Overview

Every time you make a sale on Amazon, the platform takes a percentage of the total sale price as a referral fee. These fees vary significantly by product category, ranging from as low as 5% to as high as 45%, making them one of the most important cost factors for sellers to understand when pricing products and evaluating profitability.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Referral fees are percentage-based — Amazon charges a percentage of the total sale price (item price plus any shipping or gift wrap charges) for each unit sold, and the rate depends on the product's assigned referral fee category.
• Rates vary widely by category — Most categories fall in the 8% to 17% range, but some specialty categories like Amazon Device Accessories can reach 45%, while others like Personal Computers sit at just 6%.
• Minimum per-item fees apply — Many categories carry a minimum referral fee (typically $0.30) that kicks in when the percentage-based fee would be lower, particularly affecting very low-priced items.
• Referral fee category may differ from browse category — The category used to calculate your referral fee is not necessarily the same as the category where your product appears on the Amazon retail site. Products can appear in multiple browse categories for discoverability, but the referral fee is determined by the product's classification in Amazon's fee structure.
• Fee changes happen periodically — Amazon updates its referral fee schedule from time to time, and sellers should review the current rates at least annually to ensure their pricing models remain accurate.

How Referral Fees Work

When a customer purchases your product, Amazon calculates the referral fee based on the total sales price, which includes the item price, shipping charges, and any gift wrap fees. The applicable percentage is determined by the referral fee category assigned to your product, not by any browse category it may be listed under on the Amazon storefront. Amazon applies either the percentage-based fee or the applicable minimum per-item fee, whichever is greater. This calculation happens automatically on every transaction, and the fee is deducted from your disbursement before you receive payment.