← Amazon FBA vs FBM calculator
Sellers search this after Amazon offers FBA Prep Service on an inbound shipment: FNSKU labels, polybags, bubble wrap. The alternative is you-prep — the supplies and time already sitting in the listing as Prep / packaging. Referral and the pick fee do not get cheaper when Amazon sticks the label on.
Open the Amazon FBA calculator, keep your own list price and fee preview, and enter the Amazon labeling, bagging, and bubble-wrap lines from the inbound preview. The table below uses the page defaults: $29.99, 15% referral, large-standard FBA at $4.15, $8.00 cost of goods, $0.60 you-prep, 80 units a month, 30% target margin, $0.30 Amazon labeling, $0.55 bagging, and $0.80 bubble wrap.
You-prep at $0.60 keeps $10.99 (36.7%) and hits the 30% target. Amazon labeling at $0.30 keeps $11.29 — $0.30 more per unit, $24.00 more this month at 80 units. Label + bag is $0.85 and loses $0.25 vs you-prep ($20.00 this month). Label + bag + bubble is $1.65 and loses $1.05 ($84.00 this month). All four rows still hit the target. Amazon prep can rise to $0.60 before you-prep wins.
| Prep | Cost | Profit | vs you-prep |
|---|---|---|---|
| You prep | $0.60 | $10.99 | $0.00 |
| Amazon labeling | $0.30 | $11.29 | +$0.30 |
| Amazon label + bag | $0.85 | $10.74 | −$0.25 |
| Amazon label + bag + bubble | $1.65 | $9.94 | −$1.05 |
If you-prep is already cheap — a $0.20 sticker and bag you already own — Amazon labeling at $0.30 loses $0.10 per unit, and adding Amazon bagging loses more. The calculator reports the Amazon fee that ties you-prep, which is the you-prep cost you typed. Paste the total from a shipment preview into the quote field when Amazon bundles services you did not split out.
This is not an inbound-placement decision and it is not FBA vs FBM. Rates change by warehouse, size, and account. This page does not publish Amazon’s live prep schedule. Enter the numbers from your current inbound preview. The calculator is arithmetic, not advice, and it does not claim Amazon will accept the shipment on the fees you typed.
On the calculator example — a $29.99 home listing, 15% referral, large-standard FBA at $4.15, $8 cost of goods, and $0.60 you-prep — you-prep keeps $10.99 (36.7%). Amazon labeling at $0.30 keeps $11.29, $0.30 more per unit and $24.00 more this month at 80 units. Label + bag is $0.85 and loses $0.25 vs you-prep. Label + bag + bubble is $1.65 and loses $1.05. Amazon prep can rise to $0.60 before you-prep wins.
Amazon charges per unit on inbound shipments for FNSKU labeling, polybagging, bubble wrap, and similar prep. The page defaults are illustrative. Enter the lines from your inbound shipment preview. Referral, pick fee, inbound freight, and storage do not change when you swap who preps the unit.
No. Prep is a cash line on the unit before it sells. The FBA pick fee and the category referral stay the same. The calculator swaps only the prep / packaging cost and shows leftover profit, the monthly gap, and the Amazon fee that still matches you-prep. It does not recommend a prep path.