What Amazon Fee Changes Mean for Your Margin

Start with contribution margin, not the fee table

Most brands read the fee announcement and stop there. The announcement tells you what changed. It does not tell you what it costs you, because the cost depends on your price points, your unit sizes, and your return rate.

Pull three lines before you react:

• Referral fee as a percent of net revenue

• Fulfillment fee per unit, by size tier

• Storage and aged inventory charges, trailing 90 days

The number most sellers miss

Returns processing sits outside the headline fee change and moves independently. A brand with a 12 percent return rate in apparel absorbs a very different hit than a supplement brand at 2 percent.

If your margin model treats fees as a single blended percentage, a fee change will surprise you every time.

Run the math per SKU, not per account. The blended number hides the SKUs that just went underwater.