Amazon Seller Fees Are Raising in January 2023: By How Much?

Over 91% of Amazon sellers use FBA to fulfill some or all of their orders. Amazon sellers can use FBA to stock, pack, and ship their products, but Amazon doesn’t do this for free.

In the past years, Amazon has postponed and attempted to keep fee changes low by reducing or eliminating certain fees like customer returns, but starting in 2022 some of those fees were put back onto sellers, particularly FBA fulfillment fees, and we will see this continue into 2023. As fuel prices and inflation pressures have influenced the global economy, Amazon is continuing to increase many fees to U.S. referral and Fulfillment by Amazon.

This blog will give an overview of upcoming fees that Amazon sellers can expect in 2023.

When Do Amazon Seller Fees Increase?

Starting on January 17, 2023, FBA fulfillment fee changes will be taking effect. FBA fulfillment fees are calculated and charged when shipments leave Amazon fulfillment centers. This means that if a product is shipped on or after January 17th, the new FBA fulfillment fees will apply.

But you won’t see that impact until your next payout. Every 14 days, Amazon takes a cut from your payout and can hold funds from each sale up to seven days after a product is received. In theory, there can be an additional three to five days for you to get those funds in your bank account.

Further Reading: 10 Hidden Fees on Amazon

Amazon Seller Fulfillment Fee Changes in 2023

Sellers have been through it all: COVID, supply chain bottlenecks, and labor market challenges, but overall continue to achieve great success. In 2021, over 3.8 billion products were sold by US-based sellers on Amazon. That’s 7,400 products per minute, and during that time, US fulfillment capacity for Amazon more than doubled.

There are a variety of types of Amazon seller fees that you might have to pay when you sell products on Amazon:

FBA fees
Fuel and inflation surcharge
Referral fees
Minimum referral fees
Closing fees
Storage fees

Fees vary based on the type of seller, item category, and price of sale.

On January 17, 2023, the change will impact the following fulfillment fees: FBA outbound fee, Apparel products, off-peak storage fees, storage utilization surcharge, a surcharge on inventory stored between 180-270 days, and removal and disposal fees.

It is important to note that Amazon has removed the separate Fuel & Inflation Surcharge, and that cost is now seen in standard FBA fee rates instead.

The following section will break down the general changes to fees and any additional call-outs. For a full breakdown of the 2023 U.S. FBA fulfillment fee changes, check out Amazon’s Seller Central article.

1. FBA Outbound Fee

The FBA outbound fee rates will be increasing by $0.22 on average. This is being added alongside more granular weight tiers for FBA outbound fees to match current shipping costs.

Taking effect on February 16, 2023, Apparel products will now use the greater unit weight or dimensional weight to calculate the shipping weight for all category large standard-sized products.

2. Reduced Returns Processing Fees for Apparel and Shoes

Apparel and Shoe product categories will have reduced return processing fee rates for customer-returned products by an average of $0.20 per return.

3. Increase in Storage Fees

Off Peak and Peak Storage Fees

Amazon will be increasing monthly off-peak and peak storage fees for standard-sized products.

Off Peak (January – September): increase of $0.04 per cubic foot
Peak (October – December): increase of $0.20 per cubic foot for non-sortable network

New Storage Utilization Surcharge

On April 1, 2023, there will also be a new storage utilization surcharge will be added for sellers who have a high cube of inventory stored in fulfillment centers relative to the cube of recent weekly sales. This will impact around 8% of sellers with the highest volume of storage relative to sales volume.

New Aged Inventory Surcharges

There will be an increase in surcharges applied to inventory that is stored between 271-365 days AND starting on April 15, 2023 there will be a new surcharge will be introduced, the aged inventory surcharge. This will happen with inventory stored between 180-270 days, excluding products categories such as Apparel, Shoes, Bags, Jewelry, and Watches.

4. Increase in Removal and Disposal Fees

Amazon will be increasing remove and disposal fees, though liquidation fees will not be altered.

Reduced Fees in Amazon in 2023

Amazon has removed the Fuel & Inflation Surcharge, and has also lowered fees in the following programs:

U.S. FBA New Selection Program will get an increased rebate on sales for eligible new-to-FBA parent ASINs.
Small and Light Program will have reduced fees as this program is expanding.

Additional FBA Seller Fees & Costs

In addition to increased FBA fulfillment fees, there are many other Amazon seller costs and fees that should be carefully considered when creating goals and making a budget for 2022.

Return Processing Fees

Many items bought on Amazon during the holidays have an extended holiday return period until January 31, 2023. Sellers should get an automatic reimbursement from Amazon for all returns within 45 days. Up until 45 days after January 31st, you should be extra vigilant that you are getting reimbursed for returned products. This will help you make up for any lost holiday costs and fees associated with an increase in FBA fulfillment fees.

Further Reading: E-Commerce Returns

Monthly Storage Fees

The good news is that, as usual, product storage fee prices go down from January to September. There are a few different values used to calculate your monthly storage fee, including:

Product size tier
Current month
Product volume
Average daily units

Be sure to regularly calculate your monthly storage fees to be sure you are optimizing your sales and take out unnecessary items in storage.

Further Reading: Avoiding Long-Term Storage Fees

What You Can Do About Increased Fees

As an FBA seller on Amazon, there is not much you can do about FBA fulfillment fees increasing, but you can optimize your strategy around the categories, sizes, and success of the items you are selling to improve profitability.

With a third-party solution like Feedvisor, you can run reports and look at your performance dashboard to identify your high-performing listings, underperforming listings, and unprofitable items. If you have unprofitable items with an FBA fulfillment fee that is increasing, it may be time to liquidate your stock for that item as soon as you can so as not to deplete your resources, pay hefty fees and ultimately prevent your full growth potential.

Whether or not you have a third-party solution that makes it easy to quickly look at SKU performance, an increase in fees is always a sign to review your current strategies to be sure you are optimizing your product investment strategy on Amazon and across e-marketplaces.

About the Author

Rachel Van Clepper is a content marketing writer for Feedvisor, where she contributes to the company’s content marketing initiatives. Before joining Feedvisor, she was a senior content marketing writer for a nonprofit software company.

Final Thoughts

Hidden fees can add up, and at the end of the day, your goal as an Amazon seller is to make a profit. Understanding the expected payments and costs can help you keep your bottom line.

Are you having trouble keeping track of all of your SKUs? Not sure how to track or determine which products are still profitable? Feedvisor’s price optimization and intelligence platform help you keep track of what items are making you money and which items to remove to increase profit margins.

Want to see it in action? Try Feedvisor free for 30 days.

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Amazon Seller Fees Raise This Month: What to Know

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