If you are selling on Amazon India in 2025, one of the most important decisions you will face is choosing between FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and Easy Ship. This single decision can impact your profit margins by 5% to 15% per unit, depending on your product category, weight, and selling price.

In this guide, we break down everything you need to know about both fulfillment models — from fee structures and hidden costs to real profit calculations using actual Indian product examples. By the end of this article, you will know exactly which fulfillment method is right for YOUR specific products.

1. What is FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)?

FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. In this model, you send your products to Amazon's fulfillment centers (warehouses) located across India. Once your inventory reaches Amazon's warehouse, they take care of everything:

• Storage: Amazon stores your products safely in their climate-controlled warehouses
• Picking & Packing: When a customer orders, Amazon picks the product, packs it in branded packaging, and prepares it for shipping
• Shipping: Amazon handles the entire delivery process including last-mile delivery
• Customer Service: Amazon manages customer queries related to delivery and returns
• Returns Processing: Returns are received and processed at Amazon's facility

In India, Amazon has fulfillment centers in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Pune. When you enroll in FBA, your products become eligible for Amazon Prime delivery, which means faster delivery times and the coveted Prime badge on your listing.

2. What is Easy Ship?

Easy Ship is Amazon India's semi-managed fulfillment model. Unlike FBA where Amazon stores your products, with Easy Ship you keep the inventory at your own location — your home, office, godown, or warehouse. Here is how it works:

• Storage: You store products at your own premises — no warehouse fees
• Packing: You pack the product yourself when an order comes in
• Pickup: Amazon's courier partner comes to your location to pick up the packed order
• Shipping: Amazon handles delivery from pickup to the customer's doorstep
• Returns: Returned products come back to YOUR address

Easy Ship is extremely popular among small and medium Indian sellers because it requires minimal upfront investment. You do not need to ship inventory to Amazon warehouses, pay storage fees, or worry about long-term storage penalties. This makes it ideal for sellers who are just starting out or those selling products with unpredictable demand patterns.

3. Complete Fee Comparison: FBA vs Easy Ship

Understanding the fee structure is critical for calculating your actual profit. Both models share some common Amazon fees, but the fulfillment-specific charges are where they differ significantly. Here is a detailed breakdown:

4. Amazon India Referral Fees by Category (2025)

Referral fees are the same whether you choose FBA or Easy Ship. They are a percentage of the total selling price and vary significantly by product category. Here are the current rates for major categories:

As you can see, clothing sellers face some of the highest referral fees at 17%, while electronics sellers enjoy relatively lower rates at 5-8%. This is why your product category plays a huge role in determining whether FBA or Easy Ship is more profitable for you.

5. Real Profit Calculation Examples

Let us calculate actual profit for real Indian products to see how FBA and Easy Ship compare in practice. These examples use realistic fee structures based on current Amazon India rates.

6. Pros and Cons of FBA

7. Pros and Cons of Easy Ship

8. When Should You Choose FBA?

FBA is the better choice in these specific scenarios for Indian sellers:

• High sales velocity products: If you sell 50+ units per month of a product, FBA's Prime badge can further boost sales and justify the higher fees
• Lightweight products under 500g: FBA fulfillment fees are lower for lightweight items, making the cost difference minimal
• Products priced above ₹500: Higher selling prices absorb fixed FBA fees better, maintaining healthy margins
• Competitive categories: In categories where multiple sellers offer the same product, FBA gives you Buy Box advantage
• Festive season (Diwali, Big Billion Days): Prime products get priority during major sale events when order volumes spike
• You lack packing staff: If you are a solo seller or have limited help, FBA eliminates the need for daily packing work
• Pan-India delivery focus: FBA with multi-warehouse distribution ensures faster delivery across all pincodes

9. When Should You Choose Easy Ship?

Easy Ship works better in these situations commonly faced by Indian sellers:

• New seller with limited capital: No need to invest in inbound shipping to Amazon warehouses or pay storage fees upfront
• Heavy products above 2kg: FBA fulfillment fees increase significantly with weight, making Easy Ship more cost-effective
• Slow-moving products: Items that sell less than 20 units per month will accumulate storage fees in FBA, eating into profits
• Products with short shelf life: Food items, cosmetics with expiry dates — you maintain better quality control with Easy Ship
• Custom or handmade products: Items requiring personalization or quality checks before shipping work better with Easy Ship
• High-value products above ₹2000: Premium products often have price-sensitive customers who are less influenced by Prime badge
• Testing new products: When launching a new product, Easy Ship lets you test market demand without committing inventory to FBA
• Branded packaging important: If your brand identity depends on custom unboxing experience, Easy Ship gives you full control

10. The Hybrid Strategy — Best of Both Worlds

Many successful Amazon India sellers making ₹10 lakh+ monthly revenue use a hybrid fulfillment strategy. This means they use both FBA and Easy Ship simultaneously for different products or even for the same product. Here is how it works:

How to Implement a Hybrid Strategy

1. Identify your top 20% products that generate 80% of your revenue — move these to FBA for Prime benefits and maximum sales velocity
2. Keep the remaining 80% on Easy Ship to avoid storage fees on slower-moving inventory while still maintaining availability
3. Monitor performance monthly — when an Easy Ship product starts selling 50+ units per month, consider moving it to FBA
4. Use seasonal switching — move products to FBA before festive seasons (September-December) and back to Easy Ship during slow months (January-March)
5. Calculate profitability per SKU using our profit calculator to make data-driven decisions for each product

11. Common Mistakes Indian Sellers Make

After analyzing thousands of Indian seller accounts, we have identified the most common mistakes that cost sellers lakhs of rupees in lost profit:

Mistake 1: Putting All Products on FBA Without Analysis

Many sellers assume FBA is always better because of Prime. But slow-moving heavy products on FBA accumulate storage fees that can turn a profitable product into a loss-making one. Always calculate per-product profitability before choosing FBA.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Long-Term Storage Fees

FBA charges long-term storage fees for inventory stored over 365 days. If you overstock and the product does not sell quickly, these penalties can be devastating. Plan your FBA inventory carefully — send only 45-60 days of stock at a time.

Mistake 3: Not Accounting for Inbound Shipping Costs

When comparing FBA vs Easy Ship, many sellers forget to include the cost of shipping products TO Amazon's warehouse. This inbound shipping cost (courier charges from your location to Amazon FC) can be ₹20-100+ per unit depending on weight and distance.

Mistake 4: Underestimating Easy Ship Packaging Costs

Easy Ship requires you to provide packaging. Sellers often underestimate this cost. Quality corrugated boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and labels can cost ₹15-40+ per unit. Factor this into your calculations for accurate comparison.

Mistake 5: Not Reviewing Fee Changes

Amazon revises its fee structure periodically. Sellers who calculated profitability once and never updated their analysis may be operating on outdated numbers. Review your profit calculations every quarter using our free calculator.

12. How to Use the Free Profit Calculator

We built the FBA vs Easy Ship Profit Calculator specifically for Indian Amazon sellers. Here is how to get the most out of it:

1. Enter your product selling price — the actual MRP listed on Amazon including all taxes
2. Enter your cost price — the total cost to acquire or manufacture one unit of the product
3. Enter product weight — the shipping weight including packaging material
4. Select your product category — this automatically applies the correct referral fee percentage
5. Fill in the FBA section — enter the fulfillment fee and estimated monthly storage cost from Amazon's rate card
6. Fill in the Easy Ship section — enter the shipping fee from Amazon and your own packaging cost per unit
7. Click Compare Profit — get instant results showing net profit and margin for both models
8. Copy or Download — save the detailed report for reference, team discussions, or financial planning

Final Verdict: FBA vs Easy Ship in 2025

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The right fulfillment model depends on your specific product characteristics, business stage, and growth goals. Here is our expert recommendation:

The most successful Amazon India sellers in 2025 are not those who blindly choose one fulfillment model — they are the ones who use data to make product-level decisions. By understanding the fee structures, calculating actual profits, and adopting a flexible hybrid approach, you can maximize your margins regardless of whether you are selling phone covers from Surat or kitchen appliances from Delhi.

Use our free tools to stay ahead of the competition. Calculate your profits accurately, choose the right fulfillment method for each product, and watch your Amazon business grow profitably in 2025 and beyond.