← Amazon FBA vs FBM calculator
Sellers search this after a supplier MOQ lands and Amazon offers Warehousing and Distribution. Sending the whole lot to FBA is simple. AWD parks the bulk at a cheaper cubic-foot rate and replenishes a working FBA stock. You-hold is the garage or 3PL version of that drip. The main calculator’s inbound / unit line is a blended number, so it cannot show whether the extra transfer is cheaper than parking 400 units in FBA.
On the default $29.99 large-standard unit, AWD keeps $165.33 more on 400 units than sending everything to FBA now ($4723.93 vs $4558.60). AWD receive is $0.15 and the $0.68 transfer on units that move still beats $1.20 FBA inbound plus five months of FBA storage on the pile. The transfer can rise to about $1.09 before FBA wins. A $1.20 transfer flips FBA ahead by $42.67. You-hold and drip loses $161.33 because $0.25 / unit / month at home is more than FBA storage on this carton.
| Path | Inbound | Transfer | Storage | Cash | vs FBA |
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Cash is sold units × (sale − referral − pick − COGS − prep) minus receive, AWD-to-FBA or drip inbound, and start-of-month storage. Return mix is held at zero so this table stays an inbound-bulk question. Complementary to inbound placement (which FC, not AWD vs FBA), to aged inventory (units already sitting), to Q4 storage (when you send), and to supplier MOQ (how many you buy), and to low-inventory restock (how thin FBA already is), and to Remote Fulfillment (Canada demand from the US pile, not AWD vs FBA). Paste receive, storage, and transfer from your current AWD and FBA fee previews. This page does not publish Amazon’s live AWD schedule.
The calculator is arithmetic, not advice. It does not recommend AWD, sending the whole lot to FBA, or holding inventory yourself.
On the calculator defaults — a $29.99 large-standard unit, 15% referral, $4.15 FBA pick, $8 cost of goods, $1.20 FBA inbound, 400 units selling 80 a month, AWD receive $0.15, AWD storage $0.48 / cu ft, and $0.68 AWD-to-FBA — AWD keeps $165.33 more on the lot than sending everything to FBA now ($4723.93 vs $4558.60). The transfer can rise to about $1.09 before FBA wins. You-hold and drip loses $161.33 because $0.25 / unit / month at home is more than FBA storage on this carton.
No. Inbound placement is which fulfillment centers a shipment goes to, and the fee Amazon charges when you send to fewer of them. AWD is a cheaper bulk warehouse in front of FBA: you receive the PO there, then Amazon replenishes a working FBA stock. This page holds placement at zero so the table stays an inbound-bulk question. It does not recommend AWD and it does not publish Amazon's live AWD schedule.
When the AWD-to-FBA transfer plus AWD receive is more than FBA inbound plus the extra FBA storage on the pile. On these defaults a $1.20 transfer flips FBA ahead by $42.67 on 400 units. A slow sell-through usually favors AWD because leftover units sit at the cheaper cubic-foot rate. Replace the receive, storage, and transfer lines from your current AWD and FBA fee previews.