Stop Overpaying: How Sellers Can Lower Amazon Fees

amazon sellers fee
  • Posted On: November 7, 2025

Selling on Amazon gives brands instant access to a massive customer base, but it also comes with complex costs that quietly reduce margins.

Understanding the Amazon sellers fee structure is essential for staying profitable, especially when scaling across multiple SKUs and fulfillment models.

From storage and shipping to restocking and referral charges, every small fee impacts your bottom line.

Sellers who monitor and manage these costs gain a competitive edge by running leaner, more efficient operations that don’t sacrifice delivery speed or customer experience.

At Newl, we help sellers optimize logistics and fulfillment to minimize unnecessary Amazon costs while maintaining top-tier performance.

Let’s explore what drives these fees and how smart logistics strategies can bring them down.

Understanding Amazon’s Fee Structure

To reduce costs, sellers first need to understand where each Amazon fee originates.

The platform charges for multiple services including fulfillment, warehousing, and transaction management, each with different conditions and rates.

The most common include:

  1. Amazon FBA fee – covers storage, packaging, and order fulfillment.
  2. Referral fee – a percentage of the product’s sale price.
  3. Amazon restocking fee – charged when a buyer returns an item in less-than-new condition.
  4. Amazon merchant fees – associated with selling, payment processing, and customer service.

Each of these can fluctuate based on product size, weight, and season. Without a clear strategy, costs can quickly outpace revenue.

That’s why controlling fees is less about cutting corners and more about creating operational balance, where your storage, fulfillment, and logistics align with your sales patterns and margins.

How to Reduce Amazon Sellers Fee in 2025

amazon sellers fee at a warheouse

Reducing Amazon-related costs starts with data awareness and smarter logistics planning.

Sellers who use the right tools and combine Amazon’s ecosystem with external fulfillment partners can significantly lower total expenses.

Below are five practical strategies to reduce the Amazon sellers fee without compromising quality or customer experience.

1. Use the Amazon Fee Calculator for Accurate Planning

The Amazon fee calculator helps sellers understand all cost components before finalizing product listings.

It provides real-time insights into how pricing, dimensions, and fulfillment methods affect profitability.

How to use it effectively:

  1. Compare costs between FBA and self-fulfillment models.
  2. Test how product packaging or weight adjustments affect margins.
  3. Review all costs regularly to anticipate seasonal fee changes.

By using the calculator as part of your pricing strategy, you can avoid unexpected deductions and set smarter product prices.

Understanding your fees upfront allows for proactive decisions instead of reactive cost management.

2. Combine FBA and Third-Party Fulfillment

Amazon FBA offers convenience but often at a premium.

By complementing FBA with a trusted third-party logistics provider, sellers can balance speed and cost efficiency.

Advantages of hybrid fulfillment:

  1. Lower storage and handling fees for long-term inventory.
  2. Flexible fulfillment for non-Amazon sales channels.
  3. Greater control over shipping timelines and packaging.

External 3PL partners like Newl provide scalable warehousing solutions that help you reduce reliance on FBA and manage your own costs without losing delivery reliability.

A hybrid model gives you the freedom to stay fast while spending smarter.

3. Reduce Returns and Amazon Restocking Fees

Returns can quickly erode profit margins, especially when they trigger the Amazon restocking fee.

By tightening quality control and improving product presentation, sellers can lower return volumes and maintain consistent profit.

Tips to minimize return-related costs:

  1. Inspect inventory before it enters the fulfillment stream.
  2. Include clear product descriptions and images.
  3. Track return reasons to identify recurring issues.

Addressing the root causes of returns reduces both the number of refunds and the associated restocking charges.

Managing product quality proactively leads to fewer deductions and better customer satisfaction.

4. Audit FBA Storage and Long-Term Costs

Amazon’s FBA storage fees can escalate quickly, especially for slow-moving SKUs.

Long-term storage incurs higher monthly costs, often cutting into profitability without sellers noticing.

To prevent this:

  1. Regularly analyze your inventory age reports.
  2. Transfer excess stock to external warehouses like Newl’s facilities.
  3. Adjust restocking frequency based on real-time sales data.

Keeping your Amazon storage lean helps lower ongoing costs and prevents long-term charges from piling up.

Smarter storage management keeps fulfillment efficient while protecting your margins.

5. Review Pricing Against Amazon Merchant Fees

For merchant-fulfilled sellers, Amazon merchant fees include transaction, payment processing, and service costs.

Reviewing your pricing model regularly ensures these charges don’t quietly shrink your profits.

Key strategies:

  1. Compare courier and packaging rates periodically.
  2. Automate shipping label generation and cost tracking.
  3. Adjust prices based on total landed cost, not just product value.

Aligning your prices with actual operating costs allows you to remain competitive while maintaining profitability.

Regular pricing reviews help you stay ahead of shifting fees and protect long-term margins.

Newl: Reducing Amazon Fees Through Smarter Fulfillment

At Newl, we help Amazon sellers build leaner, more cost-efficient fulfillment systems.

By combining strategic warehousing, optimized freight, and transparent cost structures, we empower sellers to reduce their Amazon sellers fee while improving speed and reliability.

Our approach includes:

  1. Multi-location warehousing for faster regional delivery.
  2. Flexible fulfillment that integrates directly with Amazon and other platforms.
  3. Lower handling and storage rates than FBA.
  4. Dedicated account support for cost visibility and optimization.

Newl’s logistics model gives Amazon sellers full control over their fulfillment costs without compromising delivery standards or customer experience.

Reach out today for a quick quote!

Final Thoughts

Reducing the Amazon sellers fee is about visibility and choice.

When sellers understand each cost, whether it’s the Amazon FBA fee, restocking fee, or merchant service charge, they can make smarter fulfillment decisions that protect their margins.

Tools like the Amazon fee calculator make cost forecasting easier, while external logistics partners like Newl help maintain fast, affordable, and scalable fulfillment outside Amazon’s high-fee ecosystem.

Smart logistics planning doesn’t just cut expenses, it builds a stronger, more sustainable business.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does the Amazon sellers fee include?

It covers FBA, storage, referral, and transaction fees tied to each product’s size, weight, and category.

2. How does the Amazon fee calculator help sellers?

It provides detailed cost breakdowns for every product so you can plan prices and fulfillment methods effectively.

3. What is the Amazon restocking fee?

A charge applied when a customer returns a product that isn’t in new condition or complete packaging.

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