Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is one of the easiest and most scalable ways to grow your eCommerce business in the UK, as it gives you access to Amazon’s impressive logistics network and Prime customers. But this convenience comes with lots of fees and additional charges that might be flying under your radar.
Whether you’re just starting out or expanding your business, you need to get to grips with how Amazon calculates these fees so you can price your products effectively, protect your margins, and create strategies to reduce your FBA costs. With the right preparation and specialised help like our FBA Prep Service, you can get the best from FBA without paying more than you need to.
What is Amazon FBA?
Amazon FBA works by storing your inventory in an Amazon fulfilment centre, and then Amazon staff fulfil your orders. They also handle customer service and return processing for you too.
A big perk of using Amazon FBA is that your products are eligible for Amazon Prime shipping, which significantly boosts your visibility and sales.
Amazon FBA Calculator to Estimate Your FBA Fees
To calculate how much Amazon takes from sellers, you need to add up the fulfilment fees, storage fees, optional service fees and referral fees.
Each type of fee has different options and extra charges, which makes working out the real cost trickier than you might think. Knowing what’s included in each fee group helps you figure out your actual expenses and avoid paying too much.
Fulfilment Fees
Fulfilment fees cover the cost of picking, packing, and shipping your products to customers. Amazon charges a fulfilment fee each time a product is sold based on the size and weight of your items. The fees vary depending on whether you use Low-Price FBA Fulfilment or Regular FBA Fulfilment.
Quick View: Low-Price FBA Fulfilment vs Regular FBA Fulfilment
| Feature | Low-Price FBA Fulfilment | Regular FBA Fulfilment |
| Eligibility | Products priced £10 or less (including VAT) in the UK | All products, regardless of price |
| Size Categories | Envelopes and small parcels only | All size categories, including oversized items |
| Cost Structure for UK delivery | Light envelope: £1.46-1.70 Standard envelope: £1.73-1.87 Large envelope: £2.42 Extra-large envelope: £2.65 Small parcel: £2.67-2.70 | Light envelope: £1.83-2.08 Standard envelope: £2.10-2.16 Large envelope: £2.72 Extra-large envelope: £2.94 Small parcel: £2.91-5.10 Standard parcel: £2.94-5.77 Small oversize: £3.65 +£0.25/kg Standard oversize light: £4.67 +£0.24/kg Standard oversize heavy: £8.28 +£0.20/kg Standard oversize large: £6.20+£0.16/kg Bulky oversize: £11.53 +£0.31/kg Heavy oversize: £13.04 +£0.90/kg Special oversize: £16.22+ |
| Surcharged items | Apparel: Returns processing fee equals 50% of the fulfilment fee Dangerous Goods/Hazmat: Additional £0.10 per unit | Apparel: Returns processing fee equals 50% of the fulfilment fee Dangerous Goods/Hazmat: Additional £0.10/€0.10 per unit Pan-European Oversize: Surcharges ranging from €0.53-€5.50 based on size and destination High-Return Categories: Additional return processing fees for items exceeding category thresholds |
| Shipping Discounts | Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP): £0.01-£0.06 discount per unit for envelopes and small parcels | Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP): Discounts range by product size and weight: £0.01- £1.34 |
Low-Price FBA Fulfilment Fee Pricing
Low-price FBA is a cheaper fulfilment method for inexpensive, fast-moving products. In the UK, for example, a light envelope (under 80g) costs just £1.46 to fulfil, compared to £1.83 under regular FBA.
This option is ideal for sellers of:
- Low-cost accessories
- Small household items
- Beauty products
- Stationery and craft supplies
- Small toys and games
However, the strict price ceiling (£10 in the UK) means this option only works for budget-friendly products.
Regular FBA Fulfilment Fee Pricing
The standard fulfilment fee structure applies to regular-sized products that don’t fit the criteria for the Low-Price FBA programme. Fees start at £1.83 for light envelope items and go up depending on the product’s size and weight.
Regular FBA works well for most product types, including:
- Mid to high-priced electronics
- Kitchen appliances
- Furniture and homeware
- Sporting equipment
- Pet food and pet supplies
FBA Storage Fees
Storage fees are charged whether you sell your products or not. Amazon charges more the longer your stock sits in their warehouses, so there is a clear incentive for sellers to keep their inventory moving quickly.
Monthly Storage Fees
Amazon charges monthly storage fees based on how much space your stock takes up on average each day. The exact cost depends on:
- Season: You’ll pay more during October-December because of the holiday shopping rush.
- Product category: Clothing, shoes, and accessories have different rates than standard products.
- Hazardous materials: Dangerous goods (like aerosols or batteries) cost more to store.
Here’s a breakdown of current monthly storage fees:
| Product Type | Jan-Sep UK (£/ft³/month) | Oct-Dec UK (£/ft³/month) |
| Clothing, Shoes & Accessories | £0.56 | £0.75 |
| Dangerous Goods – Standard Size | £0.74 | £1.18 |
| All Other Categories – Standard Size | £0.76 | £1.37 |
| Dangerous Goods – Oversize | £0.64 | £1.01 |
| All Other Categories – Oversize | £0.50 | £0.79 |
Storage Utilisation Surcharge
If you are storing more stock than you are selling, Amazon might charge you a storage utilisation fee. They will work out a storage utilisation ratio, which compares how much space your units take up each day on average versus how much you are shipping out each day (based on the last 13 weeks). This fee is meant to encourage you to keep your stock in line with your sales.
They calculate this ratio separately for different product sizes. Clothing, eyewear, bags, luggage, jewellery and watches are excluded. For standard-size products, this surcharge ranges from £0.42/ft3/month to £2.29/ft3/month. For oversized products, this fee ranges from £0.12/ft3/month to £0.81/ft3/month.
Aged Inventory Surcharge (Previously Long-Term Storage Fees)
Amazon doesn’t want to become your permanent warehouse, so they charge extra for items that sit around too long. After 241 days (about 8 months), these additional fees kick in:
| Storage Period | UK Fee (£/ft3/month) |
| 241-270 days | £1.18 |
| 271-300 days | £3.14 |
| 301-330 days | £3.26 |
| 331-365 days | £3.41 |
| 365+ days | £5.71 |
Long-term storage fees for slow-moving items are profit-killers. If you have products that are unsold for more than a year (365+ days), you’ll pay more than seven times the standard storage rate!
There are some product exceptions to this surcharge including clothing, eyewear, bags, luggage, jewellery and watches. Media items like books, music videos, and DVDs are charged at £5.71 per cubic foot per month or £0.10 per unit (whichever is more) after 365 days too.
Optional Service Fees
Low-Level Inventory Fee
The Low-Level Inventory Fee kicks in for Pan-European FBA sellers when their inventory levels fall below 28 days’ worth of stock based on their recent sales.
This fee covers the added cost of redistributing stock across Europe when supply runs low. It ranges from €0.16 to €0.67 per unit, depending on the product size and how short your inventory is. The lower your stock, the higher the fee, so it pays to stay ahead with your inventory planning and forecast seasonal demand.
FBA Inbound Placement Service Fee
Pan-European FBA sellers also face extra charges if they are retailing oversized items when their inventory is stored in one country but sold in another. These cross-border surcharges are added because Amazon has to move the items across countries to meet customer demand.
The fees vary based on the size and weight of the product and the shipping destination, ranging from €0.53 to €5.50 per unit. This is something to keep in mind when deciding where to send your stock, especially for bulkier products.
Returns Processing Fees
When a customer sends something back, Amazon charges you to handle it. If the return is clothing or shoes, you’ll pay half the fulfilment fee. For other products, you’ll only be charged if your return rate is higher than normal for that category. High return rate products in all categories (excluding clothes and shoes) are charged between £1.70 and £34.84, depending on the size of the unit.
These fees cover things like checking and restocking the item. Writing clear product descriptions and selling high-quality products can help you to avoid high return rates.
Inventory Removal & Disposal Fees
Need to get your inventory out of Amazon’s fulfilment centre? Whether you want items returned to you, disposed of, or liquidated (sold at a discount), you’ll pay fees based on size and weight:
| Option | Standard-Size (0g-1.001kg+) | Oversize (0g – 5.001kg+) |
| Local return to seller | £0.49 to £1.92 +£0.76/kg | £2.05 to £10.01 + £0.76/kg |
| Disposal | £0.74 to £2.73 + £0.88/kg | £3.06 to £16.06 + £0.88/kg |
| Liquidation | £0.30 to £0.80 + £0.40/kg | £0.66 to £3.97 + £0.40/kg |
For liquidation, Amazon also takes 15% of the recovery value on top of these fees. Cross-border returns have additional charges also.
Manual Processing Fees
When you send inventory to Amazon’s fulfilment centres, they want to know exactly what’s inside each box. This is called box content information. If you don’t give them this info, Amazon has to open the boxes and check everything themselves, which takes time and resources.
They charge you a manual processing fee of £0.15 per unit to cover this extra work. It might seem like a small administration fee, but if you’re shipping hundreds or thousands of items, it can quickly become expensive. Providing accurate box content details upfront saves money and helps your inventory get processed faster once it arrives at Amazon.
Inbound Defect Fee
If your shipments don’t follow Amazon’s guidelines, you could be hit with defect fees. These seller fees apply when there are problems like missing labels, incorrect packaging, or your delivery shows up outside the scheduled time slot.
Amazon puts these rules in place to keep their fulfilment process running smoothly. Mistakes slow things down and create extra work, so non-compliant shipments end up costing you more. Taking the time to get everything right before you send it will save you from unnecessary fees.
Package Prep Fees
Don’t have time to prepare your products for Amazon’s strict requirements? They offer services to get your items ready for storage, but they come at a cost per unit:
| Service | Envelopes | Parcels | Oversize |
| Labelling | £0.38 | £0.78 | £0.94 |
| Bagging | £0.53 | £0.75 | £0.86 |
| Bubble wrap | £0.60 | £1.00 | £1.31 |
| Taping | £0.37 | £0.59 | £0.78 |
While handy, these services will eat into your margins. Most sellers find it more cost-effective to handle preparation themselves or use our FBA prep services.
Referral Fees
Amazon takes a referral fee every time a product is sold. This is Amazon’s commission for connecting you with buyers.
The percentage varies depending on what you’re selling, but most categories fall somewhere between 8% and 15%. Here’s the breakdown for some popular categories:
| Category | Referral Fee Percentage | Notes |
| Amazon Device Accessories | 45% | n/a |
| Beauty | 8-15% | 8% for items under £10, 15% for anything above |
| Books, Music, VHS and DVD | 15% | Plus an extra £0.50 closing fee per item |
| Clothing & Accessories | 8-15% | 8% for items under £15, 15% for £15-40. For products over £40, it’s 15% for the portion up to £40 and 7% above. |
| Toys & Games | 15% | A standard rate across the board |
| Jewellery | 20-5% | 20% up to £225, drops to 5% for the portion above £225 |
| Automotive | 15-9% | 15% up to £45, 9% on the portion above that |
Some categories get a bit more complicated with tiered pricing. For example, if you sell a £300 piece of jewellery, you’ll pay 20% on the first £225 (£45) and 5% on the remaining £75 (£3.75) – for a total of £48.75.
Amazon works out the applicable referral fee percentage based on the total sales price, which includes the item price, shipping costs, and any gift wrap. So, even if you charge extra for shipping, Amazon still takes a percentage of that too.
In the UK, the minimum referral fee is £0.25 per item, meaning you’ll pay at least that amount, no matter how cheap your product is.
If you’re selling in media categories like books, music, or DVDs, there’s also a fixed closing fee of £0.50 to £1.01 per item, added on top of the referral fee regardless of what the item sells for.
Amazon FBA Fee Changes for 2025
There have been some important updates for 2025 that will impact your total fees:
Oversize Fee Structure (NEW for 2025)
From 1 February 2025, Amazon has overhauled how it charges for oversized and bulky items under FBA. The number of product size tiers has been reduced from 30 to 17, making the structure easier to follow. The fees now consist of a base rate plus a fixed per-kilogram surcharge, depending on the size and weight of the item.
This change makes the fulfilment costs clearer and more predictable if you are selling larger products.
Light Envelope Size Tiers (NEW for 2025)
To reduce the variation in pricing for lightweight products, Amazon has introduced a new light envelope tier. This replaces previous small envelope tiers and standardises the fulfilment fees for lighter items.
Minimum Referral Fees for Oversized Items (NEW for 2025)
The minimum referral fee for heavy, non-sortable items has been reduced from £25 to £20, making it more affordable to sell large, lower-priced goods.
Aged Inventory Surcharge (UPDATED for 2025)
The Aged Inventory Surcharge now applies after 241 days (down from 271 days in 2024). This change means you’ll be charged sooner if products sit too long in Amazon’s warehouses. Exceptions still apply to certain categories like clothing and luggage, which have their own fee rules.
Pan-European FBA Oversize Surcharge (UPDATED for 2025)
If you’re enrolled in Pan-European FBA and selling oversized items across borders, you’ll now face a cross-border surcharge of €0.53 to €5.50 per unit. This adjustment reflects operational costs tied to transporting larger goods across borders and is newly structured for 2025.
Ways to Keep Your Amazon FBA Costs Down
With all these fees adding up, you might wonder if Amazon FBA is still worth it. The good news? With some smart strategies, you can trim those costs and keep more of your hard-earned money.
Keep on Top of Your FBA Inventory
- Not everything belongs in Amazon’s warehouses. That giant teddy bear might sell well, but the storage fees could eat your profits alive. Save FBA for smaller, faster-selling items.
- Once products hit the 241-day mark, storage fees skyrocket. Keep an eye on your inventory age reports and consider running a sale or removing slow movers before they become expensive paperweights.
- If Amazon flags items as unfulfillable (maybe the packaging got damaged), they’re still charging you for the warehouse space! Request removal or disposal ASAP.
- Sending in mountains of stock right before October’s storage fee increase? Maybe rethink that plan. Stagger your shipments to avoid paying premium rates for excess inventory.
Optimise Your Packaging & Product Dimensions
- Shrink your packaging where you can. Even shaving off a few centimetres can drop your product into a lower fee category.
- If you think your item is being charged at a rate that is too high, request a measurement review.
- If your product’s packaging is sturdy enough to ship without an extra Amazon box, you could qualify for the Ships in Product Packaging discount.
- Sell complementary items together as a bundle to cut your per-unit fulfilment fees.
Consider Amazon FBM
Sometimes the best strategy isn’t all-or-nothing. Many successful sellers use a hybrid approach of Amazon FBA and Amazon Fulfilled By Merchant (FBM):
- Choose FBA for your bestsellers, lightweight items, and seasonal products that capture those Prime shoppers.
- Look into how Amazon FBM works for bulky, heavy, or slow-moving inventory. Shipping your own products or using our Amazon FBM fulfilment service might make more financial sense.
Minimise Your Amazon FBA Fees With Delta Fulfilment
At Delta Fulfilment, we know the FBA fee structure inside and out, and we can help you work out what fulfilment approach will work best for you. Our team of experts has years of experience managing inventory for businesses of all sizes, from startups to established brands with thousands of SKUs.
Our Amazon Fulfilment Service makes sure your products meet Amazon’s exact requirements and helps you avoid costly rejections and manual processing fees. We’ll sort everything from labelling and packaging to bundling and quality control so your products arrive at Amazon’s fulfilment centres ready for sale.
We’d love to show you how much you could save with the right strategy. Contact us today to get a quote for your product range and business goals.
All prices mentioned in this blog post are based on the 2025 Amazon FBA Rate Card, effective from 1st February 2025. Amazon may update its fees at any time, so please refer to the latest information on Amazon Seller Central to confirm current pricing before making any decisions about using FBA.