Overview

Amazon is overhauling how Fulfillment by Amazon fees are calculated for clothing, accessories, backpacks, and handbags. The company is eliminating dimensional weight from fee calculations for these categories, switching to a model based solely on parcel size tier and actual unit weight. For most sellers in these product lines, the result will be meaningfully lower fulfillment costs — particularly on lightweight but bulky items that were previously penalized by dimensional weight pricing.

What's Changing

• Dimensional weight eliminated — FBA fees for clothing, accessories, backpacks, and handbags will now be calculated using parcel size tier and unit weight only, removing the dimensional weight component that inflated costs on bulky, lightweight products.
• Seven new parcel size tiers — Amazon is introducing seven category-specific size tiers designed to more accurately match items to their actual shipping footprint, reducing the chance of items getting bumped into expensive tiers.
• Returns processing fee exemption — Backpacks and handbags are now exempt from the returns processing fee that targets high-return-rate products.
• Retroactive reimbursements — Any returns processing fees already charged on backpacks and handbags will be automatically waived or reimbursed with no seller action required.
• Cross-border applicability — The new fee structure applies across local FBA, cross-border FBA between the UK and EU, and Amazon's international programs in UK and EU stores.
• Oversize items excluded — These changes apply only to standard parcel-size items. Oversize fee structures remain unchanged.

How the New Fee Calculation Works

Under the previous model, Amazon charged FBA fulfillment fees based on whichever was greater: actual unit weight or dimensional weight. Dimensional weight is calculated from package dimensions and disproportionately penalizes items that are light but occupy significant box space — a common trait of clothing, handbags, and accessories like puffy jackets or structured bags.

The new structure considers only the parcel size tier and actual unit weight. A lightweight handbag or winter coat that previously incurred inflated fees due to its dimensional footprint will now be charged based on what it actually weighs. For sellers where dimensional weight significantly exceeded unit weight, the per-unit savings could be substantial.