If Amazon sellers choose not to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), how is shipping cost calculated?

When sellers on Amazon ship their products, they can opt for FBA or self-fulfillment. The standards for calculating shipping costs vary depending on the chosen shipping mode.

1. Self-Fulfillment

For cross-border sellers opting for self-fulfillment, they need to log in to the Amazon platform, select the self-fulfillment template when setting the shipping mode, and then calculate the shipping cost based on the prompts provided by the platform.

Under the self-fulfillment mode, there are three shipping modes—order amount-based calculation, item/weight-based calculation, and media item shipping. Here's a detailed explanation:

▪️ Order amount-based calculation involves charging different rates for each price segment created by the seller.

▪️ Item/weight-based calculation involves setting charges for each product or charging based on the weight of each item, typically in pounds.

▪️ Media item shipping is specific to books, music, and video products, requiring a separate calculation. In this case, sellers cannot set the shipping cost independently; Amazon determines it based on specific rules.

2. FBA Shipping

If FBA shipping is chosen, Amazon takes care of the delivery, and shipping cost calculation is primarily based on product category and dimensions.

Factors affecting FBA shipping costs include product type, packaging size, product weight, etc.

Compared to opting for Amazon FBA warehousing and logistics, if sellers choose self-fulfillment, they need to consider both the initial transportation cost (head transport) and the final delivery cost (tail transport). The initial transport cost is influenced by factors such as the transportation method, product weight and volume, destination, and product nature.