Advice on how to cut down on Amazon Fees?
Out of $2,012 product charges, amazon fees is almost 50% at $927. I’m only getting $1,087 and that before I pay my suppliers. This is killing my business! Any advice on how to cut down on Amazon Fees? FYI, I have a professional account.
Advice on how to cut down on Amazon Fees?
Out of $2,012 product charges, amazon fees is almost 50% at $927. I’m only getting $1,087 and that before I pay my suppliers. This is killing my business! Any advice on how to cut down on Amazon Fees? FYI, I have a professional account.
18 replies
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY
Knowing what the fees are is the first step that should be taken BEFORE beginning to sell.
Seeing as you are suprised by the fees it is inferred that you did not do due dillagance prior to selling.
I would recommend using seller central to learn how to navigate the system before spending money on inventory, prep/label, and shipping
Seller_TmcUzqrd8iU7t
Our sales are almost identical, but our fees are significantly less. We are FBM, professional account.
Seller_waD5es6ha7259
Here is how I keep track of everything. While it doesn't specifically cut down of fees, it does help to manage them. By adjusting the price and keeping track of the average shipping fees you can estimate your profit on each ASIN. Also, by knowing Amazon generally charges 15% in fees (certain categories have additional fees) you can max your price before the fee goes up. If you offer free shipping then the Ship & handle column is $0. If someone orders express shipping then that gets added into that column. The cost of the ship label goes in the ship label column.
Seller_9Uf78DYSZ2lcW
To avoid Amazon Fees, you simply Sell somewhere else.
BUT, you are going to be paying at least some fees on any platform you sell on.
To make money you are going to have to spend money.
You also need to do lots of research to figure out what items you will be able to sell for a high enough price to make it financially profitable to sell. Amazon does provide calculators to help you estimate the amazon commission as well as FBA fees but there is a lot to take into account and the first couple years on Amazon, many new sellers realize they are loosing money because they didn't realize how expensive running a business can be.
Make sure you are selling in a niche that you are super knowledgeable about and that you are passionate about your business. If your business plan was simply to sell stuff on Amazon, well I'm sorry, that isn't really a business plan. A far better way is to start a business all about whatever your passion is. Make sure your business exists separate from your Amazon account. As in make your own web site or have a store or other outlets and then branch out to selling on other platforms like Amazon.
And what @Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY said. Good Point about FBM from @Seller_TmcUzqrd8iU7t and @Seller_waD5es6ha7259 is sharing some really great advice on using a spreadsheet to track the financial stuff.
Seller_LAhuiXJ4eMubd
Best way to avoid Amazon fees is to not sell on Amazon.
Seller_0EBsyUMvixIPH
Fulfill by merchant. Also, if you're a private label with a great reviews, you can get away with increasing your prices. Lower volume but higher profits. In other words, less work but more money.
Seller_byryJBPFKi3dR
This graph most likely means that you are selling a product that you cannot price high enough to make a good profit.
Remember that FBA/shipping costs are are fixed. You pay, for example, $3.97 for a certain size/weight of a product regardless of whether you sell it for $10, or $100.
So when you choose which product to sell, you need to take the fixed costs into consideration. One option is sometimes to bundle multiple items together so you can sell at a higher price, but still keep the same FBA/shipping cost.
Seller_HjfyVYcuJdbTf
I am a fairly new seller. They surprised me too.
Note, the fees charged in the current billing period are not just for your current Sales ($2,149.29).
I know plenty of people are saying don't do FBA, but take a look at your actual fees. I pay practically nothing for storage.
The vast majority of the "Amazon Fees" for an FBA seller are for shipping items to AMZ.... which will soon include the Placement Service Fees they show on our Shipment workflow (but won't bill us until mid-April for what they've been charging us for all month).
To see your detailed fees and all, click the Transactions link (shown below) and change the filters to show more dates at the top. You can export it as an Excel/CVS file as well.
Hmmm, why is everyone's "Net Proceeds" so much lower than mine? AMZ has been keeping a hefty amount in that for me. I have not been able to pay myself even close to the entire amount. It keeps $6-9k in there.
Seller_u3ulvhXpfX7Wt
Diversify. Amazon has the highest fees. We sell on 4 different platforms. Only two of them have fees. We do prefer Amazon though, even though they can sometimes be a royal pain with all the BS that goes on here.
Seller_8bKTbjGobJoAL
Yeah, leave Amazon. As Corporal Hicks said, "It's the only way to be sure"
