Understanding what Amazon seller fees you can expect to pay on the platform is crucial to your bottom line.
If you’re paying more in fees than you’re making in profit, you have a problem.
You also need to be able to interpret your settlement statements to figure out exactly what charges you have paid and why, so that you can plan to minimize them as much as possible.
There are numerous Amazon marketplace fees; some apply to all sellers and some unique to those using Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).
In this blog, we break them down for you. You’ll find the Amazon seller fee structure by category, complete with the name of each fee or transaction, and a description of what it is.
Bookmark this list to anticipate your fees, interpret your statements, and raise any queries with the platform if you suspect there has been a mistake.
This guide on Amazon fees for sellers is part of our Amazon accounting hub, and breaks down the following categories with fees that relate to each:
- Amazon adjustment fees
- Amazon delivery and transport
- Amazon commission and selling fees
- Amazon fulfilment and warehousing
- Other Amazon selling transactions
- Other transaction Amazon capital services
- Promotion for Amazon selling
- Amazon refund and return fees
- Reimbursements from Amazon
- Amazon sales transactions
- Shipping products sold on Amazon
- Amazon subscription service fees
- Tax
Need help keeping track of your Amazon fees? Skip to the bottom to see how Fiflow for Amazon can make sense of all these transactions for you.
Having trouble estimating your fees before you sell? Try our Amazon fee calculator guide for the tools you need to plan for your Amazon seller fees.
Keen for a more detailed guide for the FBA program in particular, along with tips on keeping your FBA business profitable after fees? Check out the next blog in this hub series.
Amazon Seller Marketplace and FBA Fees Breakdown
| Amazon Adjustment Fees | |
|---|---|
| Adjustment Item Price Good Will | This is an amount issued to your customer by Amazon when there is a price change. This would only apply if the customer purchased an item on Amazon and the price drops within a week of their having bought it. |
| Adjustment Item Price Restocking Fee | Amazon sellers can charge a restocking fee when a buyer returns an item. For example, the adjustment item price restocking fee may occur when a buyer changes their mind about a purchase outside of the return window, or if the item has been taken out of its original packaging. The fee varies depending on the condition in which the product is returned, the circumstances, and the item type. Once you have figured out your restocking fee and have subtracted it from the refund total, this will provide you with your partial refund total to the customer. Full guidelines here. |
| Adjustment Promotion Principle | The Promotion Principal amount is the majority of the price customers pay for your product, excluding shipping and taxes. When your item price includes sales tax, your Principal is the price minus tax. Amazon will split the two to display tax as a separate item in your transaction details. |
| Other Transaction Balance Adjustment | A balance adjustment fee can be a reimbursement for a lost unit. This might occur when a customer does not return a unit, and then Amazon finds the unit (or it is finally returned by the customer). Amazon will reverse the initial reimbursement and file it under Other > Balance adjustment. |
| Amazon Delivery & Transport Fees | |
| Non-Amazon Order Shipment Fees, FBA Transportation Fee | This term was previously used as a replacement for the ‘Inbound Transportation Fee’. This is the amount you pay to ship your own items to Amazon, via their shipping label service. |
| Other Transaction Inbound Transportation Charge | ‘Inbound’ refers to the shipment that you send to Amazon. This could be coming from you, as an Amazon Seller directly, or from your manufacturer. |
| Amazon Commissions & Selling Fees | |
| Adjustment Item Fees Commission | Adjustment item fees are categorized by type and reason code. The code shows whether the adjustment to your item is an increase or decrease to your inventory, and whether it’s related to product changes, misplacement, ownership corrections, or found inventory. |
| Adjustment Item Fees Refund Commission | A retained fee Amazon charges to sellers on refunds. This amount is held back as a refund administration fee. |
| Refund Item Fees Commission | A fee charged by Amazon on refunded items. |
| Order Item Fees Commission | A fee charged by Amazon for ordered items sold on their platform. |
| Order Item Fees Gift Wrap Commission | If you’re an FBA seller and have enabled gift wrapping on your account as an option for your customers, Amazon will collect this fee and present it as your revenue. However, since Amazon does the gift wrapping service, they will receive a chargeback from you. |
| A to Z Guarantee Refund Item Fees Commission | The A to Z guarantee is offered to customers by Amazon when third party sellers are involved. It’s there to maintain their level of customer service and expectations, and takes into account things like delivery timeframes, the condition of the items, and returns. When the issue cannot be resolved between the third party seller and the customer, Amazon will step in – but they charge a commission to do so. |
| Amazon Fulfilment & Storage Fees | |
| Order Item Fees FBA Per Order Fulfilment Fee | This Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fee is a per order fee, based on the dimensions and weight of your total order. Determine your product categories and size tier to calculate the fulfilment fee. |
| Order Item Fees FBA Per Unit Fulfilment Fee | This Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fee is a per-unit fee, based on the dimensions and weight of each item. Determine your product categories and size tier to calculate the fulfilment fee. |
| Order Item Fees FBA Weight Based Fee | This Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fee is based on the weight of each order item. |
| Non-Amazon Order Item Fees FBA Per Order Fulfilment Fee | This Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fee is a per order fee, based on the dimensions and weight of your total order for non-Amazon items. |
| Non-Amazon Order Item Fees FBA Per Unit Fulfilment Fee | This Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fee is a per unit fee for non-Amazon items. |
| Non-Amazon Order Shipment Fees FBA Transportation fee | This Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fee is a shipment and transportation fee of your total order for non-Amazon items. |
| Other Transaction Storage Fee | A fee covering Amazon storage fees for your products. |
| Other Amazon Selling Transactions | |
| Order Item Fees Gift Wrap Charge-Back | Gift wrapping is optional for Amazon FBA sellers. If you opt for this, a buyer can select the gift wrap option at the checkout and pay for the additional service. Amazon will take care of the gift wrapping and charge-back the cost to you for this. |
| Order Item Price Gift Wrap | This is the price of gift wrapping on ordered items. |
| Refund Item Fees Gift Wrap Chargeback | This is the gift wrapping charge-back fee on refunded items. |
| Refund Item Price Gift Wrap | This is a gift wrapping fee on refunded items. |
| Refund Item Price Goodwill | This is a refund payment given to a customer as a gesture of goodwill. This could include an unhappy buyer with reasons Amazon deems as valid. In this situation, they will deduct the amount from either their own account or the seller’s, depending on the situation. |
| Refund Item Price Restocking Fee | This is a fee charged when a buyer returns an item. A restocking fee is a percentage of the item’s price. The amount varies depending on the type of product, its condition upon return, and when the item is returned. The restocking fee is deducted from the refund amount, resulting in a partial refund. |
| Other Transaction Current Reserve Amount | This is an accounts receivable amount that is held and then released following action from the seller, on your next statements. It should be allocated to either a suspense account or the Amazon Reserved Balances asset account in Xero. This occurs when Amazon withholds some or all of your settlement payments, because: Your credit card saved with Amazon is expired. There is an issue with validating your bank account in Seller Central. You are a new Amazon seller with no history. |
| Other Transaction Inventory Placement Service Fee | Amazon sometimes makes you split your inventory and send it to different fulfilment centres, which can get costly. This often applies when you ship small quantities. By activating the Inventory Placement Service Fee, you can send your shipment to a single designated warehouse, and Amazon will split up your inventory and distribute it accordingly. |
| Non-Amazon Order Shipment Fees Brand Neutral Packaging Service Fee | This is a fee you pay to Amazon for providing brand-neutral packaging on your non-Amazon orders when they’re shipped to your customers. |
| Non-Amazon Order Shipment Fees Multi Channel Fulfilment Brand Neutral Box Fee | This fee applies where you use Amazon’s logistics system to fulfil non-Amazon orders from other channels, such as your website. This also includes the fee for using a brand-neutral box. |
| Other Miscellaneous Event | Miscellaneous Amazon fees could include: Sending inventory to Amazon without proper labelling. If your sold item gets returned to Amazon and it qualifies for free returns, Amazon will charge you a processing fee for that return. If your inventory remains unsold and stored in an Amazon warehouse for longer than six months, you are able to request Amazon to return it and pay the removal orders fee. |
| Other Transactions Amazon Capital Services | |
| Other Transaction Payable to Amazon | This is the transaction amount owing to Amazon. If the amount is significant, Amazon will charge your credit card. If the amount is small, they will carry the debt into the next settlement and charge you for the amount you owe from the proceeds of your next settlement. |
| Other Transaction Disposal Complete | This is a fee Amazon charges for the service of disposing of your inventory. You can manually dispose of products yourself if an item does not sell and it’s cheaper to throw it away, or if you sell food products that have expired. |
| Other Transaction Removal Complete | Removal complete fees are charged per item removed. Removal completion typically takes 14 business days, and will appear in the ‘Payments’ report. |
| Other Transaction Previous Reserve Amount Balance | This is the reserved amount Amazon eventually releases and it will show on your statement as ‘Previous Reserve Amount Balance’, which can be coded to the suspense account in Xero. There will be a debit and a credit amount in the suspense account; these will cancel each other out. |
| Other Transaction Successful Charge | This Amazon charge is made via your credit card and it will be labelled as a ‘Successful Charge’ transaction. You will see it within a settlement or a single settlement only containing the ‘Successful Charge’ line. |
| Other Transaction Transfer of Funds Unsuccessful | This transaction occurs when a transfer of funds is not successful due to incorrect bank information provided or some other error. |
| Other Transaction Warehouse Prep | There are packaging and prep requirements for products you ship to and store in Amazon fulfilment centres. This transaction is for the FBA prep service to have your Amazon items packaged properly for fulfilment. This helps with reducing delays and protecting your product for shipment. |
| Promotion for Amazon Selling | |
| Order Promotion Principal and Refund Promotion Principal | “Promotion” (or discounts/refunds given to the customer) can be on “Principal”, otherwise known as the item being sold, or on Shipping. |
| Amazon Return, Refund and Reimbursement Fees | |
| FBA Inventory Reimbursement Customer Return | This is when Amazon reimburses you for a damaged item in which they take possession of it and try to recover a fee for it. Amazon may sell the product for a discounted price. |
| Other Transaction FBA Inventory Reimbursement Damaged: Warehouse | This is an amount Amazon will reimburse you for any items damaged at their warehouse. You can also request a reimbursement. |
| FBA Inventory Reimbursement Fee Correction | Buyers are able to return items which Amazon stores in their warehouse to either restock or resell. This is a reimbursement difference fee given by Amazon, if the buyer returns the incorrect product and the buyer has been refunded. |
| FBA Inventory Reimbursement Lost: Inbound | This is a reimbursement fee that Amazon will cover if an item you send to them as part of the Fulfilment by Amazon service is lost or damaged by a carrier operated on behalf of Amazon. |
| FBA Inventory Reimbursement Lost: Warehouse | This is a reimbursement fee that Amazon will cover if an item you send to the Amazon warehouse gets lost. |
| Other Transaction FBA Inventory Reimbursement | This may show up as: “REVERSAL_REIMBURSEMENT”. This happens when Amazon takes back the cash payment for a previous reimbursement and gives you inventory instead. |
| Other Transaction FBA Inventory Reimbursement | Appearing as: “WAREHOUSE_DAMAGE”. This is a reimbursement fee Amazon will cover if an item you send to the Amazon warehouse gets damaged. |
| Amazon Sales Transactions | |
| Adjustment Item Price Principal | The term ‘principal’ used by Amazon means the selling price of the item. This is the adjusted selling price for the item. |
| Order Item Price Principal | This is the selling price for the ordered item. |
| Refund Item Price Principal | This is the refunded selling price of your item. |
| A to Z Guarantee Refund Item Price Principal | This is the selling price amount of the refund to the buyer when the refund is handled by Amazon Pay. |
| Shipping Products Sold on Amazon Transactions | |
| Adjustment Item Fees Shipping Chargeback | This is a similar concept to the Gift Wrap Charge-Back fee. Amazon will take care of the shipping for you on the adjusted item, and remove the fee from your account with a charge-back to balance out the transaction. |
| Adjustment Item Price Shipping | This is an adjustment charge for shipping purchased through Amazon’s shipping service. These adjustment fees occur when a carrier charges additional shipping fees for your package. |
| Adjustment Item Price Shipping Tax | This an adjustment charge for shipping and handling tax. These adjustment fees occur when a carrier charges additional shipping fees for your package. |
| Adjustment Promotion Shipping | This is an adjustment for shipping based on a product promotion. |
| Order Item Fees Shipping Chargeback | Amazon will take care of the shipping for you on ordered item fees, and remove the fee from your account with a charge-back, to balance out the transaction. |
| Order Item Fees Shipping HB | This is also known as the Shipping Holdback Fee. You won’t need to cover this holdback if you use FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) and Amazon is shipping your items. This is a small fee added, based on the type of item and for using Amazon as a platform and service. |
| Order Item Price Shipping | This is a charge for shipping purchased through Amazon’s Shipping service. |
| Order Item Price Shipping Tax | This is a charge for shipping and handling tax. |
| Refund Item Fees Shipping Chargeback | Amazon will take care of the shipping for you on refunded item fees, and will remove the fee from your account with a charge-back to balance out the transaction. |
| Refund Item Fees Shipping HB | This is known as the Shipping Holdback Fee on refunded items. You won’t need to cover this holdback if you use FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) and Amazon is shipping your items. This is a small fee added, based on the refunded item, and for using Amazon’s platform and service/s. |
| Refund Item Price Return Shipping | A compensation fee to the customer for shipping when a buyer returns a refunded item. |
| Refund Item Price Shipping | A compensation fee to the customer for shipping on a refunded item. |
| Refund Item Price Shipping Tax | This is a charge for shipping and handling tax on a refunded item. |
| Refund Promotion Shipping | A refund on the price of a promoted item when it’s returned by the buyer. |
| Amazon Subscription & Service Fees | |
| Other Transaction Non-Subscription Fee Adjustment (Adj) | This fee could mean that Amazon hasn’t charged you what they should have as an Amazon seller on a non-subscription model. It could also mean they have overpaid you for something, and are now correcting this mistake. |
| Other Transaction Subscription Fee | There are various subscription models depending on what kind of seller you are. Individual sellers who sell under 40 units per month or do not have a monthly subscription fee are charged $1 per unit fee on every sale. Professional sellers pay $40 per month to receive full access to Amazon’s seller platform. The $1 per unit cost is removed in this case. Therefore, if you are selling more than 40 units per month, it makes sense to become a professional seller. |
| Other Transaction Subscription Fee Correction | This fee means that Amazon has either not charged you what they should have as an Amazon Seller on a subscription model or that they have overpaid you for something and are now correcting this mistake. |
| Amazon Taxes | |
| Adjustment Item Price Tax | Tax charges on an adjusted item. |
| Order Item Fees Sales Tax Service Fee | Sales tax charges on ordered items. |
| Order Item Price Gift Wrap Tax | Tax charges on gift wrapping on ordered items. |
| Order Item Price Tax or Order Retro Charge Item Price Tax | Tax charges on ordered items. |
| Refund Item Price Tax or Refund Retro Charge Item Price Tax | Tax charges on refunded items. |
Never Lose Track of Your Amazon Fees
The number of Amazon seller fees and transaction types can be overwhelming, not to mention the way the platform tracks them for you.
Amazon settlement statements are challenging to interpret and often span different months, leaving business owners to manually calculate what they actually paid and when.
Fiflow for Amazon captures each bank deposit and calculates all the fees that were taken before you received your final sum. Fiflow sends journal summaries of these breakdowns straight to your accounting software for easy reconciliation and reporting.
Fiflow also organizes your books via the accrual method, splitting statements out by month, so that you can not only report on your data, but forecast cash flow too.
Feel in control of your Amazon fees from the start with Fiflow for Amazon.
Start your free trial today!
Next in the Series…
This blog is part of the Fiflow Ecommerce Accounting Hub. Amazon FBA fees are a whole other topic, and that’s what we cover next.
Not using FBA? Skip to Amazon taxes to learn everything you need to know to prepare to file your taxes correctly.
Other Amazon Resources
- The Best Amazon Fee Calculators for 2022
- How to Reconcile Your Amazon Seller Statement
- Amazon Pay Accounting and Reconciliation with A2X