FBA vs Easy Ship vs Self-Ship what each costs on amazon.in

FBA vs FBM, and what amazon.in calls them

Two words get used for the same decision, so it helps to separate what is common to every Amazon marketplace from what is specific to amazon.in.

So "FBA vs FBM" on amazon.in is really "FBA vs Easy Ship vs Self-Ship". This guide covers those three and leaves Seller Flex aside.

The three channels

• FBA. You send stock to an Amazon fulfilment centre. When an order arrives, Amazon packs and delivers it and handles the customer's queries, refunds and returns. FBA products are Prime-eligible, other than large appliances, furniture and similar items, with no enrolment fee.
• Easy Ship. You store and pack the product. An Amazon Logistics delivery associate collects it from your pickup address and delivers it. Easy Ship orders can be paid on delivery, and the amount is deposited in your bank account. Amazon says it delivers to more than 99% of India's serviceable pincodes. Sellers who qualify can apply for Easy Ship Prime, covered below, to carry the Prime badge.
• Self-Ship. You store, pack and deliver, using a third-party courier or your own delivery staff, and you bear the shipping cost.

Source: Amazon sell.amazon.in, Sell, pack and ship (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Source: Amazon sell.amazon.in, Amazon Easy Ship (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Source: Amazon sell.amazon.in, FAQ about Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Easy Ship Prime

Easy Ship Prime (ESP) is the answer to "can I get Prime without sending stock to Amazon". Amazon describes it as a programme that lets sellers list their Easy Ship products with the Prime badge, while you store and pack them at your own facility. It sits on top of Easy Ship rather than being a fourth channel: the closing-fee table lists "Easy Ship/Easy Ship Prime" as one column.

You apply for it, and Amazon's help page lists these requirements:

• An active account in good standing, already enrolled in Easy Ship.
• Membership of Amazon's Easy Ship Guaranteed Delivery programme for at least 7 days, and at least 10 Easy Ship orders processed, before you apply.
• The ability to ship all your Easy Ship orders the same day or the next.
• Late dispatch rate, cancellation rate and order defect rate each at or below 0.5%, over both 7-day and 30-day periods. Amazon's example: of 400 orders in 30 days, no more than 2 may ship late or be cancelled (buyer cancellations excluded). Failing this leads to Prime deactivation.
• Packages of about 70 x 70 x 45 cm and 22 kg at most. Amazon's two ESP pages word the limit slightly differently ("must not exceed" and "below"), so treat those figures as the ceiling.
• An application through Amazon's Adoption Form. You choose which products to enrol, and the whole catalogue need not be. Products restricted from Guaranteed Delivery are not eligible.

What customers see. Only Prime customers see the badge. For them Standard, One-Day and Two-Day delivery on these orders is free, and the speed an order gets depends on the delivery location and the product category. Amazon says the badge helps visibility and access to everyday deals; that is Amazon's claim, not something this guide can measure.

What it costs you. On orders from Prime customers, Amazon charges no fee beyond the normal Easy Ship weight handling charge. When a non-Prime customer chooses One-Day or Two-Day delivery on one of these products, the page shows the customer paying ₹100 or ₹80 and the seller paying a ₹65 delivery service fee plus GST. Standard delivery is free to both.

Source: Amazon Seller Central, Easy Ship Prime (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Source: Amazon Seller Central, Easy Ship Prime frequently asked questions (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Daily routine. Amazon's cut-off for Prime orders is 1:55 p.m. An order received before then should be scheduled for pickup the same day, by 2:10 p.m., with the pickup slot between 2:15 and 4:00 p.m. An order received after 1:55 p.m. moves to the next business day. You can spot these orders by the Prime badge and Ship By date on the Manage Orders page.

Amazon's returns and SAFE-T pages talk about Easy Ship without singling out Easy Ship Prime, and we found no separate returns rules for it.

What each one costs

Amazon charges on every channel a referral fee (a percentage of the price, set by category) and a closing fee (a fixed amount set by price band). Referral fees are listed by category, not by channel, so they are left out of the comparison below. On top come the channel's own fees, and Amazon adds 18% GST to all of them.

Source: Amazon sell.amazon.in, Amazon.in seller fees and pricing (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Closing fee, by item price including any shipping charged to the buyer (rupees, before GST, as shown in October 2026):

• Up to ₹300: FBA ₹27 (₹21 or ₹14 for listed categories), Easy Ship ₹2, Self-Ship ₹20.
• ₹301 to 500: FBA ₹23 (₹19 or ₹15 for listed categories), Easy Ship ₹23, Self-Ship ₹26.
• ₹501 to 1,000: FBA ₹30, Easy Ship ₹48, Self-Ship ₹51.
• Above ₹1,000: FBA ₹55 (₹75 for refrigerators, chimneys, other major appliances and other home entertainment), Easy Ship ₹79, Self-Ship ₹101.

Source: Amazon Seller Central, Closing fees (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Weight handling fee, per shipment, at the Standard STEP level (rupees, before GST). Your STEP level (Premium and Advanced, Standard or Basic; Amazon's tables point to its STEP page) moves these a little: the first 500 g costs ₹2 less at Premium and Advanced, and ₹3 to 4 more at Basic.

• First 500 g: FBA ₹39 Regional or ₹65 National; Easy Ship ₹55 flat.
• 500 g to 1 kg: FBA ₹54 or ₹85; Easy Ship ₹75.
• 1 kg to 2 kg: FBA ₹78 or ₹122; Easy Ship ₹112.
• Each kg after 2 kg: FBA ₹24 or ₹34; Easy Ship ₹34. After 5 kg, ₹13 or ₹18 for FBA and ₹18 for Easy Ship.

Two details matter. FBA's weight handling fee depends on the delivery zone, while Easy Ship's is one flat figure whatever the zone. And Amazon bases it on the outbound shipping weight; its FBA FAQ defines billing weight as the higher of the actual and the volumetric weight. Heavy and bulky items, school textbooks and regional books have their own tables.

Source: Amazon Seller Central, FBA fulfilment fees (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Source: Amazon Seller Central, Easy Ship weight handling fees (amazon.in, read October 2026).

FBA only: pick and pack. ₹17 for the first kilogram, ₹5 for each additional kilogram after that, and ₹2 for each additional 5 kg after 5 kg, capped at 20 kg.

FBA storage is ₹50 per cubic foot per month (₹1,766 per cubic metre), charged on your daily average volume for the calendar month and billed between the 7th and 15th of the month after. The volume is the unit's size packed and ready to ship, and Amazon's own measurement governs if it differs from yours. Amazon's page works an example: a unit packed at 47 x 12 x 10 cm is 0.199 cubic feet, so about ₹10 a month before GST. Amazon's FBA FAQ shows ₹33, which does not match the fee pages, so use ₹50.

Source: Amazon sell.amazon.in, Amazon.in seller fees and pricing (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Self-Ship has no Amazon weight handling fee. Your cost is your own courier, plus the closing fee above.

A worked example

One item, priced at ₹250, weighing 400 g, at the Standard STEP level, in a category that pays the standard closing fee. All figures are Amazon's fees in rupees before GST, from the tables above.

• FBA, Regional zone: closing fee 27 + weight handling 39 + pick and pack 17 = ₹83. In the National zone, with the weight handling at ₹65, it is ₹109. Add storage.
• Easy Ship: closing fee 2 + weight handling 55 = ₹57, in any zone.
• Self-Ship: closing fee 20 + your courier's charge. Amazon's part is ₹20.

With 18% GST on Amazon's fees, that is ₹97.94 for FBA in the Regional zone, ₹128.62 in the National zone, and ₹67.26 for Easy Ship. For Self-Ship, ₹23.60 plus your own courier.

At ₹250, Easy Ship was cheaper than FBA by ₹26 before GST. Move the price past ₹300 and the closing fees change, so redo the sum.

At this price band, Easy Ship's ₹2 closing fee does most of the work. At ₹301 to 500 the FBA and Easy Ship closing fees are both ₹23, and the gap comes down to weight handling and pick and pack. At every price, what the comparison leaves out is real: FBA brings Prime eligibility and Amazon's handling of customer service and returns, and Easy Ship leaves the packing, the storage and the pickup with you.

The fee lines on this page also leave out the referral fee, which depends on your category, and your own costs: the space, the packaging and the time.

Returns and claims

The channel also decides who deals with a return, and where you claim when one goes wrong.

• FBA: Amazon's customer service handles queries, refunds and returns, and a returned unit it judges sellable goes back into your inventory automatically. Losses are claimed through the FBA reimbursement process, covered in the FBA reimbursement guide.
• Easy Ship and Self-Ship: the return comes back to you, and a loss on it is claimed through SAFE-T, usually within 15 calendar days of the later of the return being delivered and the refund. The SAFE-T guide covers every window.

Source: Amazon sell.amazon.in, FAQ about Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) (amazon.in, read October 2026).

Source: Amazon Seller Central, FBA lost inventory reimbursement policy (amazon.in, read September 2026).

Source: Amazon Seller Central, SAFE-T policy for Easy Ship, Self-Ship and Seller Flex orders (amazon.in, read September 2026).

That is a real cost of FBM that the fee tables hide: the returns desk is yours, and so is the evidence. The returns evidence checklist is the habit that keeps those claims paid.

How to choose

There is no universal winner, and Amazon's pages do not claim one. These are the questions that decide it for a given product.

• What is the price? At low prices the closing fee dominates, and the channels differ most there. Redo the example above at your price.
• How heavy, and where do your buyers live? FBA's weight handling rises with distance, and Easy Ship's does not.
• Do you want Prime? It comes with FBA, or with Easy Ship Prime if you meet its requirements. The fees do not price what Prime does for your sales.
• Can you hold stock, pack and be there for a pickup? Easy Ship and Self-Ship need all three. FBA needs you to plan replenishment, and running out is its own cost: see reorder point and days of cover.
• How much return handling can you take on? See the returns section above.

Where Unilytic fits

Unilytic does not choose a channel for you. It works on both sides of the decision. For FBA, it turns your Inventory Ledger into a send list so you ship before you stock out, and flags units Amazon may owe you for. For seller-fulfilled orders, it reads your returns report and shows each return next to its refund and SAFE-T claim status, so the claims still open are a filtered list.

Questions sellers ask