Amazon's fees bundle services the business still has to pay for on DTC — just through different vendors at different rates. The comparison below shows what each Amazon fee covers and what replaces it on DTC.
| Amazon fee | Amount | What it covers | DTC equivalent | DTC cost | Net effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBA fulfillment fee | −$3.22 | Pick, pack, ship to customer. Amazon's negotiated carrier rates are subsidised by volume. | Outbound shipping — UPS/USPS for a ~1.5 lb glass bottle | ~−$6–9 | Costs more |
| Storage fee | −$0.30 | Warehouse space at FBA. Includes receiving and bin assignment. | 3PL storage — comparable unit rate | ~−$0.30 | Same |
| Referral fee — discovery | −$2.40 (~50% of 15%) |
Access to 170M Prime customers. Organic search ranking. Category placement. | DTC customer acquisition — Google Shopping, social, email. CAC is highly variable. | ~−$5–20 per order |
Likely more — early |
| Referral fee — trust & service | −$2.40 (~50% of 15%) |
Prime badge. A-to-Z guarantee. Customer service handling. Returns processing. | Brand trust (built over time, not bought). CS contractor or founder time. Returns policy. | Intangible / overhead | Shifted |
| Platform fee (DTC only) | — | Not applicable on Amazon. | Shopify + payment processing | −$1.28 | New cost |
| Total explicit fees | −$8.32 | −$7.58–$30+ |
DTC outbound shipping estimated at $7.00/unit for a 0.5L glass bottle (~1.5 lbs) via UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail — both more expensive than Amazon's subsidised FBA fulfillment rate of $3.22. Early CAC (~$12/order) reflects low email list volume and paid acquisition dependency in Year 2; mature CAC (~$5/order) assumes repeat buyer rate of 35%+ and email-driven reorder contribution in Year 3+. Amazon row shows explicit channel fees only — PPC cost on Amazon is a separate operating expense modelled in Section 8.3, not a channel fee deduction.
Net-to-seller after channel fee deductions only. Amazon fees applied at actual ASP per tier. DTC at 4% platform fee. Shipping and CAC are operating costs in Section 8.3, not channel fee deductions — consistent with how Amazon PPC is treated on the Amazon channel.
Net revenue = gross less channel fee deductions only (Amazon referral + FBA + storage; DTC platform fee; specialty retail wholesale pricing). PPC, outbound DTC shipping, and DTC CAC are operating expenses in Section 8.3 — same treatment as Amazon PPC, which is also not deducted here. Year 1 Amazon: 300 × $18.58 + 1,700 × $20.70 + 2,000 × $23.68 = $88,100. Year 2 Amazon: 9,600 × $22.28 net = $213,888 rounded. DTC Year 2: 2,400 × $30.72 = $73,728 (rounded; mix includes some units at editorial-tier pricing). Year 3 Amazon: 13,200 × $23.68 = $312,576. DTC: 5,500 × $32.64 = $179,520. Specialty: 3,300 × $16 = $52,800.