.fba-header { background-color: #232f3e; color: #ffffff; padding: 25px; text-align: center; }
.fba-header h2 { margin: 0; font-size: 28px; }
.fba-container { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; padding: 20px; gap: 20px; }
.fba-inputs { flex: 1; min-width: 300px; background: #f7f7f7; padding: 20px; border-radius: 8px; }
.fba-results { flex: 1; min-width: 300px; padding: 20px; border: 2px solid #febd69; border-radius: 8px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: center; }
.fba-group { margin-bottom: 15px; }
.fba-group label { display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px; }
.fba-group input { width: 100%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 4px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; }
.fba-btn { background-color: #ff9900; color: #000; border: none; padding: 15px; width: 100%; border-radius: 4px; font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; font-size: 18px; transition: background 0.3s; }
.fba-btn:hover { background-color: #e68a00; }
.res-row { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; padding: 10px 0; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; }
.res-row:last-child { border-bottom: none; }
.res-label { font-weight: 600; }
.res-value { font-weight: 700; color: #111; }
.profit-pos { color: #2e7d32; }
.profit-neg { color: #d32f2f; }
.fba-article { padding: 30px; border-top: 1px solid #ddd; }
.fba-article h3 { color: #232f3e; border-bottom: 2px solid #ff9900; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 15px; }
.fba-article p { margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify; }
.fba-article ul { margin-bottom: 15px; }
@media (max-width: 600px) { .fba-container { flex-direction: column; } }
Understanding Amazon FBA Profitability
Selling on Amazon through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is an excellent way to scale an e-commerce business, but understanding your true margins is critical. Many sellers focus solely on the selling price and forget the layered costs that Amazon deducts from every transaction.
The Core Components of FBA Math:
- Referral Fees: This is essentially Amazon's commission for letting you sell on their platform. For most categories, this is 15% of the total selling price.
- Fulfillment Fees: These fees cover the cost of picking, packing, shipping, and providing customer service for your products. This varies based on the dimensions and weight of the item.
- COGS (Cost of Goods Sold): This includes the manufacturing cost of your product.
- Inbound Shipping: The cost to send your inventory from your warehouse or supplier to an Amazon Fulfillment Center.
A Practical Example
Imagine you are selling a yoga mat for $40.00. Your manufacturing cost is $12.00, and it costs $2.00 to ship it to Amazon's warehouse. Amazon charges a 15% referral fee ($6.00) and a fulfillment fee of $7.50 based on the mat's size.
Total Expenses = $12.00 (COGS) + $2.00 (Ship) + $6.00 (Referral) + $7.50 (FBA) = $27.50.
Your Net Profit would be $40.00 – $27.50 = $12.50. This represents a 31.25% profit margin and an 89.2% ROI on your initial product investment.
How to Improve Your Margins
If your ROI is below 20%, you may need to reconsider your sourcing or pricing strategy. To increase profit, consider reducing packaging dimensions to drop into a lower FBA weight tier, or negotiating better rates with suppliers for higher volume orders. Always keep an eye on seasonal storage fees, which increase significantly during Q4 (October–December).
function calculateFBA() {
var sPrice = parseFloat(document.getElementById('sellPrice').value);
var pCost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('prodCost').value);
var sCost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('shipCost').value);
var fFee = parseFloat(document.getElementById('fbaFee').value);
var rPerc = parseFloat(document.getElementById('referralPerc').value);
// Validation
if (isNaN(sPrice) || sPrice 0) ? (netProfit / investment) * 100 : 0;
// Display Results
document.getElementById('outReferral').innerText = '$' + referralAmount.toFixed(2);
document.getElementById('outTotalExp').innerText = '$' + totalExpenses.toFixed(2);
var profitEl = document.getElementById('outProfit');
profitEl.innerText = '$' + netProfit.toFixed(2);
if (netProfit >= 0) {
profitEl.className = 'res-value profit-pos';
} else {
profitEl.className = 'res-value profit-neg';
}
document.getElementById('outMargin').innerText = margin.toFixed(2) + '%';
document.getElementById('outROI').innerText = roi.toFixed(2) + '%';
}