For most new sellers on Amazon South Africa, FBA is the better choice while Amazon's fee waivers run to 31 March 2027, because you pay no pick and pack or storage fees and Amazon handles delivery, returns and customer service. Easy Ship makes more sense if you already hold stock, sell bulky or slow-moving items or want to avoid sending inventory to a fulfilment centre. Self Ship suits sellers who already have strong courier rates.

The right answer depends on your product's price, weight and how fast it sells. This post compares the three options using Amazon's published South African fees as of October 2026, with worked examples you can apply to your own products.

If you are new to the marketplace, start with our complete guide to selling on Amazon in South Africa, which covers registration, selling plans, listings and advertising. This post focuses only on the fulfilment decision.

What are FBA, Easy Ship and Self Ship?

All three are ways of getting an Amazon.co.za order to the customer. The difference is who stores the stock and who delivers the parcel.

• Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA): you send stock to Amazon's fulfilment centres in South Africa. Amazon stores it, picks and packs each order, delivers it and handles returns and customer service.
• Amazon Easy Ship: you store and pack orders yourself, then hand each parcel to an Amazon partner carrier. Amazon manages delivery, tracking, returns collection and customer service.
• Self Ship: you store, pack and deliver orders using your own courier. Amazon charges no fulfilment fee, but you are responsible for delivery times and tracking.

All fees above exclude VAT. They come from Amazon's South African selling fees page and Easy Ship page.

Amazon FBA fees in South Africa

Standard FBA fulfilment fees are charged per unit by weight, starting at R27 for items up to 250g. Until 31 March 2027, Amazon is waiving pick and pack fees on every category except apparel, along with storage, removal and disposal fees.

Here are the standard per-unit rates that apply once the waiver ends:

• Up to 250g: R27
• 251g to 500g: R28
• 501g to 1kg: R29
• 1kg to 2kg: R31
• 2kg to 5kg: R34
• 5kg to 10kg: R41
• 10kg to 20kg: R46
• 20kg to 30kg: R87, plus R5 for each extra kilogram

Storage normally costs R36 per cubic metre per month, based on your daily average volume. A shoebox-sized carton takes up only a small fraction of a cubic metre, so storage is rarely the big cost for small items. It matters far more for bulky products that sit for months.

Getting stock into the fulfilment centre also costs money. Amazon's partner carrier, 2Ship, is offering 90% off inbound FBA shipments until 31 December 2026, according to Amazon's FBA page. Our guide on how to send inventory to Amazon FBA in South Africa walks through shipping plans, labels and carrier bookings.

Amazon Easy Ship fees and how it works

Easy Ship costs a flat R20 per parcel when every product in it is priced at R500 or less (VAT included), for parcels up to 32kg. If any product in the parcel is over R500, fees start at R43 and rise with weight.

Easy Ship rates for parcels with a product over R500

• Up to 250g: R43
• 251g to 500g: R44
• 501g to 1kg: R45
• 1kg to 2kg: R46
• 2kg to 5kg: R50
• 5kg to 10kg: R59
• 10kg to 20kg: R73
• 20kg to 30kg: R99, plus R5 for each extra kilogram

Amazon charges on the greater of actual or volumetric weight, calculated as length × width × height in centimetres divided by 5,000. A light product in an oversized box can therefore jump a weight band, so pack tightly.

Pickup, drop-off and carriers

Once an order comes in, you pack it, print the Amazon label from Seller Central and schedule a handover. Amazon assigns either a collection from your registered address or a drop-off at a carrier location, based on where you are. You cannot choose the model or the carrier. Amazon currently uses The Courier Guy and DPD Laser for Easy Ship.

Easy Ship is only available on the Professional plan. It is also limited to eligible postcodes and products under 32kg. Amazon handles customer service and collects returns from the customer, then delivers them to your return address.

Self Ship: when your own courier makes sense

Self Ship carries no Amazon fulfilment fee, so your delivery cost is whatever your courier charges you. It works best for sellers who already ship enough volume to have negotiated rates.

The trade-off is responsibility. You handle customer questions and returns. Amazon also tracks your late shipment and valid tracking performance on your Account Health dashboard. Missed dispatch times or parcels without tracking can lead to listing restrictions. Before choosing Self Ship, compare your courier options using our guide on how to choose a courier for your online store in South Africa.

Self Ship is also the fallback for items that do not qualify for Easy Ship, such as parcels over 32kg or longer than 175cm.

FBA vs Easy Ship: a worked cost example

At standard rates, Easy Ship is often cheaper per order than FBA for products priced at R500 or less, while FBA is usually cheaper for higher-priced items. During the current waiver, FBA is cheaper for almost everything except apparel.

The table below shows Amazon's fees for two products in the Home and Kitchen category. Product A sells for R300 and weighs 400g. Product B sells for R800 and weighs 1.5kg. Referral fees are 5% under the promotion and 13% at the standard Home and Kitchen rate.

All figures exclude VAT and inbound shipping to the fulfilment centre. If you are not VAT registered, add 15% to the fees because you cannot claim it back.

The Easy Ship column also leaves out your own costs: packaging, labels, the time spent packing and the space your stock takes up at home or in a warehouse. For a seller packing a handful of orders a day, those hidden costs can easily outweigh an R8 difference on Product A. For products priced above R500, FBA wins on Amazon's fees alone.

Most importantly, price your products on the standard fees, not the promotional ones. If a product only works while fees are waived, it is not a long-term Amazon product. Our comparison of Takealot vs Amazon South Africa fees shows how the same exercise works across both marketplaces.

Which Amazon fulfilment option should you choose?

Choose based on your product and how you work, not only on the fee per order. These rules of thumb cover most beginner situations.

Choose FBA if

• Your products are small, light and sell steadily every week
• Your selling price is above R500, where Easy Ship fees jump
• You want to start now and benefit from the fee waivers to 31 March 2027
• You do not want to pack orders or answer delivery queries yourself

FBA can also help you sell more. Amazon's South African FBA page says sellers see a 3X uplift in sales on average after adopting FBA, based on its internal 2025 data. Delivery is a big part of that. Amazon's guidance on winning the Featured Offer (Buy Box) says offers with fast, free shipping and reliable delivery dates are more likely to be featured. Amazon does not say FBA ranks products higher in search. Well-run self-fulfilled offers can still win. FBA simply makes fast, dependable delivery far easier to maintain.

Choose Easy Ship if

• You already hold stock for your own store or another marketplace
• Your products are priced at R500 or less and the flat R20 fee applies
• Items sell slowly, so long-term storage at Amazon would add up after March 2027
• You sell apparel, which is excluded from the FBA fulfilment fee waiver

Choose Self Ship if

• You have negotiated courier rates lower than Easy Ship fees
• Your items are too large or heavy for Easy Ship
• You are confident you can meet Amazon's dispatch and tracking standards every day

You do not have to pick just one. Amazon lets you switch a listing between FBA and Easy Ship in Seller Central. Many sellers run FBA for their best sellers and Easy Ship for slower or bulkier lines. If you sell on several channels, keep one stock system so you never oversell.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use FBA and Easy Ship for the same product?

Yes. Amazon allows you to use both for the same listing by changing the fulfilment channel in Seller Central. This is useful as a backup if your FBA stock runs out while a new shipment is on its way.

Can Individual sellers use Amazon Easy Ship?

No. Easy Ship is only available on the Professional selling plan. As of October 2026, that plan costs R1 a month until 31 March 2027, then R400 a month excluding VAT, so most new sellers choose it anyway.

Who handles returns with Easy Ship?

Amazon collects the returned parcel from the customer and delivers it to your return address. You then inspect the item and decide whether it can be sold again. With FBA, Amazon receives the return and adds sellable items back to your inventory.

Get your Amazon fulfilment right from the start

Fulfilment is one of the few Amazon decisions that affects every single order, so it pays to work through the numbers before you send stock anywhere. Start with FBA while the waivers last, but build your prices on standard fees and keep Easy Ship ready for products where it works out cheaper.

Insaka eCommerce Academy teaches South Africans how to price, list and fulfil products across Amazon, Takealot and their own online stores, with practical guidance based on real local selling experience. Explore Insaka's eCommerce courses to build an Amazon business that stays profitable after the promotions end.

Written or reviewed by Warrick Kernes, founder of Insaka eCommerce Academy and Shopify's 2021 Top Education Partner worldwide, based on 15+ years of selling online in South Africa.