Working out how to make money on Amazon starts with what the store charges, because every route runs through its fees. As of 9 October 2026, Amazon’s pricing page lists two seller plans: $0.99 per item sold, or $39.99 a month. On top of that comes a referral fee on each sale, for example 15% on footwear, according to the same page. Below are the fees and rates we could confirm.
- Seller plans: $0.99 per item sold on Individual, or $39.99 a month on Professional, according to Amazon’s pricing page.
- Referral fees: 15% on footwear and 8% on video game consoles, according to the same pricing page.
- Handmade: a referral fee of 15% or $0.30, whichever is greater, with the monthly fee waived after a one-time first-month payment, according to the Handmade page.
- Associates: 4% on shoes and 1% on video game consoles, according to the Associates fee schedule.
- Wholesale: branded stock bought in bulk from a brand or distributor, as Jungle Scout’s guide defines it.
What happened to the Merch on Demand route?
The 2022 version listed it as a fifth way to sell. When we opened the Merch on Demand page on 9 October 2026, the public page showed only the program’s name, so we could not confirm its royalty terms and left them out.
Individual vs Professional: which seller plan costs less?
The Individual plan costs less until you sell about 40 items a month, but past that the Professional plan’s flat fee is cheaper.
According to Amazon’s seller pricing page, Individual sellers pay $0.99 per item sold, whereas Professional sellers pay $39.99 a month. The arithmetic is short. 40 items at $0.99 each total $39.60, just under the monthly fee, and 41 items total $40.59, just over it. As a result, the switch point sits between 40 and 41 sales a month.
The plan fee is only the first layer, because every sale also carries a referral fee. The pricing page describes it as a percentage of the total price or a minimum amount, whichever is greater. In addition, the same page says Professional unlocks bulk listing tools, ads and selling in other countries. We checked the page on 9 October 2026 and copied the rates in the table from it; the last column is our own arithmetic.
| Category | Referral fee | Minimum fee | Fee on a $150 sale (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Footwear | 15% | $0.30 | $22.50 |
| Clothing and accessories, over $20.00 | 17% | $0.30 | $25.50 |
| Video game consoles | 8% | None listed | $12.00 |
| Video games and gaming accessories | 15% | None listed | $22.50 |
| Toys and games | 15% | $0.30 | $22.50 |
- Individual plan
- $0.99 per item sold, per the pricing page.
- Professional plan
- $39.99 a month, with bulk tools, ads and selling abroad, per the same page.
- Referral fee
- A share of each sale’s total price, or a set minimum, whichever is greater.
Can you resell retail drops on Amazon?
Yes, but every item you sell falls under one of the two seller plans and pays the referral fee for its category, sneakers and consoles included.
Resale, resale, resale was our first route in 2022, because it sits closest to what we write about. Back then our first version pointed to PS5s and GPUs, next to the sneaker reselling we cover on our blog. The idea was simple: buy at retail during a drop, often with a retail bot, and list the item again. If you are new to Amazon botting, start there.
Take one sale. Say a pair sells for $150: the 15% footwear fee is $22.50, which leaves $127.50 after the referral fee, before shipping and the plan fee. A console at the same $150, however, carries the 8% console rate, which is $12.00. Market prices move and are shown for reference, not as a promise. If you want to see what a checkout bot does with this, NikeShoeBot’s guides walk through it retailer by retailer.
How is wholesale different from reselling retail buys?
Wholesale means buying branded stock in bulk from the brand or a distributor, not one unit at a time from a store.
Wholesale is the practice of purchasing bulk branded products from another manufacturer, supplier, or distributor to resell to consumers.
That is how Jungle Scout, a seller research company, put it in its guide to wholesale selling, dated 4 April 2024. It adds that wholesalers usually join an existing listing rather than create a new one. The catch is paperwork, because the guide says most brands want documents such as a resale certificate first.
Our 2022 version said storage space helps, and that still holds if you ship orders yourself, so our sneaker storage tips apply to any boxed stock. However, the Fulfillment by Amazon page describes another way: the company stores, picks, packs, ships and delivers the products, for fulfillment and storage costs that the page says vary by item. For larger lots bought on the site, see our guide to buying in bulk from Amazon.
Who can sell on Amazon Handmade?
Handmade is open to approved makers and to groups such as cooperatives, nonprofits and charities, after an application.
Handmade products are hand-altered, hand-designed, handcrafted, repurposed, or upcycled
Because of that definition on the Handmade program page, this route is for things you make, not stock you bought. The same page lists categories from accessories and artwork to clothing, shoes and handbags, jewelry, pet supplies and toys. Our 2022 version also said Handmade sellers get their own URL, but we could not find that on the page, so it is out.
The fees, however, work differently from the main store’s. According to the Handmade page, the program deducts a referral fee of 15% or $0.30 per unit, whichever is greater, but, after a one-time first-month payment, it waives the $39.99 monthly Professional fee. Over a year, that waiver works out at 12 x $39.99 = $479.88, which is the $480 the page quotes, rounded. As our first version said, the start takes the most effort.
How do Amazon Associates commissions work?
Associates pays a commission on qualifying purchases made through your links, at a rate set by product category.
According to the Associates home page, the program is for bloggers, publishers and content creators with a qualifying website or app. According to the program’s fee schedule, the spread is wide: 10% on luxury beauty, 4% on shoes and apparel, and 1% on video game consoles. So the 4% to 10% range in our 2022 version does not cover it, because some categories sit at 1% or 0%, according to the same schedule.
Here is the arithmetic on one order. At the 4% shoe rate, a $100 pair bought through your link carries 4% x $100 = $4.00, whereas a $500 console at 1% carries $5.00. In addition, the home page says commissions are paid about 60 days after the end of the month they were made in. Our first version told you to read the terms before you sign up, and that advice stands.
Our take: where we would start
In short, the route that fits our readers is the first one: reselling what you buy at retail, with the fees worked out first.
We would start on the Individual plan, because it costs less below about 40 sales a month, and move to Professional once you pass that line. Wholesale suits you if you can handle paperwork and bulk stock, whereas Handmade suits makers, not resellers. Associates suits you if you already run a qualifying website or app, but the rates on consoles and shoes are thin.
Whichever you pick, keep a record of what each item cost you and what it sold for, and read up on the reseller tax before your first sale. If you are comparing tools for drops on the site, our roundup of Amazon buying bots lists what is out there. Then estimate the fee for your own category from the table above before you list a single item.
