Eva Answers / Amazon
Is Selling on Amazon Really Worth It?
Answered by Hai Mag, Founder & CEO, Eva Commerce, with 20+ years in eCommerce transformation, marketplace optimization, and AI-driven automation.
Last reviewed: October 28, 2026
Short answer: Selling on Amazon is worth it when your product still makes a profit after Amazon’s referral fee (15% in most categories), the selling plan ($39.99 a month on Professional), fulfillment and storage, returns and the advertising it takes to get seen. It is usually not worth it for products with thin margins, restricted categories you cannot get approved for, or stock you cannot keep in supply. Run the numbers per product before you commit inventory.
Worked example: a $25 Home and Kitchen item
Computed from Amazon’s published fee table. FBA fees are not shown because Amazon publishes them per item in Seller Central and its Revenue Calculator, based on price, weight and dimensions.
| Cost line | Amount | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Referral fee (15%) | $3.75 | Home and Kitchen rate on the total price, including shipping and gift wrap |
| Selling plan | $0.99 per item (Individual) or $39.99 a month (Professional) | Amazon’s two selling plans |
| Fulfillment and storage | Varies by item | FBA fees from the Revenue Calculator, or your own shipping and packing if you fulfill orders yourself |
| Advertising, returns, product cost | Your numbers | What is left after these is contribution profit |
A five-question test before you commit
- Does the margin survive the fees? Check the referral fee for your fee category and the FBA estimate, then add product cost, inbound freight and returns.
- Can you afford to advertise? Budget for Sponsored Products while a new listing builds sales history, and set a break-even ACOS from your margin before you start.
- Is the product allowed? Amazon says some products, categories and brands require approval to sell, so check before you buy inventory.
- Do you own a brand? Brand owners can enroll in Brand Registry for A+ Content, Brand Stores, Sponsored Brands, Brand Analytics and protection tools. Reselling other brands means competing for the same listing.
- Can you keep it in stock? Stockouts stall sales and ranking, so plan inventory and cash flow for replenishment.
When the answer changes
- New brands get help in year one. Amazon offers new sellers over $50,000 in incentives, including 10% back on the first $50,000 in branded sales (then 5% through the first year up to $1,000,000) for Brand Registry brands and up to a $1,000 credit for Sponsored Products ads. Check eligibility before counting on it.
- Low-priced items. Fixed costs such as fulfillment and the $0.30 minimum referral fee take a larger share of a cheap item, so run the math per item before you list low-priced products.
- Heavy or oversized items. Fulfillment and storage grow with size and weight, so compare FBA with your own fulfillment in the Revenue Calculator.
- Categories with higher rates. Clothing over $20 is 17%, Jewelry is 20% on the first $250, and Amazon Device Accessories is 45%.
Eva starts every full-service Amazon management engagement with a dated baseline for sales, advertising cost, conversion, inventory and contribution profit, and a days 0 to 30 foundation phase that audits the account, listings, pricing and operations. Eva’s ecommerce bookkeeping reports monthly contribution margin by SKU after FBA fees, storage, advertising and returns, which is the number that answers whether Amazon is worth it for a given product. Brands can start with a free account audit.
Follow-up questions
Is it free to start selling on Amazon?
Creating the account is free, Amazon says, but selling has fees: $0.99 per item sold on the Individual plan or $39.99 a month on Professional, plus a referral fee on each sale and FBA fees if Amazon fulfills your orders.
How many independent sellers make real money on Amazon?
Amazon says more than 75,000 independent sellers passed $1 million in sales in 2025. That is sales, not profit, and it says nothing about the typical seller, so use your own margin math.
What is the biggest reason Amazon is not worth it for a product?
Usually margin. If the referral fee, fulfillment, storage, returns and the advertising needed to rank leave little or no contribution profit at a competitive price, more volume does not fix it.
Sources
- Sell on Amazon: How much does it cost to sell on Amazon? (selling plans, referral fee table, Revenue Calculator)
- Sell on Amazon: How to sell on Amazon (registration requirements, selling plans, applying to sell)
- Sell on Amazon: home page (new seller incentives, 2025 seller milestones)
- Sell on Amazon: Fulfillment by Amazon
- Sell on Amazon: Amazon Brand Registry
- Eva Commerce: Full-service Amazon management
- Eva Commerce: Ecommerce company formation and bookkeeping