Amazon US FBA Fee Changes Beginning January 2022

Amazon announced their changes to FBA fees on November 16, 2021

Rate Increases to Hit Sellers in 2022

Amazon has recently announced that sellers can expect increased FBA fees starting on January 18, 2022. Amazon noted their efforts in postponing and keeping fee changes low throughout the pandemic, while still making investments necessary for their business has led to this increase.

Amazon stated in their 2022 US Referral and FBA Fee Changes Summary within Seller Central:

“As you’ve seen widely reported in the press and have likely experienced yourselves, costs are rising and we now need to make adjustments to next year’s fee structure in response. In 2022, we will adjust FBA fulfillment fees to partially offset the higher permanent operating costs we face going forward.”

The US Referral and FBA fee changes take effect on January 18, 2022, with exceptions where noted in each summary:

• 2022 US FBA Fulfillment Fee Changes
• 2022 FBA Monthly Storage Fee and Aged Inventory Surcharge
• 2022 Amazon Referral Fee Changes
• 2022 FBA Removal and Disposal Order Fee Changes
• 2022 FBA Small and Light Fee Changes

US FBA Fulfillment Fee Changes

Amazon details their fee changes for specific categories. For full details as well as product examples, refer to their official announcement.

• Core FBA fulfillment fees (excluding apparel)
• FBA fulfillment fees for apparel
• FBA fulfillment fees for dangerous goods

Below is the table provided in Amazon’s seller central fee change announcement showing the adjusted core FBA fulfillment fees (excluding apparel). They also state that “the greater of unit weight or dimensional weight will be used to calculate the shipping weight for all large standard-size units, excluding apparel”. In the post, they provide a section with more information to determine shipping weight. We recommend reading each part of the fee change announcement so you fully understand these changes.

Amazon provides product examples in their announcement to assist in understanding the new fee structure, such as the one below:

FBA Monthly Storage Fee and Aged Inventory Surcharge

Amazon details their fee changes for the FBA monthly storage fee as well as aged inventory surcharge.

• FBA monthly storage fees: Beginning on February 1, 2022, sellers can expect to see off-peak (January-September) monthly inventory storage fees increase by $0.08 per cubic foot for standard-size products and $0.05 per cubic foot for oversize products.
• FBA aged inventory surcharge: Beginning on May 15, 2022, there will be an aged inventory surcharge for units stored in fulfillment centers for 271 to 365 days.

The storage fee structure provided by Amazon:

The aged inventory surcharge structure provided by Amazon:

Amazon Referral Fee Changes

Amazon assesses referral fees every year to reflect industry costs as well as investments made. For 2022, referral fees for lawn mowers and snow blowers will be reduced from 15% to 8% for products over $500.

FBA Removal and Disposal Order Fee Changes

These fees are calculated once an order is placed and charged at the rate when the shipments leave Amazon fulfillment centers, so as long as a request is placed prior to January 18, 2022 the new FBA fees will not be applied.

The table below outlines the fees before the deadline compared to the increased fees for January 18^th and after. Review Amazon’s removal and disposal order fee changes announcement for full details.

FBA Small and Light Fee Changes

Amazon outlines the following changes taking effect for their Small and Light Fees:

• Increase in the weight limit for FBA Small and Light from 12 oz to 3 lb.
• The greater of unit weight or dimensional weight will be used to determine the shipping weight for all large standard-size units. Small standard-size units will use the unit weight.
• All other fees (i.e. storage fees, removal & disposal fees, etc.) will be charged as core FBA.

For eligibility updates and additional information on the Small and Light program, please refer to our recent update post.

With the constant updates in online marketplaces, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest changes. If you are a client looking for additional information, contact your strategist or if you are interested in learning more about how Retail Bloom can assist your brand efforts in online marketplaces, schedule a consultation with our team. 

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