If you’re an Amazon seller in 2025, there’s a new cost creeping into your business—and many sellers don’t see it coming.
Amazon has rolled out a fresh set of fees that look subtle on the surface but can quietly shrink your profit margins, disrupt your logistics, and make formerly profitable products unscalable.
In this article, we’ll break down:
✅ What the new Amazon fees are and why they were introduced
✅ Who they impact the most (hint: it’s not just oversized products)
✅ How to calculate their impact on your SKU-level profitability
✅ What changes you can make to avoid or reduce the damage
✅ Smart strategies to stay ahead and thrive despite higher fees
Let’s get into the details so you don’t fall into Amazon’s latest “fee trap.”
📦 What Is Amazon’s New Fee Structure in 2025?
Amazon announced a number of fee updates that began rolling out in late 2024 and continued into 2025. These changes primarily affect:
- FBA storage and fulfillment fees
- Returns processing fees
- Inbound placement service fees (aka the new “inbound fee” system)
- Low-inventory-level fees
- Aged inventory surcharges
These fees are part of Amazon’s continued push to optimize fulfillment center space, shift more costs onto sellers, and reward high-efficiency SKUs—while penalizing anything that doesn’t move fast or requires extra handling.
🧨 The “Fee Trap”: What Makes These New Costs So Dangerous?
Here’s the trap:
Many of these new fees don’t show up until after your inventory is already in Amazon’s warehouse.
Or worse… the fee triggers dynamically based on things like:
- How much inventory you have (or don’t have)
- Which fulfillment centers your products are routed to
- The dimensions of your packaging
- Whether you’re enrolled in certain programs like Amazon Warehousing & Distribution (AWD)
That means what looks like a profitable SKU today… could suddenly become unprofitable next month.
💸 Fee #1: Inbound Placement Service Fee (Effective March 1, 2024)
Amazon used to handle the distribution of your inventory across their fulfillment network without additional charges. Now, there’s a new inbound placement fee for FBA shipments.
What it means:
- Sellers are now charged based on where their inventory lands in Amazon’s network
- You’ll be offered three options:
- Minimal Shipment Splits (Cheapest) — you prep and ship to multiple destinations
- Partial Shipment Splits (Balanced) — moderate cost, Amazon handles part of the distribution
- Amazon-Optimized Shipment Splits (Highest Fee) — Amazon splits and routes entirely
Cost impact:
- $0.21 to $1.58 per unit depending on size and shipment configuration
- Can drastically add up across bulk inventory shipments
⏳ Fee #2: Low-Inventory-Level Fee (Effective April 1, 2024)
To ensure consistent inventory availability, Amazon now penalizes sellers who don’t maintain enough stock.
What it means:
- Amazon charges a per-unit fee for items that consistently have low inventory levels
- This is based on your historical days of supply at Amazon
Cost impact:
- Fee ranges from $0.32 to $1.11 per unit
- Applies to standard-size products with 15 or fewer days of supply over the past 30 days
Why it’s dangerous:
Even if you’re managing cash flow tightly or trying to avoid overstocking, you could still get penalized—simply for restocking too lean.
🔄 Fee #3: Returns Processing Fee Expansion (Effective June 1, 2024)
Amazon has now expanded its returns processing fees to include more product categories, not just apparel and shoes.
What it means:
- You pay a fee per return to cover Amazon’s handling and reintegration
- Applies to high-return-rate categories such as electronics, beauty, and some home goods
Cost impact:
- $2 to $5+ per return depending on item size and category
📏 Fee #4: FBA Fulfillment and Storage Fee Increases
These aren’t new—but they compound the problem.
In 2025, Amazon:
- Raised standard-size fulfillment fees by up to $0.35 per unit
- Increased monthly storage fees for Q4
- Added new dimensional weight calculations that penalize underutilized packaging
📉 Real-World Example: How These Fees Wreck Profit Margins
Let’s say you sell a lightweight kitchen gadget that costs you $5 to manufacture and retails for $19.99.
Before fees:
- COGS: $5.00
- FBA fee: $3.22
- Storage: $0.40/month
- Profit: ~$8.00 per unit
Now with new fees:
- Inbound fee: $0.50
- Low-inventory fee: $0.45
- FBA fulfillment: $3.50
- Returns fee (based on 10% return rate): $0.40
- Profit: ~$6.00 or less per unit
That’s a 25% reduction in profit per unit, even though your price, demand, and traffic didn’t change.
Multiply that across thousands of units and… ouch.
🧠 Who Is Most at Risk?
These fees don’t hit all sellers equally. You’re most at risk if:
- You have low-turnover or seasonal products
- Your margins are already tight
- Your packaging is oversized or inefficient
- You ship to one location and rely on Amazon for distribution
- You don’t maintain high inventory levels at Amazon
- Your return rate is above 10%
Even sellers with strong performance can get hit if they’re unaware of how these new rules change their cost structure.
✅ What Sellers Should Do Now to Stay Profitable
You don’t have to get crushed by these fees. Smart sellers are already making moves to stay ahead.
1. Recalculate Profitability at the SKU Level
Don’t rely on historical data—run current cost analysis using updated fees.
Use tools like:
- Amazon’s Fee Preview Report
- Helium 10 Profits
- Sellerboard
- Marketplace Valet’s profit calculator (if applicable)
📌 Tip: Build in a 10% buffer to account for dynamic storage and return fees.
2. Right-Size Your Packaging
Amazon’s dimensional weight changes and inbound placement fees heavily penalize underfilled boxes.
✅ Use flat-pack or nested packaging where possible
✅ Cut unnecessary bulk to reclassify into a lower fee tier
✅ Consider using Amazon’s Prep & Label services only when absolutely needed
3. Maintain Healthy Inventory Levels
Aim to keep 20–30 days of supply at Amazon to avoid low-inventory fees.
✅ Use restock alerts and demand forecasting tools
✅ Consider using AWD (Amazon Warehousing & Distribution) to buffer inventory
✅ Use your own 3PL to stage backup inventory and drip-feed to FBA
4. Explore FBM for Certain SKUs
If FBA fees crush your profit, consider offering Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) for:
- Bulky items
- Seasonal products
- Low-repeat-purchase SKUs
- Higher-return-rate items
📌 Tip: FBM gives you more control over shipping and cost—but be ready to meet Prime-level expectations.
5. Raise Prices (Strategically)
Sometimes, the only viable option is to raise prices—but do it strategically.
✅ Use psychological pricing ($24.99 instead of $22.99)
✅ Bundle with other items to increase perceived value
✅ Add “Subscribe & Save” or small incentives for repeat buyers
📣 Bonus Tip: Use Amazon’s Tools—But Be Cautious
Amazon now provides:
- Fee Preview Reports
- Inbound Performance Dashboards
- Low Inventory Fee Notifications
These are helpful—but they’re often reactive, not predictive. Build your own fee-aware forecasting models to stay proactive.
✍️ Final Thoughts: Don’t Get Trapped—Get Strategic
Amazon’s new fees aren’t going away—in fact, they’re likely just the beginning of a more “pay-for-performance” future.
But smart sellers who adapt early will:
✅ Protect their margins
✅ Refine their product strategy
✅ Outmaneuver competitors who are slow to react
Don’t let hidden fees quietly eat into your profits. Run the numbers, update your strategy, and stay ahead.
Need help breaking down your fee exposure or recalculating your SKU-level profitability?
At Marketplace Valet, we help brands navigate Amazon’s evolving ecosystem, optimize logistics, and protect their bottom line.
📩 Let’s talk about how these new fees affect your business.
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