What is Amazon FBA?
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) means Amazon stores your products, picks and packs each order, ships it, and handles customer service and returns. You send inventory to an Amazon fulfillment center and pay a per-unit fulfillment fee plus monthly storage; Amazon does the rest. The alternative is FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant), where you ship every order yourself.
What FBA takes over, in order:
- Storage in an Amazon fulfillment center after you send inventory in
- Picking and packing each order as it comes in
- Shipping to the customer, often next-day for Prime members
- Customer service for delivery questions on those orders
- Returns and refunds, including the physical handling of returned units
How does Amazon FBA work?
From the seller's side, FBA runs in six steps:
- List the product. In Seller Central you create the offer and choose Amazon as the fulfillment channel.
- Label and pack the units. Each unit needs a scannable barcode, either an Amazon FNSKU label or an eligible manufacturer barcode (see FNSKU or EAN?), and packaging that meets Amazon's prep rules.
- Send the inventory in. You create a shipment in Seller Central, Amazon names the fulfillment centers, and you book the inbound transport. What that costs is broken down in the cost to ship to Amazon FBA.
- Amazon receives and stores the units. After check-in they show as fulfillable. What the other statuses mean, from reserved to stranded, is explained in the 12 sorts of FBA inventory.
- A customer orders, Amazon delivers. Amazon picks, packs and ships the order, answers delivery questions and takes back returns.
- You get paid and restock. Amazon pays out your sales minus its fees. Keeping stock levels right stays your job.
You remain responsible for the listing, the price, advertising and restocking. The same FBA stock can also serve orders from your own shop or other channels through Amazon's Multi-Channel Fulfillment.
What does Amazon FBA cost in 2026?
FBA adds two fees to the costs every Amazon seller has: a fulfillment fee per unit sold and a monthly storage fee. The table shows the US rates as Amazon publishes them.
| Fee | What it depends on | US rate (checked 1 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Selling plan | Individual or Professional account | $0.99 per item sold, or $39.99 per month |
| Referral fee | Category, as a share of the sales price | 15% in the "Everything Else" category, minimum $0.30 per item; other categories differ |
| Fulfillment fee | Size tier, weight and price of the unit | Per unit, see Amazon's FBA rate card and Revenue Calculator |
| Storage, standard-size | Daily average volume in cubic feet | $0.78 per cubic foot (January to September), $2.40 (October to December) |
| Storage, oversize | Daily average volume in cubic feet | $0.56 per cubic foot (January to September), $1.40 (October to December) |
| Storage utilization surcharge | Only for Professional sellers whose first FBA shipment is more than 365 days old, with at least 25 cubic feet stored and more than 22 weeks of stock | From $0.44 (standard-size) or $0.23 (oversize) per cubic foot on top of the base rate, for units older than 30 days |
Sources: Amazon Seller Central help pages "Monthly inventory storage fees" and "Selling on Amazon fee schedule" (US), and sell.amazon.com/pricing, all checked on 1 October 2026. Amazon's European and UK marketplaces publish their own rates in euros and pounds.
Further charges can apply depending on how you run your stock:
- Aged inventory surcharge for units stored longer than 181 days
- Inbound placement service fee, depending on the placement option you choose
- Low-inventory-level fee when stock runs too low
- Removal and disposal fees when you take stock out
- Service fees for units that arrive without the required prep or labels
To get a real cost per unit, add fulfillment fee, referral fee, your share of storage and the inbound freight. The cost to ship to Amazon FBA walks through that calculation.
FBA vs FBM: which one fits?
| FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) | FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) | |
|---|---|---|
| Storage and shipping | Amazon | You or your logistics partner |
| Customer service and returns | Amazon, for FBA orders | You |
| Prime badge | Yes, for eligible products | Only through Seller Fulfilled Prime |
| Main costs | Fulfillment and storage fees per unit | Own warehouse, staff and carrier rates |
| Control | Amazon's packaging and process rules | Full control over stock, packaging and inserts |
| Typical fit | Small and mid-sized products that sell steadily | Bulky, slow-moving or made-to-order products |
You can mix both: FBA for your best sellers, FBM for items where Amazon's fees eat the margin.
Pros and cons of Amazon FBA
Advantages
- No own warehouse, packing staff or carrier contracts needed
- Fast delivery and the Prime badge on eligible offers
- Amazon handles delivery questions, returns and refunds
- Capacity grows with your sales without new infrastructure
Disadvantages
- Fees on every unit sold plus storage, with higher storage rates from October to December
- Extra charges for slow stock, such as the aged inventory surcharge
- Strict labeling, packaging and inbound rules
- Less control over packaging and the unboxing experience
- Amazon can limit how much stock you send in
What are the requirements for Amazon FBA?
- Seller account: FBA is open to Individual and Professional accounts.
- Active listing for every product you send in, with Amazon chosen as the fulfillment channel.
- Labels and packaging that meet Amazon's FBA prep requirements.
- Permitted products: items on Amazon's FBA product restrictions list are excluded, restricted categories need approval, and dangerous goods are reviewed separately.
- Legal compliance in every marketplace you sell in. In the EU this includes product safety rules and, for many products, a responsible person based in the EU (EC REP).
How does FBA work in Europe?
In Europe your FBA stock sits in Amazon's European fulfillment centers. To reach several marketplaces you have two options:
- European Fulfillment Network (EFN): you keep stock in one country and Amazon ships orders from other EU marketplaces cross-border from there. Simple, but slower and more expensive per order.
- Pan-EU: Amazon spreads your stock across several countries so orders ship locally. Faster delivery, but you become liable for VAT in every country where your stock is stored.
How Pan-EU works and what it requires is covered in Amazon Pan-EU and the step-by-step Pan-EU setup. The VAT side is explained in taxes for Amazon sellers.
Is there an alternative to running FBA yourself?
Yes. Besides FBM, brands can sell on Amazon without operating a seller account at all: as a vendor, where Amazon buys your products, or through a broker that buys your stock and sells it under its own account. SPACEGOATS works as such a broker. We buy your products at wholesale terms and run listing, pricing, FBA, VAT and customer service across 12+ Amazon marketplaces. The models are compared in the 4 Amazon selling models and in how to sell on Amazon without a seller account.
FAQ
What is Amazon FBA?
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is a service in which sellers send their products to Amazon's fulfillment centers. Amazon stores the units, picks, packs and ships each order, and handles customer service and returns for those orders. Sellers pay a fulfillment fee per unit sold plus monthly storage fees, and their FBA offers are eligible for Prime.
How does Amazon FBA work?
You list a product with Amazon as the fulfillment channel, label and pack the units to Amazon's requirements and ship them to the fulfillment centers Amazon assigns. When a customer orders, Amazon picks, packs and ships the item and handles any return. Amazon pays out your sales minus its fees.
What is an FBA seller?
An FBA seller is a third-party seller on Amazon whose offers are shipped by Amazon instead of by the seller. The seller still owns the stock, sets the price and manages listings, advertising and restocking. Amazon handles storage, shipping, delivery questions and returns. Many sellers run some products on FBA and others on FBM.
How much does Amazon FBA cost in 2026?
FBA costs have three main parts: a fulfillment fee per unit sold, based on size, weight and price; a monthly storage fee per cubic foot; and the referral fee every seller pays on each sale. In the US, Amazon lists base storage at $0.78 per cubic foot for standard-size items from January to September and $2.40 from October to December (checked 1 October 2026). Rates differ by marketplace.
What are the requirements for Amazon FBA?
You need an Amazon seller account on the Individual or Professional plan, an active listing for each product, and units labeled and packed to Amazon's FBA requirements. Products on Amazon's FBA restricted list cannot be sent in, some categories need approval first, and dangerous goods are reviewed separately.
What is the difference between FBA and FBM?
With FBA, Amazon stores and ships your inventory and handles customer service and returns for those orders. With FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant), you store and ship every order yourself or through a logistics partner. FBA offers can carry the Prime badge, but you pay fulfillment and storage fees. FBM gives you more control over stock, packaging and costs and only reaches Prime through Seller Fulfilled Prime.
Is Amazon FBA worth it?
FBA usually pays off for small and mid-sized products that sell steadily, where fast Prime delivery matters to buyers and the fees still leave a margin. It is less attractive for bulky or heavy items with high fulfillment fees, slow movers that build up storage and aged inventory charges, and products with very thin margins. Compare FBA and your own fulfillment per product in Amazon's Revenue Calculator before you send stock in.
Can I switch from FBM to FBA later?
Yes. You can change an existing listing to FBA in Seller Central at any time and then send inventory in. If you want to keep selling from your own stock while the FBA units are on their way, list the same product under a second SKU for FBA.
Summary
FBA hands storage, shipping, customer service and returns to Amazon for a fee per unit plus monthly storage, and it fits products that sell steadily and are not too bulky. Check the fees for your marketplace first, and in Europe decide early between EFN and Pan-EU, because Pan-EU brings VAT registrations with it.
Ready to scale on Amazon? SPACEGOATS handles your full FBA operations across 12+ marketplaces, from listing setup to PPC to compliance. Explore our Amazon Broker Service, see how SPACEGOATS compares to an Amazon agency, or book a free consultation.