Amazon FBA Storage Fees

Amazon sellers are individuals or businesses who leverage Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service to store, pack, and ship their products to customers. FBA offers sellers a convenient and scalable way to fulfill orders without managing their own warehousing and logistics. However, Amazon FBA storage fees can significantly impact a seller’s profitability if not carefully managed. 

Understanding these fees and how they are calculated is crucial for any seller using Amazon’s FBA service. 

Amazon FBA Storage Fees Explained

What Are Amazon FBA Storage Fees?

Amazon storage fees are the charges Amazon assesses for storing your products in their fulfillment center. 

Amazon categorizes products into three main size tiers: standardized-size, large standard, and oversize.  

  • Standard-size products are generally smaller and lighter items, such as books, electronics, or toys. 
  • Large standard products are larger or heavier than standard-size items, but don’t exceed specific weight or dimensional limits. 
  • Oversize products are bulky or irregular-shaped items that exceed the limitations for standard-size and large standard items. 

Each size tier has different FBA storage fees, with oversize products leading to the highest fees due to the additional storage space they occupy in fulfillment centers. 

What are Amazon’s Long-Term Storage Fees?

Amazon incentivizes turnover by implementing long-term storage fees, also known as the Aged Inventory Surcharge. 

This fee applies to inventory stored in fulfillment centers for more than 180 days (6 months). 

This fee amount increases with the age of the inventory, encouraging sellers to manage stock levels effectively and avoid storing slow-moving products for extended periods. 

Monthly Inventory FBA Storage Fees

Monthly inventory storage fees are charged based on the average daily volume (in cubic feet) your products occupy throughout the month. 

Amazon storage rates vary depending on product size and the time of year (peak season or non-peak season): 

Peak Season (October-December): FBA inventory storage fees are generally higher during peak season due to increased demand and warehouse capacity limitations. 

Non-Peak Season (January – September): Storage fees are typically lower during non-peak months to encourage sellers to maintain sufficient stock levels. 

Storage Utilization Surcharge Fees

In April 2023, Amazon introduced a storage utilization surcharge as part of the monthly storage fee. 

This surcharge is based on your storage utilization ratio, which compares your average daily inventory volume to your average daily shipped volume over the past 13 weeks. 

A higher utilization ratio indicates that you are storing more inventory than you are selling. This could be due to several factors, such as inaccurate sales forecasting, overstocking popular items, or holding onto slow-moving inventory. 

By monitoring your storage utilization ratio, you can identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to reduce your storage footprint. 

Accurately Forecast Demand

By accurately forecasting demand for your products, you can ensure that you have enough inventory to meet customer needs without overstocking. 

Several forecasting methods and tools are available to help you predict future sales. 

Optimize Your Inventory Levels

Regularly review your inventory levels and adjust them based on sales trends. 

Consider implementing a minimum and maximum inventory level system for each product to ensure you have enough stock to avoid stockouts but not so much that you increase storage surcharge fees. 

Remove Slow-Moving Inventory

If a product experiences slow sales, consider removing it from FBA storage to avoid Amazon long-term storage fees and improve your storage utilization ratio. 

You can manage slow-moving inventory yourself or utilize Amazon’s removal service. 

Amazon Aged Inventory Surcharge

The Aged Inventory Surcharge is an additional fee applied to inventory exceeding 180 days in storage. 

The fee amount is determined by the inventory’s age and cubic foot volume. This surcharge encourages sellers to regularly review stock levels and remove slow-moving products to minimize storage costs. 

Inventory Storage Overage Fees

Inventory storage fees increase when your inventory exceeds the allocated storage space in your seller account. 

These fees are typically higher than standard storage fees and serve as a deterrent to exceeding storage limits. 

By better understanding the different types of FBA inventory storage fees and their structure, you can implement strategies to minimize storage expenses. 

Ensure your product dimensions are accurate in your seller account to avoid miscategorization and higher storage fees. 

Maintain optimal stock levels to meet customer demand without leading to overage fees or long-term storage fees. 

If a product experiences slow sales, consider removing it from FBA storage to avoid long-term storage fees. You can manage slow-moving inventory yourself or using Amazon’s removal service. 

Regularly review your storage utilization ratio and adjust your inventory levels accordingly to avoid the cost of Amazon storage surcharges.