What Amazon FBA is
FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. The brand or seller sends its inventory to Amazon's fulfilment centres and, from then on, Amazon takes care of everything: storage, order picking, shipping, customer service and returns.
The alternative is FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant): the seller keeps the stock and ships orders themselves or through their logistics provider. Many brands combine both models depending on the product.
Advantages
The main one is Prime. FBA products are automatically eligible for Prime, with fast delivery and free shipping for Prime customers, who are the ones who buy most on Amazon.
- Higher conversion: the Prime badge builds trust and often tips the purchase.
- Better chances of winning the Buy Box: the shipping method is one of the factors that count.
- Customer service and returns handled by Amazon.
- Scalability: peaks like Prime Day or Black Friday without overwhelming your logistics.
- Sales in other European countries with stock in Amazon's warehouses.
Costs and risks
FBA has two main fees: the fulfilment fee per unit sold, which depends on the product's size and weight, and the monthly storage fee, which rises in the last quarter of the year. On top of that come surcharges for inventory that has been in the warehouse too long and costs for removals or disposal of stock.
The risk lies in products that turn over slowly or take up a lot of space: they pay storage month after month without selling. You also have to manage stock carefully: running out of units in FBA loses rankings that are hard to recover.
When it's worth it and when it isn't
The decision is made product by product, calculating the net margin after all Amazon fees and comparing it with what it would cost to ship from your own warehouse.
- Worth it: small or medium products with good turnover and enough margin.
- Worth it: categories where customers filter by Prime.
- Not worth it: bulky or heavy products with low margins.
- Not worth it: a long-tail catalogue that sells few units a month.
- Mixed: FBA for the bestsellers and FBM for the rest.
How to get started
Start with a small group of products with good turnover, calculate their profitability with all the fees and prepare the shipment to the warehouse following Amazon's labelling and packaging requirements.
At the same time, work on the listing (titles, images, A+ content) and advertising, because FBA improves conversion but doesn't bring traffic on its own. At Beter, working on their Amazon account, Amazon sales tripled and many products reached the top of their subcategory with the Amazon's Choice label.
Frequently asked questions
Does FBA give automatic access to Prime?
Yes. Products fulfilled with FBA are eligible for Prime, provided they meet Amazon's requirements.
Can you combine FBA and your own shipping?
Yes. It's common to use FBA for the best-selling products and FBM, with your own shipping, for the rest of the catalogue.
How much does Amazon FBA cost?
It depends on the size, the weight and how long the product stays in the warehouse. Up-to-date fees are in Seller Central and it's worth calculating them product by product before sending stock.
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Leads Webimpacto’s Marketplaces team: Amazon, Miravia, El Corte Inglés and other channels, from catalogue onboarding to advertising within each platform.