Selling on Amazon using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a powerful way to scale an e-commerce business, but the fee structure can be complex. To ensure your business is sustainable, you must account for every cost before sourcing a product.
Key Metrics in FBA Calculation
Cost of Goods (COGS): The total price paid to the manufacturer per unit, including manufacturing and quality inspections.
Amazon Referral Fee: Essentially a commission Amazon charges for every item sold. For most categories, this is 15% of the total sales price.
FBA Fulfillment Fee: This covers picking, packing, and shipping your product to the customer. This fee varies based on the size and weight of your item.
Inbound Shipping: The cost to ship your inventory from your warehouse or supplier to an Amazon Fulfillment Center.
Example Calculation
Suppose you sell a yoga mat for $40.00. Your costs are as follows:
Experienced Amazon sellers generally aim for a minimum profit margin of 25-30% after all expenses. This provides a buffer for unexpected costs like returns, storage fee increases, or aggressive PPC bidding wars. Using an FBA profit calculator helps you identify "winning" products before you invest thousands of dollars in inventory.
function calculateFBA() {
var salePrice = parseFloat(document.getElementById('salePrice').value) || 0;
var unitCost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('unitCost').value) || 0;
var shippingToAmazon = parseFloat(document.getElementById('shippingToAmazon').value) || 0;
var fbaFee = parseFloat(document.getElementById('fbaFee').value) || 0;
var referralPercentage = parseFloat(document.getElementById('referralPercentage').value) || 0;
var otherCosts = parseFloat(document.getElementById('otherCosts').value) || 0;
if (salePrice 0) ? (netProfit / unitCost) * 100 : 0;
// Display Results
document.getElementById('fba-results').style.display = 'block';
document.getElementById('resTotalFees').innerHTML = '$' + totalAmazonFees.toFixed(2);
document.getElementById('resTotalExpenses').innerHTML = '$' + totalExpenses.toFixed(2);
var profitElement = document.getElementById('resNetProfit');
profitElement.innerHTML = '$' + netProfit.toFixed(2);
if (netProfit >= 0) {
profitElement.className = 'result-value profit-positive';
} else {
profitElement.className = 'result-value profit-negative';
}
document.getElementById('resMargin').innerHTML = profitMargin.toFixed(2) + '%';
document.getElementById('resROI').innerHTML = roi.toFixed(2) + '%';
// Smooth scroll to results on mobile
if (window.innerWidth < 600) {
document.getElementById('fba-results').scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth' });
}
}