Essential Amazon Seller Fees Every Exporter Must Know
For Indian businesses, selling globally through Amazon is a game-changer. It’s a surefire way to multiply your sales and reach customers in the US, Europe, West Asia, and beyond—markets that were once out of reach. Indian products like handicrafts and textiles are in high demand worldwide. Amazon’s Global Selling program helps bridge the gap, connecting Indian sellers with global buyers.
With Amazon’s Global Selling program, Indian businesses can now tap into these massive international markets. But, as with anything this impactful, it comes with several complexities and risks, including high costs. In this blog, we’ll break down the Amazon seller fees you need to know about and share tips to help you maximise your earnings on the platform.
Let’s dive in!
How Does Amazon Global Selling Work?
Amazon Global Selling opens up opportunities for Indian exporters to sell in regions like the US, UK, West Asia, and more. Here’s how you can get started:
- Create a Selling Account:
Start by creating a selling account for the region you want to sell in. For example, to sell in the US, you’ll need a North America and Brazil unified selling account. While setting up your selling account, you also need to select your payment option. You can either opt for Amazon’s currency version services or use third-party platforms like Skydo, Payoneer or Ping Pong to receive your international payments. We will discuss this in detail in the later part of the blog. - Choose Your Products:
Decide which of the products you want to sell in each region and ensure they meet the necessary tax, compliance, and safety requirements. - List Your Products:
Once you’ve sorted the legalities, list your products in the chosen region's Amazon marketplace. - Ship Your Inventory:
When selling on Amazon’s international marketplaces, you have two ways to manage shipping:
a. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA):
With FBA, Amazon handles storage, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. Sellers send their inventory to Amazon’s fulfilment centres worldwide, and Amazon manages the rest. This option also makes products eligible for Prime shipping, which can improve delivery speed and customer experience.
b. Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN):
With MFN (Self-Ship), sellers list products on Amazon’s international marketplaces but manage inventory in India and ship directly to customers abroad. This approach offers more control over logistics, costs, and delivery methods but also requires handling packaging, shipping, customer service, and returns independently. - Manage Your Sales with Amazon Tools:
Use Amazon’s tools to manage your inventory, monitor orders, and streamline your operations.
Amazon Seller Fees: What Does It Cost to Sell Globally?
Growing your Amazon business globally comes with incredible opportunities—but also a price tag. There are several types of Amazon Seller fees exporters need to be aware of, and one major category is Selling Fees. Here’s how it works:
1. Selling Plans:
Amazon offers two types of selling plans depending on the size of your business:
- Professional Plan: Ideal for established sellers with high sales volumes, this plan costs $39.99/month. It includes access to advanced tools like advertising, bulk inventory management, and the ability to sell restricted products.
- Individual Plan: Best for new sellers or those selling fewer than 40 units per month, this plan charges $0.99 per product sold. However, it doesn’t include features like advertising or the ability to sell certain restricted items.
2. Referral Fees
In addition to the selling plan, Amazon charges a referral fee on the item price for every product sold. Think of it as Amazon seller commission. This fee is a percentage of the total sale price or a minimum flat amount—whichever is higher.
For example:
- Compact Appliances: Referral fees range between 8% and 15% of the sale value.
- Watches: The referral fee is 16% and a further 3% may be levied depending on the price range.
These fees vary based on product categories, so it’s essential to check the specific rates for the items you sell to factor them into your pricing strategy.
3. Closing Fee
Media items are charged a closing fee for each unit sold in addition to other fees. These items include: Books, DVD, Music, Software & Computer/Video Games, Video Game Consoles, and Video Game Accessories. The closing fee is $1.80 per unit sold for products in these categories.
4. Rental Book Service Fees
If you offer textbook rentals on Amazon, you’ll have to pay a rental book service fee of $5.00 for each rental as a part of Amazon Seller fees.
Suppose you’re selling media items like books, DVDs, music, software, or video games (including consoles and accessories). In that case, you’ll incur a closing fee of $1.80 per unit sold in addition to other Amazon seller fees.
5. High-Volume Listing Fees
If you have a large number of active, non-media listings that haven’t sold in 12 months, Amazon charges a monthly fee of $0.005 per eligible listing to cover cataloguing costs. The first 100,000 listings are, however, exempt from this fee.
While these Amazon seller fees apply to all sellers, there are additional charges for optional services. One such service is Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which many exporters use to streamline shipping and logistics. Understanding these optional fees is just as important. Here’s a breakdown,
6.a. Amazon FBA fees
Logistics is a critical part of ensuring your products reach customers on time and in top quality. As an Amazon Global Seller, you have two options for shipping:
- Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA): Amazon takes care of picking from the Amazon FBA warehouses, packing, shipping, order delivery, and returns.
- Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN): You handle all logistics yourself through your chosen vendor.:
You have two options here:
- Third-Party Warehouse– Ship your inventory to their warehouse, and they handle packing, picking, and delivery.
- Self-Ship at Parcel level– Keep the goods in your warehouse in India and ship them directly as orders come in. So here, you'll have to pay the shipping fee, pack fee etc separately.
If you don’t have a robust logistics setup and looking for an easy ship option, FBA can be a great option to save time and reduce the stress of managing export logistics. Here’s a breakdown of FBA fees:
FBA Fulfillment Fee
This Amazon seller fees covers picking, packing, shipping, handling, customer service, and returns. The costs depend on your product's volumetric weight, dimensions, and category (e.g., apparel vs. non-apparel).
- Small-Tier Products (e.g., phone covers): Fee ranges from $3.06 to $3.65 depending on weight.
- Large Standard Products (e.g., irons) :Fee ranges from $3.68 to $7 based on weight.
- Extra-Large Products (over 68 kg): Fees can exceed $200 per unit.
- Apparel Products: Fulfillment fees are slightly higher. For example:Small Apparel: Up to $3.98Large Apparel: Up to $7
- Higher fees apply to items classified as dangerous goods.
You can get the complete list of FBA fulfilment fees as per product sizes right here.
7. Advertisement Fees
To promote your products on Amazon, you can leverage their advertising services. This program allows you to run impactful campaigns directly in the Amazon store, with the flexibility to set your own bids and budgets.
Amazon offers a range of ad formats, including video, audio, and display ads, tailored to fit different marketing needs. Most Amazon ads operate on a Cost Per Click (CPC) model, meaning you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Learn more about it here.
8. Other Service Fee
Amazon also offers a range of additional services like Buy with Prime and Amazon Customer Service. The Amazon seller fees for these services vary based on the specific options you choose and your business needs.
Amazon Seller Fees: What It Costs to Withdraw Your Payments
Now that Amazon has deposited your earnings from your global selling account (after deducting all applicable fees), it’s time to transfer the money to your bank account. You have two main options:
- Use Amazon’s Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS)
- Withdraw through third-party platforms like Skydo, Payoneer, or PingPong
Let’s break down the costs of withdrawing your earnings through each platform.
Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers
As an Indian exporter on Amazon, you can use Amazon’s Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS) to withdraw your earnings. Amazon automatically converts your payments into INR and deposits them into your bank account within 1-5 business days.
You can receive payments in 20+ currencies without needing a foreign bank account. However, the conversion comes at a cost. Amazon uses a volume-based pricing model, which means the higher your earnings, the lower the conversion fee. Also, note that the volume-based pricing is based on your total cross-currency net proceeds during the past 12 months. Here’s how the pricing works:
| Net Proceeds (USD) | Volume-based pricing (fx markup extra) |
| $100,000 - $500,000 | 1.50% |
Let’s break this down with a real example.
Say you earned $200,000 last year after deducting all applicable fees. If you choose to withdraw using Amazon’s Currency Converter, here’s what happens:
- Amazon charges a 1.50% conversion fee based on your earnings. That means you immediately lose $3,000 (₹2,59,500) right off the top, leaving you with $197,000.
- This $197,000 is then converted to INR, but not at live forex rates. Amazon typically applies a 1-2% forex markup.
- So, if the market exchange rate is $1 = ₹86.5, Amazon's banking partner might offer you ₹85 per USD.
- Instead of getting ₹1,70,40,500, you receive ₹1,67,45,000, meaning you lose another ₹2,95,500 due to the lower exchange rate.
Total Cost of Using Amazon’s Currency Converter:
₹2,59,500 (conversion fee) + ₹2,95,500 (forex loss) = ₹5,55,000 lost
That’s over ₹5.55 lakh gone just in fees and forex markup. If you’re withdrawing large amounts, these fees can take a big bite out of your earnings.
Third-party platforms
If you want to save on Amazon’s high currency conversion fees, you can choose third-party platforms like Skydo, PingPong, or Payoneer to withdraw your earnings. These platforms often offer better exchange rates and lower fees, helping you keep more of your hard-earned money.
If you add your Indian bank account to your Amazon Seller account, you'll be automatically enrolled in Amazon Currency Converter Service.
To use a third-party platform like Skydo or Payoneer, you’ll need to sign up, create a US virtual bank account, and add it to your Amazon Seller account. Skydo provides a US virtual account in under 5 minutes, while other platforms may take a few days
Let’s break down how much it costs to withdraw your Amazon earnings through these alternatives and see which one gives you the best value.
Payoneer and PingPong: How Much Do They Cost?
Payoneer and PingPong are well-known platforms for cross-border payments, helping exporters worldwide withdraw their Amazon Global Selling earnings directly into their bank accounts. But how much does it really cost?
Both platforms charge:
- 1% transaction fee on your earnings
- An exchange rate markup of ~₹1 per USD (meaning you don’t get live forex rates)
Let’s break this down with the same $200,000 earnings example:
- 1% transaction fee = $2,000 (₹1,73,000), leaving you with $198,000
- Forex markup loss: If the live exchange rate is ₹86.5, these platforms may offer ₹85.5
- Total INR received = ₹1,69,29,000 instead of ₹1,71,27,000, meaning you lose ₹1,98,000 in forex markup
Final Cost of Withdrawing via Payoneer or PingPong
₹1,73,000 (transaction fee) + ₹1,98,000 (forex loss) = ₹3,71,000 lost
That’s ₹3.7 lakh deducted just to withdraw your payment of $200,000. While this is lower than Amazon’s currency conversion fees, is it really the best deal? Let’s find out.
Skydo
Skydo is an Indian-origin, RBI authorised cross-border payments platform designed to help Indian exporters maximize their international earnings. With direct integration with Amazon Global Selling, Skydo allows you to withdraw funds at live forex rates with minimal fees—ensuring you keep more of your hard-earned money. Find out how
How Much Does It Cost with Skydo?
Skydo charges:
- 0.5% for monthly transactions below $10,000
- 0.3% for monthly transactions above $10,000
Unlike Amazon and other third-party platforms, Skydo applies zero forex markup. This means if the live exchange rate is ₹86.5 per USD, your funds are converted at that exact rate—without any deductions.
Example: Withdrawing $200,000 via Skydo
- Skydo’s fee (0.3%) = $600 (₹51,900)
- Remaining balance after fee = $199,400
- Converted at live forex rate (₹86.5 per USD) = ₹1,72,48,100
With Skydo, you only pay a flat $600 (₹51,900) and don’t lose a single rupee to hidden forex markups—making it the most transparent and cost-effective way to withdraw your Amazon earnings.
Here’s a quick comparison of what you have to pay with different platforms while withdrawing your yearly earnings USD 200,000 from Amazon Global Selling ;
You're leaving money on the table!
Amazon and third-party platforms like PingPong and Payoneer eat into your earnings with hidden forex markups and hefty withdrawal fees. Skydo changes that. With live forex rates and transparent pricing, you keep more of what you earn.
Plus, every global payment comes with free, instant FIRA, and if you ever need help, our India-based support team has your back.
Why let unnecessary fees eat into your profits? Switch to Skydo today and maximize your Amazon Global Selling earnings.
