FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. You send your products to Amazon’s warehouses, and Amazon stores them, packs and ships each order, and handles customer service and returns for those orders. In exchange, you pay fulfillment and storage fees. Here is how FBA works, what it costs and when it makes sense.
How FBA works, step by step
- List your product in Seller Central and choose Fulfilled by Amazon as the fulfillment method.
- Prepare your inventory. Label each unit with an Amazon barcode or an eligible manufacturer barcode, and follow Amazon’s packaging rules.
- Create a shipment in Seller Central and send your boxes to the fulfillment centers Amazon assigns.
- Amazon receives and stores your units, and they become available to buy.
- A customer orders, and Amazon picks, packs and ships it, usually with Prime delivery.
- Amazon handles customer service and returns for that order. You get paid after fees.
What FBA costs
- Fulfillment fee: charged per unit sold, based on the product’s size and weight.
- Monthly storage fee: based on the space your inventory takes up, and higher from October to December.
- Inbound placement fee: depends on how you split shipments across Amazon’s warehouses.
- Other fees: surcharges for inventory stored a long time, and fees for very low or very high stock levels in some cases.
- Plus the usual selling fees: the referral fee on every sale and your selling plan.
Work out your per-unit profit with our free Amazon FBA calculator.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Your listings qualify for Prime, which often lifts sales.
- No packing, shipping or return handling for FBA orders.
- Amazon handles customer service for those orders.
- You can also use Multi-Channel Fulfillment to ship orders from your other channels.
Cons
- Fees add up, especially for large, heavy or slow-selling products.
- Strict prep, labeling and shipping rules.
- Less control over packaging and inventory once it’s in Amazon’s hands.
- Lost or damaged units need reimbursement claims. See our FBA reimbursements guide.
When FBA makes sense
FBA fits products that are small to mid-sized, sell steadily and benefit from Prime. Shipping orders yourself can be cheaper for oversized items, very slow sellers or products with fragile or custom packaging. Many sellers use both.
FBA and other marketplaces
Walmart has its own version, Walmart Fulfillment Services. Compare them in our WFS vs FBA guide.
Using FBA and selling on other channels too?
CrazyVendor shows your FBA stock next to your other channels, and its Recovery Center finds FBA reimbursement cases.
See how it works: crazyvendor.io
We have a business relationship with CrazyVendor.
Questions sellers ask
Do I need a Professional plan to use FBA?
No. FBA works on both the Individual and Professional plans. See Individual vs Professional.
Is FBA worth it for beginners?
It can be, because it removes shipping work and adds Prime. Start with a small shipment of a product you’ve tested, and check your margin after all fees first.
Sources: Amazon Seller Central FBA fee and policy pages, checked November 2026. Fees change regularly, so confirm current rates in Seller Central.