How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon In 2023?

Are you wondering How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon? This article will explain all expenses that you, as a seller, will bear directly or indirectly. Stay tuned for more. 

While selling on Amazon, you will encounter many direct and indirect costs, such as Referral fees, storage costs, etc. But a good expenditure analysis might give you the headstart you need to build a successful business.  

In this guide, I will walk you through each and every kind of expense you may need to bear in different stages of your Amazon journey. This information will help you evaluate the overall selling cost so you can implement the required strategy to achieve the desired outcomes. By the end of this article you will exactly know How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon.

Amazon: Where To Begin? – How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

Before you start selling, you need to decide which Seller agreement you want to go with. Amazon offers 3 types of agreements, and each has its own advantages, suited for businesses of different capacities. Let’s find out more. 

Fulfilment By Amazon – How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

It’s safe to say that Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) is the most popular seller agreement out there. In this method, sellers need to ship their entire inventory to Amazon warehouses, and the company takes care of processing the orders, labelling, packaging, shipping, and even customer service.

You have to pay monthly FBA fulfilment costs, which we will discuss further in the article. 

This type of agreement is more suited to sellers with decent finances in the beginning. Selling through FBA is not cheap by any means, and several hidden costs may hurt your monthly profit. 

Here are the costs associated with the FBA agreement:

1. Storage Fee – How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

As I mentioned earlier, if you opt for an FBA seller agreement, you will have to pay the storage cost as a part of the FBA fulfilment fees. It’s the amount you pay for using the space to keep your inventory at the Amazon warehouse. Even if you have a single item stored at the warehouse, you are liable to pay the cost to Amazon. 

When you pick the FBA, you are required to ship your inventory to the warehouse at your expense. The shipping cost will depend on the size and type of inventory and the carrier that you pick. 

Amazon offers two storage plans:

Monthly Storage 

As I said, Amazon will charge you on a monthly basis as long as you have your products inside the warehouse. The inventory is the only determining factor for Storage costs. Here is a breakdown:

Product Size / Duration	Jan-Sept	Oct-Dec
Standard Size	$0.83/cubic foot	$2.40/cubic foot
Oversized Products (<18x14x8 inches/ <20lbs)	$0.53/cubic foot	$1.20/cubic foot

Long-term storage

On the 15th of each month, Amazon goes through several inventory checks, including the product’s age inside the warehouse. The ones that are in store for longer than a year, will be charged a long-term storage fee, along with the monthly storage fee. 

A $6.90/cubic foot/0.15% of the unit cost long-term storage fee will be applicable. 

2. Fulfillment Cost – How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

Under the FBA agreement, you will be charged a certain amount of money as an order fulfilment fee. 

The fulfilment cost entirely depends on the shipping size and weight. Naturally, the smaller and lighter products will be easier to ship compared to the bigger ones. So the fulfilment fee varies according to the product size. 

You can check out the fulfilment fee structure below:

Product Size	Product Weight	Fulfilment cost/unit
Small StandardSize	6 oz or less	$3.07
6+ to 12 oz	$3.22
12+ to 16 oz	$3.77
Large StandardSize	6 oz or less	$3.72
6+ to 12 oz	$3.96
12+ to 16 oz	$4.75
1+ to 2 lbs	$5.40
2+ to 3 lbs	$6.08
3+ to 20 lbs	$6.44 + $0.32/lb above the first 3 lbs
Small Oversize Products	70 lbs or less	$9.39 + $0.40/lb above the first lbs
Medium Oversize Products	150 lbs or less	$13.37 + $0.46/lb above the first lbs
Large Oversize Products	150 lbs or less	$86.71 + $0.83/lb above the first 90 lbs
Special Oversize products	Over 150 lbs	$158.49 + $0.83/lb above the first 90 lbs

Fulfillment By Merchant – How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

Another way of selling is through FBM or Fulfilled by Merchant. In this agreement, your products are listed in the normal category, and you are responsible for storing the inventory, processing the orders, shipping, etc.

While you don’t need to pay the FBA cost, fulfilling the orders will require trained staff and a bunch of other resources. Also, you need to have storage to hold your inventory which may cost you a lot, especially if you have a lot of products to sell. 

In short, if you already have a fulfillment facility and a place to keep the inventory, FBM might be the profitable option for you, instead of FBA. 

Seller Fulfilled Prime

There is a third agreement called SFP, where the seller is responsible for order processing but must comply with Amazon’s 1-2 day delivery policy. In exchange, your items will be listed with the Amazon Prime logo, which we all know attracts a lot of customers. 

Again, if you own the storage and fulfillment centre, you can go with the SFP agreement but ensure you have good shipping partners that can deliver the orders to meet the deadlines. 

The Cost of Selling on Amazon – How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

In this section, I will talk about every possible expense you will have to bear from the moment you register to the point when you make a sale. 

Seller Account Cost

The first step towards becoming an Amazon seller is registering yourself as one. Amazon offers 2 types of seller accounts – Individual and Professional. 

1. Individual Account

For beginners. The best option is to start with an Individual account and see how things move from there. With this account, you will be charged $0.99 for each successful sale. Amazon will deduct the money from your credit card or seller account balance once the sale is completed. 

While the individual account gives a good opportunity to try things out, it doesn’t allow you to access the monthly sales reports and inventory tools. Additionally, you can’t dictate the shipping prices or use Amazon’s promotional and gift card services on your checkout page. 

2. Professional Account

A Professional account costs $39.99/month and gives you access to premium tools such as inventory access, monthly reports, promotional offers, etc. Amazon doesn’t take any cut from your completed orders. 

By simple mathematics, if you sell more than 40 items as an Individual seller, it’s time to go with the Professional account. The one-time is the only amount you will pay, and you are free to set some of your rules as you prefer. 

Which One Is Better for You?

The choice simply depends on the requirement and scale of your business. Mind you, a Professional account is a must to sell some expensive and luxury items on Amazon, such as watches, collectables items, videos, jewellery, and much more. Also, A professional account will allow you to set the shipping rates and collect sales tax, which can contribute to some income as well. 

So if you want to sell any of those products, you have no choice but to go with the Professional account. However, if you sell casual items and want to keep your expenditures low, you better start with an Individual account. 

Referral Fees

Amazon charges 2% to 15% of each order as a referral fee. All items have a set referral fee which you can check out on Amazon Seller Central’s official page. The referral fee will be deducted from the whole order amount, which includes shipping costs, gift wrapping charges, and so on. 

Usually, electronic items, computers, accessories, and jewellery have a higher referral fee compared to clothing, pet supplies, stationary, etc. 

Additional Costs – How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

Now, you are aware of all the direct costs you will have to pay while selling on Amazon. Let’s talk about some hidden costs that you need to know before you choose a product to sell and set up your inventory.

1. Return Order Costs

Amazon offers a very lenient, sometimes unconditional return policy, especially for Prime members. As a seller, it’s not very positive news for you since you have to pay a return fee for every valid return order processed. 

However, there are a few product categories for which no return processing fee is applicable. A few examples are:

• Luggage items (suitcases, handbags, etc.)
• Jewelry
• Watches
• Sunglasses

Apart from these exceptions, all return orders will cost you some money, primarily depending on the shipping weight. Here is a full return fee structure:

Size Category	Total Shipping Weight	Return Processing Fee
Small Standard Size Shipping	6 oz or less	$2.12
6+ to 12 oz	$2.23
12+ to 16 oz	$2.32
Large Standard Size Shipping	6 oz or less	$2.40
6+ to 12 oz	$2.76
12+ to 16 oz	$2.85
1+ to 2 lb	$2.96
2+ to 3 lb	$3.41
3+ lb to 20 lb	$3.41 + $0.20/lb above first 3 lbs
Oversize Shipping	Small Shipping	$4.19 + $0.20/lb above first 2 lbs
Medium Shipping	$10.57 + $0.25/lb above first 2 lbs
Large Shipping	$43.70 + $0.25/lb above first 90 lbs
Special Shipping	$75.08 + $0.25/lb above first 90 lbs

2. Inventory Disposal Cost

If, for any reason, you need to clear your inventory from the warehouse, there is a disposal fee to be paid for that. 

There are many reasons why you may want to remove some of your products from the Amazon warehouse. Here are a few:

• You are unable to sell the items and keep paying the long-term storage cost.
  
• Your products are reaching the expiry date.
  
• You keep receiving complaints regarding product quality.
  

Here is how you will be charged for the Inventory disposal fee:

Shipping Size	Shipping Weight	Disposal fee/unit
Standard Size Shipping	0 to 0.5 lb	$0.52
0.5+ to 1.0 lb	$0.75
1.0+ to 2.0 lb	$1.14
More than 2 lb	$1.51 + $0.63/lb above 2 lb
Oversize Shipping/Specially handled Items (Jewelry, watches shoes, delicate items, jewelry, etc)	0 to 1.0 lb	$1.50
1.0+ to 2.0 lb	$1.96
2.0+ to 4.0 lb	$2.89
4.0+ to 10.0 lb	$5.05
More than 10.0 lb	$7.25 + $0.63/lb above 10 lb

3. Closing Fee

Amazon charges a closing fee on certain media items such as games, audio, videos, etc. The standard closing fee per unit is $1.8. This will be charged on top of all other applicable fees. Here is a list of items:

• Music files
• Digital videos
• Books/eBooks
• Computer Programs/Software
• Computer games
• Gaming accessories
• Gaming Consoles 

Related Read:

• Best Amazon Seller Tools
• Selling on Amazon: Approved Product-Free Options in 2023
• Best Amazon FBA Podcasts
• Best Amazon Keyword Research Tools
• Amazon Listing Optimization
• Best Selling Amazon Categories For Sellers
• What Is Amazon FBA & How Does It Work?

Final Verdict: How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Amazon

E-commerce is full of possibilities, and no platform offers more than Amazon when it comes to selling online. Yes, the competition is stiff, and the initial expenses may overwhelm you. But, with proper analysis and financial planning, you can make your way toward a successful Amazon career. 

Some people believe you need to be financially strong in order to even begin on Amazon. This is not entirely true, yes, you need some capital, to begin with, but if you do things smartly, it’s not impossible. 

Here are some important tips:

• Start with the individual seller account, so you will be charged only when you make a successful sale.
• Before ordering the inventory, do product research and find a profitable product with the least amount of competition.
• Use a product research tool such as Helium 10, Jungle Scout, etc.
• If your budget allows, go for FBA and outsource most parts of your Amazon activities.