What are ballpark rates for amazon FBA for small items (watch straps) large letter sizes?

[Karimbo]

I have always self fulfilled, when I started the business I felt that if I;m around my products and handling them I will keep on top of the quality and bundle products better and of course it will be cheaper because the products are tiny.

Just 4 years ago, 1st class LL was £1.35 and it was quite cheap, honestly the cost is almost like it was free compared to now. Now it's £3.05 which changes the equation for me.

I am just curious, how much would amazon FBA charge to store and ship out watch straps?

I know amazon sells items for <£3, sometimes £1.50, so I'm guessing the storage and shipping must be less than £1.50?

Just a ball park guesstimate would be appreciated I dont want to create an account, send enquries etc just to get a quote.

 

[AmazonGeek]

FBA rates are based on size and weight (and can be cheaper if the cost is under £10, depending on the category). You need to figure out which size band the package is in and then use the weight to work out the final cost.

Size tiers - https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/G2CD5P9TSDYZA2XG

Rate card - https://sellercentral-europe.amazon...RUZXKWG8FR5&mons_sel_persist=true#mnd_2jc_jcb

You can also look at an existing listing and use the fee calculator to see what they are paying...

Fee calculator - https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/revcalpublic?ref=RC1&lang=en-GB

For example...
ASIN: B0CB6CLPNZ
Dimensions:1.700 x 4.100 x 14.100 cm
Fee category: Watches
Light Envelope
Price:£9.99
Price tier: Low price (under £10)
Unit weight: 50g
dimensional weight: 19.655g

FBA cost for this one is £1.52, which includes all the customer service too.

 

[Nathanto]

FBA cost for this one is £1.52, which includes all the customer service too.

That sounds like an amazing deal for sellers, does that FBA rate also apply to Prime free delivery customers?

In the early hours of yesterday morning I ordered a £3.19 pack of button batteries with free Prime delivery from an Amazon seller; it was delivered same day by courier to my rural mid-Wales home.

Incredible service from a customer point of view but I can't be alone in wondering how anyone is making a living from such deals, sheer volume I guess.

 

[Karimbo]

That sounds like an amazing deal for sellers, does that FBA rate also apply to Prime free delivery customers?

In the early hours of yesterday morning I ordered a £3.19 pack of button batteries with free Prime delivery from an Amazon seller; it was delivered same day by courier to my rural mid-Wales home.

Incredible service from a customer point of view but I can't be alone in wondering how anyone is making a living from such deals, sheer volume I guess.

not a dig at you, but customers are overly impressed by speed of delivery, not the value/quality of the product.

Most of the reviews I receive on my own store. talk about the speed of receiving the items, unfortunately i cant ignore that so I have to get items out fast, if a customer orders something from my store at 5:45pm i often pack and post within minutes and drop it off to the royal mail depot which is 15 minutes from me - their last cut off is 6:30pm. if i can get first class items dropped off there is a 95% chance customer will have their item the next day.

I pay £3.05 for first class, i could be paying £1.55 for second class. but to keep customers happy i have to offer first class. all my items are free delivery to UK.

I have seriously considered putting everything on second class by default and charging a small supplement to upgrade the 2nd class to tracked 24. That would cut my costs a lot and improve my bottom line. but it's could be bad for customer satisfcation

 

[Nathanto]

not a dig at you, but customers are overly impressed by speed of delivery, not the value/quality of the product.

To be fair to customers though I would hazard that the vast majority of products are exactly the same quality whether from Amazon, eBay or an independent seller and so it's no surprise that speed of delivery and customer service then become the differentiators.

Of course Amazon excel at both delivery and CS which is why they're the most successful online retailer on the planet.

if a customer orders something from my store at 5:45pm i often pack and post within minutes and drop it off to the royal mail depot which is 15 minutes from me - their last cut off is 6:30pm. if i can get first class items dropped off there is a 95% chance customer will have their item the next day.

Been there and done that. We would still be boxing up orders when the courier and postman arrived to collect and so every evening I'd still race to the local Sorting Office to catch the last possible cut-off so that customers got their shiny new mobile phone the very next day.

For reference this was over 25 years ago when the Internet was still this shiny new thing so next day delivery as standard was quite radical for the time. For several years I actually personally delivered orders on Christmas Day so that customers got their pressies in time for the big day.

For you, switching to 2nd class could be risky as my experience is it can be really slow just lately - maybe trial it for a bit but be ready to switch back if you get too many complaints. Depending on your industry, a few negative reviews based on delivery could come back to bite you.

 

[AmazonGeek]

That sounds like an amazing deal for sellers, does that FBA rate also apply to Prime free delivery customers?

Not sure what you mean. That £1.52 is what the seller of that product pays Amazon to have it delivered for them, including all the customer service. The alternative is to do it yourself and of course you would struggle to match that price, even if you didn't account for your own time getting to the post office.

Whether the Amazon customer pays for it or not depends on whether they have a Prime account or not. If they do, then delivery is free. If not, then it can still be free if the total basket is over £35. Otherwise the customer pays a delivery charge.

 

[Karimbo]

For you, switching to 2nd class could be risky as my experience is it can be really slow just lately - maybe trial it for a bit but be ready to switch back if you get too many complaints. Depending on your industry, a few negative reviews based on delivery could come back to bite you.

I was thinking of ratcheting the pricing. the cheapest item is £12. The most expensive item are £22. I do have some repeatability with customers - not all one offs. ALso I can sell multiples in one go.

The £12 item, I'm paying £1.50 for the item, around £4.44 in customer acquisition and £0.90 VAT - (7.5% flat rate scheme), £3.05 postage. leaving £2.11 profit. dropping this to 2nd class would make £3.61 profit.

I can probably offer different levels of delivery based on basket price.
free 2nd class < £15
free 1st class standard < £30
free tracked 24 >£30

The single item £12 purchases are thankfully quite low. I have good incentives in place to double up and tremble up the items. with 3 for 2. The cusotmer acqusition cost is more than the cost of the item for me so throw in a 3rd free items to get them to spend more.

 

[Nathanto]

Not sure what you mean. Whether the Amazon customer pays for it or not depends on whether they have a Prime account or not. If they do, then delivery is free. If not, then it can still be free if the total basket is over £35. Otherwise the customer pays a delivery charge.

Thanks, that's the answer to my not very well worded question - I wasn't sure if sellers were charged the same FBA cost even if the customer was offered free delivery or whether sellers had to pay a premium for the 'Free Prime Delivery' offer to appear.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

How much time do you spend making watch straps that sell at such low cost, you could consider moving up market instead of scrambling at pennies profit. That 10 min to post cost you at minimum wage of £12.21 , 10 min each way that time could have been spent earning the minimum wage, so your postage time cost you a loss of £4.07 you could have earned had you used the time to earn money

 

[Karimbo]

How much time do you spend making watch straps that sell at such low cost, you could consider moving up market instead of scrambling at pennies profit. That 10 min to post cost you at minimum wage of £12.21 , 10 min each way that time could have been spent earning the minimum wage, so your postage time cost you a loss of £4.07 you could have earned had you used the time to earn money

What you're failing to see on my example (my least profitable, low order value example). Is that I'm seeling a unit that with landed cost of £1.50, sold for £12.

Whether the customer buys 1 item or 4 items, the postage cost is essentually the same. The customer acquisition cost is the same.

I am just looking for ideas to squeeze the berry out of the lone item order.

The business is profitable and does well.

 

[DontAsk]

around £4.44 in customer acquisition

Per sale?

I'm puzzled, what does that consist of?

 

[Karimbo]

I haven't attributed it properly. I just did total.cost on ads and marketing / total orders. Attribution is difficult with private browsing.

That includes my personal seo efforts and paid search. It's possible my seo is buffing the profitability of paid ads.

Also a lot of returning customers as well

 

[DontAsk]

Seems a lot to me, 3x what the item cost just to sell it on, before you have even made a profit.