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amznsellertools Every FBA seller needs to know their Amazon FBA Shipping Costs. Unfortunately, the existing structure is ridiculously complicated and beyond frustrating. We don’t want this to slow down your progress as an Amazon Seller. You already have too much to think about. This guide simplifies Amazon’s Shipping Cost Structure into 5 easy steps. Follow each closely and in 15 minutes, you’ll know exactly what you’re spending on FBA logistics.
We’ve had sellers save thousands of dollars by making a few packaging tweaks or by having Amazon re-measure their products. We hope that you experience the same!
Here are the Five Steps we’ll go through.
Grab a pencil and notepad. You’ll need it as you go through each step.
To figure out your shipping tier and associated costs, we’ll first need your product dimensions. This is not as obvious as you’d think. Amazon throws us a couple curve balls. I’m sure that you can pick these out in our list of required measurements below. Write down the following for reference to use in future steps.
Unit Weight: Unit Weight is obvious. You can take your product and stick it on a scale. That’s your unit weight.
Dimensional Weight: Here’s where things get a bit hairy. With common sense as our guide, we’d assume our product weight is the weight we use. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Amazon throws a new dimension into the mix, called “Dimensional Weight.” You may or may not use this measurement. It will depend on other factors, which we’ll get to later. For now, use the formula below to record your dimensional weight and write this number down with the others.
Dimensional Weight = [Length x Width x Height] / 166
Now that we’re all measured, let’s figure out if our product is considered “Standard” or “Oversized” and to which sub-category it belongs.
Amazon has a total of eight sizing tiers included in their “Standard” and “Oversized” classifications. At one time, Amazon had a third sizing tier called “Media Size.” This was used for items like books and magazines. As of 2018, this is no longer the case. The Media Tier has been dropped and only Standard and Oversize tiers remain. Before we figure out your exact sizing tier, let’s first figure out to which category your product belongs.
Determining whether your product qualifies as “Standard” or “Over Sized” is simple. You’ll already have measured your length, width, height and weight of your product collected from Step 1.
Compare those to the criteria noted below.
If your product is less than each limit above, then it qualifies as “standard size.” The item must match every criteria above to qualify. If any of the bullets below are true, then it qualifies as Over Size.
If your packaged item exceeds ANY of the above criteria, then it’s classified as “oversized.”
Now that we know whether your product is Standard or Oversize, let’s figure out the exact sizing tier. First, we’ll look at Amazon FBA Sizing Tiers for Standard Sized Products.
Below you’ll find the Standard tiers listed in the chart above.
Length, Width and Height requirements are the same as in the previous category. But please note that product weight ranges from 1 to 2 pounds.
This is the largest-tier of Amazon’s three “large standard” sizes. Length, Width and Height requirements are the same as the previous categories. But please note that product weight ranges from 2 to 20 pounds.
That covers all four “Standard” shipping sizes and the associated FBA costs of each. Now we’ll cover the “Over size” category.
If your product is included in the Oversize tier, use the chart below to determine cost.
Listed below are the four types of Oversized tiers seen above.
This is the largest-tier of shipping that Amazon offers.
To figure out your total shipping costs, you’ll also need to factor in the packaging weight. Now that we know our sizing tier, we can figure out what Amazon will tack on for packaging material.
Your “Unit Weight” is the weight of your product before Amazon stuffs it into a box. The “Packaging Weight” is the weight of that box (wrap, tape, etc) used for shipping. These are factored into your total “Outbound Shipping Weight,” which we’ll get to next.
While all of these terms get a bit confusing, we’ll make this step simple for you. If your product is Standard Size, packaging weight will be 4 ounces (0.25 pounds). If oversized, packaging weight will be 16 ounces (1 pound).
Make note of this packaging weight to be used in the next step.
Don’t get scared off by Step 4. As long as you’ve followed every step above, you’ll be ok.
Step #3 was simple. This one is a bit more complicated. You’ve collected four pieces that you’ll need for this step. To figure out your Overall Shipping Weight, get these items ready.
To get Total Outbound Shipping Weight, use the chart below. First, find your sizing tier on the left-hand side. Then, use the instructions in the corresponding Outbound Shipping Weight column to figure out this piece.
To sum up the chart above.
Now you should have all of the pieces that you need to figure out your shipping costs. Apply these to our charts in Step 5 below.
IMPORTANT: When you find your total outbound shipping weight, make sure to Round up to the nearest whole pound! Regardless of whether your determined weight is 4.01 or 4.99 pounds, Amazon will round it up to 5 pounds. Bezos didn’t get to a $70B net worth by rounding down!
Who knew that calculating your shipping costs would involve 5 steps and 8 infographs? We definitely did NOT when preparing this post. But, now we’re in the home stretch. You’re one stop from figuring out that elusive number.
You’ll only need two pieces for this step.
[Trumpet noise] With these two item, use the chart below to finally get to your total shipping cost per unit.
To ship a Small Standard Sized product, Amazon charges $2.99 per item between months January – September and $2.88 per item from October to December.
Small Standard Size is Amazon’s smallest classification and the least expensive to ship. To qualify for this sizing tier, your product must match ALL of the criteria below.
To ship a Large Standard Sized product (less than 1 lb.), Amazon charges $2.41 per item between months January – September and $2.39 per item from October to December.
Amazon has three tiers of its “Large Standard Size” classification, which can be a bit confusing. Note that the only difference among these three size tiers seen below is the weight. Requirements on the package’s three sides remain the same throughout the three tiers. Weight ranges from 0 to 1 pound, 1 – 2 pounds, and 2 – 20 pounds.
To ship a Large Standard Sized product (between 1 and 2 pounds), Amazon charges $4.18 per item between months January – September and $3.96 per item from October to December.
This is the middle-tier of Amazon’s three “large standard” sizes. Length, Width and Height requirements are the same as the previous category. Weight will range from 1 to 2 pounds in this subcategory.
To ship a Large Standard Sized product (between one and two pounds), Amazon charges $4.18 per item + $0.39 /lb for each pound over 2 lbs between months January – September. From October to December, Amazon charges $3.96 per item + $0.39 / lb for each pound over 2 lbs.
This is the largest-tier of Amazon’s three “large standard” sizes. Length, Width and Height requirements are the same as the previous category. Product weight will range from 2 to 20 pounds to be included in this subcategory.
That covers all four “Standard” shipping sizes and the associated FBA costs of each. Now we’ll cover the “Over size” category.
If your product is included in the Oversize tier, use the chart below to determine cost.
Listed below are the four types of Oversized tiers seen above.
To ship a Small OverSize product, Amazon charges $6.85 + $0.39 for every lb. over 2 pounds between months January – September and $6.69 + $0.35 for every lb. over 2 pounds from October to December.
Small Oversize is Amazon’s smallest classification and the least expensive to ship of all in this heavier class. To qualify for this sizing tier, your product must match ALL of the criteria below.
The oversize class differs from the standard class in that it introduces the “girth” factor. From the image above, you can see that girth + length is included in the criteria.
To ship a Medium Oversize product, Amazon charges $9.20 + $0.39 for every lb. over 2 pounds between months January – September and $8.73 + $0.35 for every lb. over 2 pounds from October to December.
To ship a Large Oversize product, Amazon charges$9.20 + $0.39 for every lb. over 2 pounds between months January – September and $8.73 + $0.35 for every lb. over 2 pounds from October to December.
This is the middle-tier of Amazon’s three “large standard” sizes. Length, Width and Height requirements are the same as the previous category. Weight will range from 1 to 2 pounds in this subcategory.
To ship a Special Oversized product, Amazon charges $138.08 + $0.92 /lb for each pound over 90 lbs between months January – September. From October to December, Amazon charges $131.44 + $0.88 / lb for each pound over 90 lbs.
This is the largest-tier of shipping that Amazon offers. At the very least, you’ll pay $138 in shipping costs if your product falls in this category. For your item to be included, it will include at least one of the criteria noted below.
All information provided above was gathered straight from Amazon’s documents using the two sources below.
Amazon Product Size Tiers and Fees here.
We hope that you can use the info below to minimize your shipping costs. If you find that you’re paying too much, contact Seller Support immediately. They’ll remeasure your product within days. If you’re right, you could save thousands in shipping costs going forward.
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