On 1st March 2023 Amazon updated their FBA fees and we’ve modified SAS to use the new ones. Amazon usually update their fees annually and it’s normally a fairly level increase across all products. This update is different.
Previously the majority (there are always exceptions with Amazon) of FBA fees where calculated using the products dimensions (height, width and length) to calculate the parcel size and then the fee was determined based on that parcel size and the weight.
The new method does not just use the dimensions to calculate the parcel size, it also uses the greater of the product weight and dimensional weight (dimensional weight is calculated by width(cm) * height(cm) * length(cm) / 5000). This means if an item has the maximum dimensions for an allowed parcel size the dimensional weight could be heavy than the actual product weight.
Without going into specifics this basically means all products will have the nominal annual fee increase but some could be more excessive if the dimensional weight pushes them up one or more weight tiers.
An extreme example of this would be:
You have a standard size parcel with the maximum dimensions (cm) of 45*34*26 and a weight of 0.1Kg. Previously based on the weight this would have the lowest possible Standard Parcel fee (£2.81 using the new fee tier). However now the dimensional weight will be used so 45*34*26/5000=7.956 this means the fee will be based on a weight of 7.956Kg and puts it in a different Standard Parcel weight tier resulting in an FBA fee of £6.66 (a big difference).
One bit of good news is that more products now qualify for Small and Light and the max allowed sale price has increased.
You can see Amazon’s description of the fees over at https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/02/Website/SOA/Website/220225-FBA-Rate-Card-UK.pdf Please note that until the fee is charged ALL tools (including Amazon) will only give you an estimate of the fees.
Another point to note is the fees are charged when the product is sold and shipped to the customer not when the product is sourced. So if you have inventory in an Amazon warehouse the new fees will be used when the products are shipped (not what the fees were when you shipped them in).