FBA is Amazon's most misunderstood fulfilment option in India. Sellers either underestimate the fee stack - and discover their margins are thinner than expected after their first shipment - or they dismiss FBA as too expensive without running the numbers against Easy Ship. This guide covers the full FBA cost structure, the Send to Amazon workflow step by step, and a clear framework for deciding which fulfilment option fits your product.
What FBA Covers - and What It Doesn't
When you send inventory to an Amazon fulfilment centre, Amazon handles pick, pack, ship, and customer service for every order - including returns. Your listing gets Prime badging, which improves both conversion rate and Buy Box eligibility. Your shipping performance metrics (late shipment, valid tracking, on-time delivery) are no longer your problem because Amazon owns the fulfilment.
Storage at the fulfilment centre, picking and packing each order, shipping to the customer via Amazon's carrier network, Prime delivery promise, customer service for delivery and return issues, return processing and restocking or disposing of returned units.
Manufacturing or sourcing the product, quality control before it reaches the FC, labelling and packaging to Amazon's specifications, creating the inbound shipment in Seller Central, shipping your inventory to the fulfilment centre, managing restock timing to avoid stockouts, and monitoring your Inventory Performance Index (IPI) score.
The Full FBA Fee Breakdown
FBA has two main cost components: fulfilment fees (charged per unit shipped) and storage fees (charged per cubic foot per month). There are also less-visible charges - removal fees, return processing fees, and long-term storage penalties - that sellers often miss when calculating margins before switching to FBA.
Fulfilment Fees (per unit shipped)
| Size Tier | Weight | Approximate Fee (₹) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (Standard) | Up to 250g | ₹27–35 | Apparel, accessories, small electronics accessories |
| Standard | 251g–500g | ₹35–50 | Most FMCG, books, home décor |
| Standard | 501g–1kg | ₹50–70 | Kitchen goods, personal care |
| Standard | 1kg–5kg | ₹70–120 | Appliances, footwear, bags |
| Large / Oversize | 5kg+ | ₹120+ | Furniture, large appliances - evaluate carefully |
Fees are calculated on the greater of actual weight and dimensional weight (length × breadth × height in cm ÷ 5,000 for standard items). A 300g product shipped in bulky packaging may be charged at 600g if its volumetric weight is higher. Always measure your packaged dimensions before calculating FBA viability.
Storage Fees (per cubic foot per month)
| Period | Standard Size (₹/cu ft) | Oversize (₹/cu ft) |
|---|---|---|
| January – September | ₹18–22 | ₹16–20 |
| October – December (peak) | ₹27–34 | ₹24–30 |
Units sitting in an Amazon FC for more than 365 days are charged long-term storage fees at significantly higher rates - on top of regular monthly storage. If you're sending seasonal products or slow sellers to FBA, monitor your aged inventory report monthly and create removal orders before units cross the 270-day mark to avoid the penalty tier.
How to Send Inventory to Amazon - The Complete Workflow
The Send to Amazon (STA) workflow in Seller Central replaces the older shipment creation process and is now the standard method for all FBA inbound shipments. Here is the process from start to finish.
Every unit going to an FC must meet Amazon's prep requirements for its category - poly-bagging for clothing, bubble wrap for fragile items, sealed boxes for liquids, and so on. Each unit needs a scannable barcode: either the manufacturer's barcode (if Amazon allows barcode-less receiving for your product) or an Amazon FNSKU label. FNSKU labels are generated in Seller Central and must be applied before the shipment is closed. The label must cover any existing manufacturer barcodes if you're using FNSKU labelling.
Go to Inventory → Send to Amazon. Select the SKUs and enter the quantity you're sending. Amazon's system assigns you one or more destination fulfilment centres - you don't choose the FC, Amazon does based on demand distribution. If Amazon assigns multiple FCs for one shipment, you can use an Amazon-partnered carrier who will handle the splitting, or ship yourself to each destination separately. Review the shipment summary carefully before confirming: errors in quantity or ASIN are difficult to correct once units are in transit.
Amazon-partnered carriers (listed in Seller Central) offer discounted rates and simpler tracking - your shipment status updates automatically. If you're shipping yourself using a non-partnered carrier, you'll enter tracking details manually and pay market rates. For shipments under 100kg, partnered carriers are almost always cheaper. For bulk shipments over 500kg, compare Amazon's partnered LTL rates against direct carrier quotes. Box weights and dimensions must be accurate - FCs weigh and measure shipments and charge for discrepancies.
Once your shipment arrives at the FC, Amazon begins the receiving process - scanning and counting every unit. This can take 3–14 business days depending on FC workload. Compare your sent quantity against the received quantity in the shipment summary. If units are missing, raise a research request through Seller Central. Amazon investigates and reimburses for lost units after a set investigation period. Don't close a shipment with unresolved quantity discrepancies - closing it makes reconciliation harder.
FBA vs Easy Ship vs Self-Ship: When Each Makes Sense
| Factor | FBA | Easy Ship | Self-Ship (MFN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Badge | Yes | Yes (if meeting SLA) | No |
| Shipping Metric Risk | Zero - Amazon owns it | Medium - you pack, Amazon ships | High - you own everything |
| Returns Handling | Amazon handles | You handle | You handle |
| Best For | High-velocity, small/medium, year-round | Mid-volume, seasonal, fragile or custom-packed | Bulky/heavy, very low volume, custom orders |
| Main Risk | Storage fees on slow sellers | Your team's packing quality | Shipping metrics breach |
Choose FBA if: Your product sells at least 15–20 units per month, is small-to-medium in size, has a gross margin above 40% after FBA fees, and doesn't require custom packaging or personalisation. FBA works best when volume is high enough that storage costs are a small fraction of revenue, and you want to scale without building a fulfilment operation.
Choose Easy Ship if: Your product is fragile, heavy, or requires specific packing your team does better than Amazon's standard process. Easy Ship also works well for seasonal products where sending a large batch to FBA would incur peak storage fees. You get Prime (subject to SLA compliance) without paying FBA's storage fees.
Choose Self-Ship if: Your product is oversize or very heavy (FBA fees would destroy margin), you sell very low volumes (under 10 units per month), or you take custom or personalised orders that can't be pre-stocked. Accept that you have no Prime badge and must maintain your shipping metrics independently.
FBA Inventory Management: IPI Score and Avoiding the Traps
Amazon uses your Inventory Performance Index (IPI) score - a number from 0 to 1,000 - to decide how much storage space you can use at FCs. Sellers with IPI below the threshold (currently 400) face storage limits that can restrict your ability to send new inventory, particularly during the peak October–December season.
IPI penalises stranded inventory (units in FC with no active listing) and excess inventory (units with more than 90 days of supply on hand relative to current sell-through). Run your aged inventory report monthly. Create removal orders for slow-moving units before they cross 270 days. Consider a lightning deal or coupon to accelerate sell-through on inventory approaching the 365-day long-term storage threshold.
Stockouts also hurt IPI because they reduce in-stock rate, which is one of the four IPI components. Use your Restock Report in Seller Central - it shows estimated days of supply remaining and recommended restock date based on your sales velocity. Factor in 10–14 business days for inbound receiving when calculating when to send your next shipment. Running out of stock during a high-velocity period (sale events, peak season) is a margin and ranking hit you can't fully recover from.
Stranded inventory is FBA stock with no active offer - units sitting in the FC generating storage fees with no chance of selling. This is usually caused by a listing being suppressed or a price error causing the offer to go inactive. Go to Manage Inventory → Stranded Inventory and resolve every item. Stranded units in the FC cost you storage fees with zero sales - they're pure negative margin.
Thinking about switching to FBA?
We help Amazon sellers in India calculate the real cost of FBA before committing - and manage the ongoing inventory planning so storage fees don't eat your margin.