Common Mistakes Sellers Make with Storage Fee (FBA)

Many new and experienced sellers alike make similar mistakes when dealing with Storage Fee (FBA). These errors usually stem from underestimating how quickly storage charges accumulate and from not treating warehousing as a dynamic cost center that requires active management. Below are common pitfalls and practical steps to avoid them.

Mistake 1 — Overordering and sending too much inventory. A common instinct is to ship large quantities to ensure product availability and win the Buy Box, but excess inventory increases monthly storage and raises the risk of long-term storage fees. Avoid this by using conservative initial shipments, frequent replenishment cycles, and tighter reorder points based on sales velocity.

Mistake 2 — Ignoring inventory age and long-term thresholds. Sellers who do not monitor how long items sit in warehouse often get hit with long-term storage fees. Regularly check inventory-age reports, set automated alerts, and have a plan (discounts, removals, or disposals) for items approaching the fee threshold.

Mistake 3 — Underestimating the impact of cubic volume and packaging. Storage Fee (FBA) is often volume-based. Sellers that don’t optimize packaging or mismeasure dimensions can pay significantly more. Measure packed dimensions accurately and consider repackaging (when allowed) to reduce wasted space.

Mistake 4 — Treating Amazon warehouses like free storage. Some sellers use FBA as long-term inventory holding without factoring in accumulating fees. Warehousing has real costs—treat FBA like a paid service and allocate it to profitable SKUs only. For slow or bulky items, consider cheaper 3PL storage or FBM options.

Mistake 5 — Failing to act on aged or stranded inventory. Stranded listings (inventory that’s in the warehouse but not sellable due to listing or compliance issues) continue to accrue storage fees. Monitor for stranded inventory, resolve listing problems, and remove or relist items quickly. Similarly, if inventory is aged, proactively create removal orders or run targeted campaigns.

Mistake 6 — Not accounting for seasonality. Sending seasonal products too early or failing to remove leftover stock after peak season often leads to unnecessary fees. Align inbound shipments with expected demand windows and plan end-of-season clearance events.

Mistake 7 — Misunderstanding fee schedule changes and regional differences. Amazon updates fee structures, seasonal surcharges, and long-term storage policies periodically. Fees can differ by country. Sellers who fail to stay informed can be surprised by higher-than-expected charges. Subscribe to Amazon announcements, and review fee tables for each marketplace you use.

Mistake 8 — Not factoring in removal and disposal costs. When deciding whether to remove aged inventory, some sellers forget the removal/disposal fees and time delays. Compare the total cost of ongoing storage versus removal/disposal to pick the most cost-effective option. In some cases, a small write-off and disposal is cheaper than months of storage.

Mistake 9 — Overreliance on FBA for low-margin items. For thin-margin SKUs, FBA storage and fulfillment fees can eliminate profitability. Before enrolling a SKU in FBA, calculate the full landed cost including storage, fulfillment, referral fees, and returns. If margins are tight, use FBM or alternative fulfillment that gives you lower fixed warehousing costs.

Mistake 10 — Missing opportunities to consolidate or bundle. Sellers often list single SKUs that move slowly but fail to explore bundling options. Bundles can increase perceived value, move more units per transaction, and reduce overall cubic-foot cost per sale. Ensure bundles are compliant with Amazon rules and clearly differentiated from single-item listings.

How to avoid these mistakes: create a monthly routine to review inventory health reports, set alerts for aging items, maintain lean inventory levels for new SKUs, and build simple cost models that include potential storage and removal fees. Small operational disciplines—accurate dimensioning, timely removals, seasonal planning, and modeling fees before shipping—add up to meaningful savings.

Example: A hobby-supplies seller repeatedly sent high quantities of large, lightly purchased items to FBA. After reviewing fee statements and inventory age, they moved bulky slow-moving SKUs to a local 3PL for storage, reserved FBA for best-sellers, and used targeted promotions to clear aged stock. Within two quarters they reduced average monthly storage spend and improved overall margin.

Recognizing these common mistakes and establishing a few simple rules—measure before you ship, monitor age, act on slow stock, and model all fees—will help you manage Storage Fee (FBA) effectively and protect your margins as your business grows.