Grocery & Gourmet Food FBA Fees
Referral fee 8% on items above $15, 15% below. Expiration date tracking and short shelf life add operational complexity.
Grocery & Gourmet Food uses a dual-rate referral fee: 15% on the portion of the price at or below $15, and 8% on the portion above. The structure favors higher-priced gourmet items over commodity grocery.
The operational complexity is shelf life. Amazon enforces expiration date requirements on most grocery items: products with less than 90 days of shelf life cannot be inbound to FBA, and Amazon will dispose of inventory whose expiration date passes during storage. This means inventory turnover discipline is non-negotiable in grocery — slow movers don't just sit there costing storage fees, they get destroyed.
For sellers, the right grocery strategy is high-velocity SKUs only with tight inventory turnover, OR specialty/niche items with long shelf life (dried goods, candy, packaged snacks with 12-24 month expiration). Anything in between tends to lose money to expiration disposal.
Referral fee
Fulfillment fee tiers
| Tier | Fee (USD) |
|---|---|
| Small standard (≤ 1 lb) | $3.27 |
| Large standard (1-3 lbs) | $5.40 |
| Large standard (3-20 lbs) | $6.85 |
Storage fees
Category-specific fees and gotchas
- Expiration date enforcement: less than 90 days remaining at inbound = rejected.
- Inventory disposal on expiration is automatic and irreversible.
Fee data is approximate and updated for early 2026. Always verify current rates against the official FBA fee schedules in Amazon Seller Central before making pricing or sourcing decisions.