The fees that apply
Most of your costs on a UK FBA sale come from a small, predictable set of fees. Exact numbers change, so treat the figures below as how the system works rather than a current price list.
- Referral fee: a percentage of the total sale price, charged per item. It's commonly around 15% in many categories, but it varies by category — some are lower, some higher.
- FBA fulfilment fee: a fixed per-unit charge that covers picking, packing and shipping. It's set by the item's size tier and weight, so a small light item costs far less to fulfil than a large heavy one.
- Monthly storage fee: charged per cubic metre of space your stock occupies, and higher in the Q4 peak.
- Long-term storage fee: extra charges if stock sits in the warehouse too long.
- Professional selling plan: a flat monthly subscription if you sell on the Professional plan.
Where VAT fits in
VAT is the part beginners most often get wrong. If you're VAT-registered, you charge VAT on your sales (normally 20% in standard-rated categories) and can usually reclaim VAT on eligible business costs and on Amazon's fees. If you're not registered, you can't reclaim it — but VAT is still inside the price you pay at the till. Either way, ignoring VAT makes your "profit" look bigger than it is.
This is general information, not tax advice. Check your position with HMRC or a qualified accountant.
A worked example
Here's an illustrative example to show the method (not a guarantee of any real product's numbers):
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Amazon sale price | £19.99 |
| Referral fee (~15%) | −£3.00 |
| FBA fulfilment fee (small/standard) | −£2.70 |
| Cost of goods (in store) | −£6.00 |
| VAT owed on margin (illustrative) | −£1.50 |
| Estimated net profit | £6.79 |
| ROI (profit ÷ cost of goods) | ≈ 113% |
The takeaway isn't the exact pounds — it's that two products with the same sale price can have very different profit once fulfilment size, category referral rate and VAT are applied. That's exactly why checking fees before you buy matters. Our free Amazon FBA calculator (UK) runs this exact maths — fulfilment and referral fees, VAT, profit and ROI — for any product.
What ROI should you aim for?
Many UK retail-arbitrage sellers set a minimum of around 30% ROI and a minimum cash profit per unit (say £3–£4) so a single bad buy doesn't wipe out several good ones. Your threshold depends on how fast the product sells (check BSR), how much competition shares the Buy Box, and your cash-flow needs.
Working all of this out by hand on a shop floor is slow and error-prone. Axivelo does the maths on every scan — profit, ROI, UK FBA fees and your maximum buy price — and shows it on one screen, so you can apply your own rules in seconds and save the product to your Buy List or Watchlist.
Let the fees maths happen automatically
Scan a barcode and Axivelo estimates profit, ROI and UK FBA fees instantly — plus the most you should pay. Free to start, for Android.
Join Axivelo early accessFAQ
What fees does Amazon FBA charge in the UK?
The two main FBA fees are the referral fee (a percentage of the sale price, commonly around 15% in many categories) and the FBA fulfilment fee (a fixed amount based on the item's size and weight). On top of those you may pay monthly storage fees, possible long-term storage fees, and the Professional selling plan fee. UK VAT also applies. Always check Amazon's current UK fee schedule for exact figures.
How do I calculate true profit on an FBA product?
Start with your sale price, subtract the referral fee, the FBA fulfilment fee, your cost of goods and any VAT you owe. What's left is your net profit. ROI is that net profit divided by your cost of goods. A tool like Axivelo does this per scan so you see profit and ROI before you buy.
Do I pay VAT as an Amazon seller in the UK?
If you're VAT-registered you charge VAT on sales and can usually reclaim VAT on eligible costs and Amazon fees; if you're not registered you can't reclaim it, but VAT is still baked into your buying costs. VAT materially changes margins, so always factor it in. This is general information, not tax advice — check with HMRC or an accountant.
UK Amazon FBA seller and founder of Axivelo, a barcode scanner that shows the real profit, ROI and risk on in-store scans, with UK fees built in.