FBA prep service fees, line by line.
Every prep center charges four kinds of fee. Centers obscure which is which on purpose — bundled pricing makes comparison hard. Here's the structure, the typical ranges we've seen on verified centers, and what to question before signing.
The four fee categories.
Typical ranges are not a quote. They are the band most published rates fall inside. Always confirm in writing for your specific SKU mix and volume.
| Fee | What it covers | Typical range | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving fee | Charged per unit or per pallet when your inbound arrives. | $0.40–$0.70 / unit · $25–$35 / pallet | Per-unit minimums (some centers won't take under 50 units). Pallet rates that exclude unloading labor. |
| Prep fee (per unit) | FNSKU label, polybag, bubble wrap, or any required Amazon-prep step. | $0.40–$1.25 / unit depending on services | Bundle pricing that hides which steps are included. FNSKU often free above 50 units; polybag rarely is. |
| Storage | Holding inventory before it ships to FBA or to a customer. | $0.40–$0.70 / cubic foot / month | Surcharge after 90 days. Pallet vs cubic-foot billing. Long-term tier triggers. |
| Returns processing | Handling FBA removal orders and customer-returned units. | $1.00–$2.00 / unit | Whether they relabel for re-FBA or just dispose. Per-shipment minimums on removal orders. |
Quick monthly cost estimate.
Enter your monthly volume and tier. We'll return a ballpark. Real per-center math lands once we publish verified quote ranges per center — currently being collected.
Why our fee data is verifiable.
Every per-center pricing note on this site carries a retrieval date. If we say a center charges $0.55 / unit, the profile page tells you when we last read that number directly off the center's own site or written quote. We don't average across sources, and we don't carry forward a stale number without re-checking.
For context: the largest prep-center directory we audited publishes $0 in pricing data across ~190 profile pages. The contrast is the point. Pricing is the friction that buyers actually care about; obscuring it is a tell.