FBA fees · read November 8, 2026
Amazon returns processing fee calculator
What one returned unit costs you, by weight and category — and what it costs per unit sold once your return rate is in. General merchandise and apparel are priced separately, units over 48 oz step up in 4 oz bands, and the 25-unit exemption ends on 2027-01-15.
Returns processing fee per returned unit
$3.05
up to 12 oz.Enter a return rate to turn this into a cost per unit sold.
The under-25-unit exemption still applies until 2027-01-15 (62 days away), after which every product is charged.
Two tables, not one
Apparel and general merchandise are priced separately and apparel is cheaper at every comparable size — $1.65 against $1.78 at the lightest weight, and $3.69 against $4.73 at 3 lb. The difference is not decoration: on a thousand returns it is real money, and a calculator with one table would be wrong for whichever seller it was not built for. Seller Central
The 48 oz step, and why 49 oz costs what 52 oz costs
Up to 3 lb the table lists a row per weight band. Above it, the fee is $5.00 plus 5¢ for each 4 oz begun. So a unit of 49 oz costs $5.05, a unit of 52 oz costs the same $5.05 — four ounces for the price of one — and a unit of 53 oz starts the next step at $5.10. Rounded up is the published rule, not a rounding habit of ours.
This fee stops being optional on 2027-01-15
Products that ship fewer than 25 units a month are not charged right now. From 2027-01-15 the exemption is withdrawn and the fee applies on every returned unit regardless of volume. If you are pricing a slow-selling product, price it as charged — the exemption has an end date and the product does not.
The published rates
Dollars per returned unit, as published. The last row of each table is the step table for units over 3 lb: a starting amount plus a few cents per band begun, so it is shown as a range rather than a single figure.
General merchandise
| Weight up to | Fee per returned unit |
|---|---|
| Small standard-size | |
| up to 2 oz | $1.78 |
| up to 4 oz | $1.84 |
| up to 6 oz | $1.90 |
| up to 8 oz | $1.96 |
| up to 10 oz | $2.02 |
| up to 12 oz | $2.08 |
| up to 14 oz | $2.14 |
| up to 1 lb | $2.21 |
| Large standard-size | |
| up to 4 oz | $2.36 |
| up to 8 oz | $2.70 |
| up to 12 oz | $3.05 |
| up to 1 lb | $3.39 |
| up to 1.25 lb | $3.70 |
| up to 1.5 lb | $4.01 |
| up to 1.75 lb | $4.32 |
| up to 2 lb | $4.63 |
| up to 2.25 lb | $4.66 |
| up to 2.5 lb | $4.68 |
| up to 2.75 lb | $4.71 |
| up to 3 lb | $4.73 |
| 3 lb to 20 lb$5.00 plus 5¢ for each 4 oz begun | $5.00–$8.40 |
Apparel
| Weight up to | Fee per returned unit |
|---|---|
| Small standard-size | |
| up to 4 oz | $1.65 |
| up to 8 oz | $1.75 |
| up to 12 oz | $1.85 |
| up to 1 lb | $1.95 |
| Large standard-size | |
| up to 4 oz | $2.04 |
| up to 8 oz | $2.12 |
| up to 12 oz | $2.19 |
| up to 1 lb | $2.27 |
| up to 1.5 lb | $2.62 |
| up to 2 lb | $2.98 |
| up to 2.5 lb | $3.33 |
| up to 3 lb | $3.69 |
| 3 lb to 20 lb$3.89 plus 10¢ for each 8 oz begun | $3.89–$7.29 |
Worked example
A 12 oz general-merchandise unit costs $3.05 to process if it comes back. At a 5% return rate that is $0.15 per unit sold — because only one unit in twenty carries the fee. Ship 100 units a month and you would expect five returns, or $15.25 a month. The same unit in apparel would be $2.19 per return, and $10.95 a month.
The per-unit-sold figure is arithmetic on your own return rate, not an Amazon statistic: we do not know your return rate, and the page never guesses one.
Questions
When is the returns processing fee charged?
Per returned unit, and only on returned units — not on units you sold. Products that ship fewer than 25 units a month are exempt until 2027-01-15; from that date the exemption stops and every returned unit is charged.
Why is apparel cheaper than general merchandise?
Because the published table has two columns and apparel is the cheaper one at every size we can compare: $1.65 against $1.78 at the smallest weight, and $3.69 against $4.73 at 48 oz. A calculator that used one table for both would overcharge every apparel seller and undercharge nobody.
How is a unit over 48 oz priced?
By steps rather than rows: $5.00 plus 5¢ for each 4 oz begun, up to 320 oz. Because the step is rounded up, one ounce over the line costs the whole band and the next three ounces are free; the figures are in the table above. Apparel steps 8 oz at a time from $3.89.
What does the exemption end mean for a slow seller?
It means the exemption is temporary. A product shipping 10 units a month is exempt today and charged from 2027-01-15 — on every returned unit, with no volume test at all. This page takes the date into account rather than describing today's rule as if it were permanent.
Should I use the fee per return or the cost per unit sold?
They answer different questions. The fee per return is what Amazon charges for one returned unit. The cost per unit sold — the fee multiplied by your return rate — is what to put in a unit economics calculation, because most units you sell do not come back and the ones that do carry the fee for all of them.
What about a unit heavier than 320 oz?
This table stops at 320 oz. Above that the unit is outside the sizes the returns table prices, and the page says so rather than using the neighbouring row. Those units sit with the larger fulfilment size tiers.
When were these rates read?
They were read from the published fee schedule on November 8, 2026. The exemption date and the two category tables come from the same document.
Rates read on . The exemption date and both tables come from the same document — check the current schedule before you budget on this. Sizes are Amazon's, not ours: 16 oz for small standard-size, 320 oz for large.