FBA vs FBM gets argued as an identity — you are either an FBA seller or you are not. That framing costs money. Fulfilment is a per-SKU decision, and the correct answer usually changes with product size, order velocity, and return rate.
This article compares the three fulfilment routes available to Indian sellers on cost per unit, then gives you the break-even test to run on your own catalogue.
The three routes, honestly compared
| FBA | Easy Ship | Self-ship FBM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who stores stock | Amazon FC | You | You |
| Who packs | Amazon | You | You |
| Who delivers | Amazon | Amazon | You / your courier |
| Prime badge | Yes | Limited eligibility | Only via Seller-Fulfilled Prime |
| Storage fees | Yes, monthly | No | No |
| Buy Box advantage | Strongest | Moderate | Requires strong metrics |
| Returns handled by | Amazon | Amazon logistics | You |
| Working capital tied up | High | Medium | Lowest |
| Best for | Fast movers, small size | Mid-velocity, own warehouse | Bulky, slow, high-return |
Cost per unit: where the money actually goes
Referral and closing fees apply in every channel, so they cancel out of the comparison. What differs is the fulfilment stack. The table below is illustrative for a 0.5 kg product selling at ₹999 — replace the figures with your own.
| Cost line | FBA (₹) | Easy Ship (₹) | Self-ship (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick, pack & handling | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Your packing material + labour | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Shipping / weight handling | 60 | 55 | 70 |
| Monthly storage (amortised) | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| Return handling (allowance) | 30 | 35 | 45 |
| Total fulfilment cost | 125 | 107 | 132 |
| Conversion uplift from Prime | + meaningful | + small | none |
The break-even test for a single SKU
FBA is worth it when the conversion lift plus saved labour exceeds the extra fulfilment and storage cost. Stated as a test you can actually run:
- Take monthly units sold for the SKU.
- Estimate the cubic feet it occupies in an FC, and multiply by the monthly storage rate.
- Divide that storage cost by monthly units — this is your per-unit storage burden.
- Add FBA pick-pack. Compare against your own packing cost plus labour plus the courier rate you would pay.
- Then add the conversion lift. If Prime raises conversion even a few points, multiply that against your traffic to get the extra contribution FBA buys.
Four things specific to selling in India
1. COD changes the return maths
Cash on delivery remains a large share of Indian e-commerce and carries materially higher refusal and return rates than prepaid. In FBA, Amazon absorbs the operational handling; in self-ship you absorb both the forward and reverse leg on an order that generated no revenue. High-COD categories tilt towards FBA more than the raw fee table suggests.
2. Zone placement is a real lever
Local, regional, and national shipping are priced differently. Splitting FBA inventory across FCs near your demand clusters reduces weight handling on every order — often a larger saving than any fee negotiation.
3. GST registration follows your stock
Storing inventory in an FC in another state generally creates a GST registration obligation in that state. This is a compliance cost that never appears in fee calculators and genuinely matters when you expand FBA placement. Confirm the current position with your CA before committing to multi-state storage.
4. Bulky categories are structurally FBM
Furniture, mattresses, large appliances, and similar volumetric-heavy goods are usually better self-shipped or run through Easy Ship. Volumetric weight and FC storage both scale with size, so bulk is penalised twice under FBA.
The hybrid model most profitable sellers actually run
The catalogue splits naturally once you look at velocity:
- Top 20% of SKUs by velocity → FBA. They turn fast, so storage stays cheap and the Prime badge compounds with ad spend.
- Mid tier → Easy Ship. Amazon logistics without the storage meter running.
- Long tail and bulky → self-ship. No storage exposure on stock that may sit for months.
- Keep an FBM backup offer on your hero ASINs so a stock-out at the FC does not cost you rank.
Running this split well requires seeing per-SKU velocity, storage exposure, and return rate in one place. ListingPilot's inventory management and P&L dashboard are built for exactly this decision, and return analytics supplies the return-rate input the comparison depends on.