same as FBA (category-dependent percentage)
- Individual plan fees: $0.99 per item (if on Individual plan)
- Your own fulfillment costs: Packaging, shipping, labor, customer service
While FBM eliminates Amazon's fulfillment and storage fees, you need to factor in your own operational costs, which often include:
- Packaging materials: Boxes, bubble wrap, tape, labels
- Shipping costs: Carrier fees, which are typically higher than Amazon's negotiated rates
- Labor: Time spent picking, packing, and shipping orders
- Warehouse space: Storage costs for your inventory
- Return processing: Managing customer returns and refunds
Additional Amazon Seller Fees
Beyond the core fee categories, Amazon sellers may encounter other costs:
Advertising Costs
While not technically fees, advertising expenses are a practical necessity for most Amazon sellers in 2025:
- Sponsored Products: Pay-per-click ads for individual products
- Sponsored Brands: Banner ads featuring your logo and multiple products
- Sponsored Display: Retargeting ads that appear on and off Amazon
- Video Ads: Video advertisements in search results and product pages
In competitive categories, advertising costs typically range from 10-25% of sales. These costs have been steadily increasing year over year as more sellers compete for visibility.
Optional Program Fees
Depending on your business model, you might opt into programs that carry additional fees:
- Brand Registry: Free to register but requires a registered trademark
- Amazon Vine: $200-$300 per enrolled product for early reviews
- Virtual Bundling: $0.40 per virtual bundle sold
- Lightning Deals: $150-$600 per deal (varies by season and category)
- Early Reviewer Program: $60-$100 per product enrolled
- Premium A+ Content: Starting at $500/month for enhanced content modules
Hidden Amazon Fees and Costs
Many Amazon sellers underestimate their total costs by overlooking less obvious expenses:
Inventory Costs
- Lost/damaged inventory write-offs
- Inventory reconciliation shortages
- Unsellable returns
- Obsolete/expired inventory
- Inventory financing costs
Customer-Related Costs
- Refunds beyond Amazon's return window
- Goodwill refunds without returns
- A-to-Z guarantee claims
- Customer concessions
- Chargeback fees
Operational Costs
- FBA prep service costs
- Shipping to Amazon warehouses
- Software subscriptions
- Product photography/listing creation
- Account management time
These hidden costs can account for an additional 5-15% of your total expenses, significantly impacting profitability calculations.
Strategies to Minimize Amazon Fees
While Amazon fees are unavoidable, there are several strategies to minimize their impact:
Product Selection Strategies
- Size and weight optimization: Design products that fall into lower FBA fee tiers
- Category selection: Focus on categories with lower referral fees
- Price point optimization: Target price points that maximize profit after fees
- Margin requirements: Establish minimum margin thresholds after all fees
Inventory Management Strategies
- Inventory velocity management: Maintain 30-60 day supply to minimize storage fees
- Seasonal inventory planning: Reduce inventory before long-term storage dates
- Removal order optimization: Schedule removals before fee assessment dates
- FBA/FBM hybrid approach: Use FBM for slow-moving or oversized products
Operational Optimization
- Prepare inventory properly: Avoid prep service fees by doing it yourself
- Monitor fee discrepancies: Regularly audit FBA fees for errors
- Optimize packaging: Reduce dimensional weight where possible
- Reimbursement monitoring: Request reimbursements for lost/damaged inventory
Amazon Fee Calculator and Tracking Tools
Accurately tracking all your Amazon fees is essential for maintaining profitability. While Amazon provides a basic fee calculator in Seller Central, serious sellers need more comprehensive tools.
MarginsBuddy's profit tracking system offers:
- Real-time fee monitoring: Track all fees as they occur
- Historical fee analysis: Identify fee trends and changes
- Fee anomaly detection: AI-powered alerts for unusual charges
- Profitability analysis: Calculate true profit after all fees and costs
- Fee optimization suggestions: Actionable recommendations to reduce fees
Conclusion: Managing Amazon Fees in 2025
Amazon fees continue to evolve and generally increase year over year. Understanding the complete fee structure and planning for these costs is essential for building a sustainable, profitable Amazon business.
The most successful Amazon sellers in 2025 are those who maintain a comprehensive understanding of all fees, build accurate fee forecasts into their business planning, and regularly optimize their operations to minimize unnecessary costs.
By staying informed about fee changes, carefully selecting products with favorable fee structures, and using sophisticated tracking tools, you can maintain healthy margins despite Amazon's complex and evolving fee landscape.
Start optimizing your Amazon business today with MarginsBuddy's fee tracking and profit analysis tools.