Amazon FBA Margins for Clothing & Apparel

Selling apparel on Amazon FBA is highly lucrative but comes with unique fee structures. The most critical difference is the Referral Fee. While most Amazon categories incur a 15% referral fee, the Clothing and Accessories category incurs a premium 17% referral fee.

The High Cost of Returns

Apparel also suffers from the highest return rates on Amazon (frequently exceeding 15%). When a customer returns a shirt because it doesn't fit, Amazon refunds the customer but keeps a portion of the referral fee (the Refund Administration Fee) and charges you for the return processing. You must mathematically bake a 15% return rate assumption into your initial pricing models to ensure profitability.