Amazon (US): the $1.80 case
A $5 paperback costs Amazon $2.95 — a 59% commission, not the 15% the Books category advertises.
Short answer
A $5 paperback costs Amazon $2.95 — a 59% commission, not the 15% the Books category advertises. On a $5.00 sale that is $2.95 in fees — 59.0% of the sale — leaving $2.05. The Books category is published at 15% referral. Every book, DVD, music, software and video-game sale also carries a flat $1.80 closing fee that the category rate does not mention. Below about $15 the closing fee is larger than the referral fee itself, so the real take rate passes 20%, then 30%, then approaches 59% at $5.
Your numbers
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Net payout
$2.05
- Total fees
- $2.95
- Effective fee rate
- 59.0%
- Net profit
- $2.05
- Buyer pays
- $5.00
Fee breakdown
- Referral fee · Books
15% × $5.00−$0.75 - Closing fee · Books · per item sold
$1.80−$1.80 - Selling plan fee · Professional plan · $39.99 ÷ 100 orders a month
$0.40−$0.40
What $1.80 actually costs
On the default sale above, Amazon (US) takes $2.95 — 59.0% of the price, leaving $2.05 in the seller's account.
The Books category is published at 15% referral. Every book, DVD, music, software and video-game sale also carries a flat $1.80 closing fee that the category rate does not mention. Below about $15 the closing fee is larger than the referral fee itself, so the real take rate passes 20%, then 30%, then approaches 59% at $5.
Every line is itemised below with the arithmetic that produced it, so each figure can be checked against the published rate card.
The $0.30 floor, and the categories that do not have it
Read the referral line on its own here. On a $1 electronics item Amazon computes 8% = $0.08, then charges $0.30 because that category carries the published minimum. The same $1 item in grocery is charged 8% and nothing more, because the official rate card prints "--" in the minimum column for grocery, media, video games, consoles, gift cards and fine art.
The floor is not a rounding rule, it is a per-unit charge. It only disappears once the percentage overtakes it — at 8% that happens at $3.75, so everything below that price pays $0.30 in referral fee no matter how low the percentage would be.
Professional selling plan, with the $39.99 monthly fee spread over 100 orders ($0.40 per order). On a $1 item that plan fee is larger than the referral fee, which is exactly why a sub-$2 sale is not viable on this plan.
The same price on every other platform
This is what makes the $1.80 figure unusual: at $5.00, the platforms rank like this.
Poshmark: $2.95 (59.0%).
eBay (US): $0.98 (19.6%).
Etsy: $0.93 (18.6%).
Depop (US): $0.62 (12.4%).
Mercari: $0.50 (10.0%).
Rates last verified 2026-10-14.
Rate table
| Most categories | 15% |
|---|---|
| Home & kitchen | 15% |
| Consumer electronics & computers | 8% |
| Electronics accessories | 15% up to $100.00, then 8% |
| Clothing & accessories | 5% up to $15.00, 10% to $20.00, then 17% |
| Beauty, health & personal care | 8% up to $10.00, then 15% |
| Baby products | 8% up to $10.00, then 15% |
| Grocery & gourmet food | 8% up to $15.00, then 15% |
| Toys & games | 15% |
| Sports & outdoors | 15% |
| Pet supplies | 15% |
| Books | 15% |
| Jewelry | 20% up to $250.00, then 5% |
| Compact appliances | 15% up to $300.00, then 8% |
| Full-size appliances | 8% |
| Automotive & powersports | 12% |
| Amazon device accessories | 45% |
| Minimum referral feeper item — charged whenever the category percentage rounds below it. Grocery, media and video games print "--" instead: they carry no minimum | $0.30 |
| Media closing feebooks, DVD, music, software, video and video games only — charged on top of the referral fee, whether Amazon or you ship the order | $1.80 per item |
| Individual selling planno monthly fee; no Buy Box or advertising access | $0.99 per item sold |
| Professional selling planbecomes the cheaper plan at roughly 40 sales a month | $39.99 per month |
| FBA fulfilmentthe fee you actually pay is the one in your Seller Central fee preview | by size tier and weight |
| FBA fuel & logistics surchargein effect since 17 April 2026 | 3.5% of the fulfilment fee |
| FBA storageroughly $0.87 per cubic foot in Jan–Sep, $2.40 in Oct–Dec | monthly, by volume |
| AdvertisingSponsored Products is a budget you set; many sellers spend 10–15% of revenue on it | not a published fee |
- Rates last verified
Formula
5%–45% referral fee by category — applied to this case it comes to $2.95 on $5.00What each term means
referral fee- 15.0% × $5.00
closingFee- $1.80
subscriptionFee- $0.40
Assumptions
- Amazon (US) US marketplace, USD, one third-party seller.
- Professional selling plan where the platform has one, with the monthly fee spread over 100 orders so the per-order figures stay visible.
- The buyer pays no shipping, so the fee base is the item price alone.
- Postage, item cost and packaging are excluded from the fee and shown only in the profit line.
- Advertising is a budget the seller sets, not a published fee, so it is not included.
Worked examples
The same item listed at $5
- Buyer pays
- $5.00
- Total fees
- $2.95
- Effective rate
- 59.0%
- Net profit
- $2.05
Fee breakdown
- Referral fee · Books
15% × $5.00−$0.75 - Closing fee · Books · per item sold
$1.80−$1.80 - Selling plan fee · Professional plan · $39.99 ÷ 100 orders a month
$0.40−$0.40
$2.95 in fees — 59.0% of the sale. the worst case — $2.95 of fees on a $5 sale.
The same item listed at $10
- Buyer pays
- $10.00
- Total fees
- $3.70
- Effective rate
- 37.0%
- Net profit
- $6.30
Fee breakdown
- Referral fee · Books
15% × $10.00−$1.50 - Closing fee · Books · per item sold
$1.80−$1.80 - Selling plan fee · Professional plan · $39.99 ÷ 100 orders a month
$0.40−$0.40
$3.70 in fees — 37.0% of the sale. still more than double the headline 15%.
The same item listed at $20
- Buyer pays
- $20.00
- Total fees
- $5.20
- Effective rate
- 26.0%
- Net profit
- $14.80
Fee breakdown
- Referral fee · Books
15% × $20.00−$3.00 - Closing fee · Books · per item sold
$1.80−$1.80 - Selling plan fee · Professional plan · $39.99 ÷ 100 orders a month
$0.40−$0.40
$5.20 in fees — 26.0% of the sale. where the closing fee stops dominating.
The same item listed at $30
- Buyer pays
- $30.00
- Total fees
- $6.70
- Effective rate
- 22.3%
- Net profit
- $23.30
Fee breakdown
- Referral fee · Books
15% × $30.00−$4.50 - Closing fee · Books · per item sold
$1.80−$1.80 - Selling plan fee · Professional plan · $39.99 ÷ 100 orders a month
$0.40−$0.40
$6.70 in fees — 22.3% of the sale. approaching the true 15% + a small add-on.
Every figure above is computed from the rate schedule on this page for Amazon (US), using the same engine as the calculator — not typed in by hand.
Common mistakes
Assuming the headline rate applies at $1.80
The Books category is published at 15% referral. Every book, DVD, music, software and video-game sale also carries a flat $1.80 closing fee that the category rate does not mention. Below about $15 the closing fee is larger than the referral fee itself, so the real take rate passes 20%, then 30%, then approaches 59% at $5.
Reading a percentage when the fee has a fixed component
A flat charge does not scale down with the sale. It is why the effective rate on a cheap sale can be several times the published percentage, and why quoting the percentage alone understates the cost badly.
Questions
- Why does Amazon (US) charge $1.80 here?
- The Books category is published at 15% referral. Every book, DVD, music, software and video-game sale also carries a flat $1.80 closing fee that the category rate does not mention. Below about $15 the closing fee is larger than the referral fee itself, so the real take rate passes 20%, then 30%, then approaches 59% at $5. The figure is taken from the current published rate card, verified 2026-10-14.
- What does Amazon (US) charge on a $5.00 sale?
- $2.95, which is 59.0% of the sale, leaving $2.05. Every fee is listed separately above with the formula behind it.
- How do the fees change as the sale price rises?
- $5 → $2.95 (59.0%); $10 → $3.70 (37.0%); $20 → $5.20 (26.0%); $30 → $6.70 (22.3%).
Related calculators
These calculators apply published marketplace fee schedules. They are general information tools, not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice — check your own payout statement and speak to a qualified professional where it matters.
Amazon (US) — 5%–45% referral fee by category. Rates last verified: . the marketplace's own fee page.