Thinking of selling on Amazon in 2025? Youโre not aloneโand youโre also right to pause and question whether itโs worth it. Once the go-to path for explosive eCommerce growth, Amazon has become both an incredible opportunity and a demanding battlefield. Rising fees, cutthroat competition, and tighter rules mean the platform isnโt a guaranteed success story for every brand anymore. Yet it still attracts over 3.6 billion visits per month and fuels billions in product sales each year.
If youโre weighing whether to list your products on Amazon, youโre asking the right questions. In this post, weโll break down the real pros and cons of selling on Amazon, show you how the economics shake out, and share practical strategies for thriving despite the competition. Letโs dive in.
Why Consider Selling on Amazon?
Massive Built-In Audience & Trust (2.5 B visits/mo)
Amazon is practically a synonym for online shopping. More than 63% of U.S. consumers start their product searches on Amazon instead of Google. Even shoppers standing in physical stores often check Amazon for prices before making a purchase, which highlights how deeply integrated Amazon is into consumer behavior.
Thatโs not just about traffic volumeโitโs about trust. Amazon shoppers know theyโll get fast shipping, easy returns, and reliable customer service. For newer brands, listing products on Amazon can be a shortcut to credibility that would take years to build on your own website. Printful aptly calls it a โshortcut to trust,โ letting you piggyback on the platformโs reputation rather than building it entirely from scratch.
Fulfillment Options Explained: FBA vs. FBM
Selling on Amazon means choosing between Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).
With FBA, you send your inventory to Amazonโs warehouses, and they handle picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. Itโs an attractive option because it qualifies your listings for the Prime badge, which can significantly increase conversion ratesโsometimes even doubling them in competitive categories. However, those perks come with fees that can eat deeply into your margins.
FBM, on the other hand, means you ship products yourself or through a third-party logistics partner. It offers more control over your operations and potentially lower fees, but youโll sacrifice some of the visibility and trust that come with the Prime badge. For larger or heavy items, FBM can sometimes make more financial sense due to lower fulfillment costs.
Both fulfillment models work, but they serve different business goals. The decision comes down to your margins, how much control you want over logistics, and how critical Prime eligibility is in your niche.
Key Pros of Selling on Amazon
Instant Access to Prime Shoppers & 2-Day Delivery
Selling on Amazon means instant access to one of the most valuable customer segments on the planet: Prime shoppers. As of last year, Amazon Prime had over 200 million global members. These customers tend to shop more frequently and spend significantly more than non-Prime usersโabout $1,400 per year compared to roughly $600 for non-Prime shoppers.
Having the Prime badge on your products can skyrocket your visibility and conversions. According to Printful, Prime-eligible listings often see double or triple the conversion rates of non-Prime products. In many competitive categories, being non-Prime is practically a death sentence for visibility and sales.
Scalable Logistics & Customer Service via FBA
Scaling an eCommerce business without Amazon means investing heavily in your own logistics, warehousing, and customer service teams. For many businesses, thatโs simply not feasibleโespecially if youโre trying to expand internationally.
With FBA, you gain access to Amazonโs sprawling network of over 110 U.S. fulfillment centers. They handle your warehousing, picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and returnsโall while offering fast, reliable shipping that customers trust.
This lets you focus on higher-value work like product development, marketing, and brand building rather than wrestling with supply chain headaches. And if youโre considering selling internationally, FBA offers simplified cross-border logistics, which can be a game-changer for entering new markets.
Key Cons of Selling on Amazon
High Fees: Referral, FBA, Storage, Returns
Amazon might bring the traffic, but it certainly doesnโt come cheap. Between referral fees, FBA fees, storage charges, and costs tied to returns, selling on Amazon can chew through your profits.
Referral fees alone can range from 8% to 15%, depending on your category. FBA fees vary widely but often sit between $3.50 and $12.00 per unit, depending on product size and weight. Storage costs can run $0.87 to $2.40 per cubic foot per month, climbing significantly during Q4 or if your inventory sits too long.
And donโt forget FBA returns. Amazon often deducts the return shipping cost from your payout and might not fully reimburse you for returned itemsโespecially in high-return categories like apparel and electronics. According to Jungle Scout, fees and costs can easily consume 40-50% of your gross revenue, leaving slim margins if youโre not careful.
Bonus Read: How to Effectively Reduce Amazon FBA Fees?
Intense Competition & Limited Brand Control
Amazon might offer a huge reachโbut that comes at the price of intense competition and a loss of direct customer relationships.
There are now more than 9.7 million sellers globally on Amazon, with around 2 million active at any given time. Many are seasoned sellers who know how to rank high in search results, run efficient ad campaigns, and undercut pricing to win market share.
Plus, thereโs a surge of manufacturers from overseas selling directly on Amazon, often willing to operate on razor-thin margins. Counterfeiters and unauthorized sellers remain a persistent headache, as they can hijack your listings, damage your brand reputation, and drive your prices downward.
Perhaps the biggest drawback? Amazon owns the customer relationship. You donโt get access to customer emails, and youโre forbidden from directing shoppers to your own website. As My Amazon Guy puts it, โOn Amazon, youโre renting shelf spaceโnot building your own store.โ
Cost & Profitability Snapshot
Fee Breakdown Table (Referral, FBA, Storage, Subscription)
Letโs break down what you can expect in costs if youโre selling on Amazon in 2025:
For a simple $20 product, itโs not uncommon to pay $6โ$8 in fees per unit before even considering advertising or product costs.
Profit Margin Benchmarks (10โ20% healthy margin)
Profitability on Amazon varies wildly depending on your product and niche. A healthy net margin generally falls between 10โ20% after all costs, including advertising.
Some unique or premium products can achieve 25โ30% net margins, but these are increasingly rare unless you have a clear differentiation or brand strength.
Many competitive categoriesโlike supplements, home goods, or phone accessoriesโoperate on razor-thin margins, sometimes below 5%. And with advertising costs rising, itโs easy for profits to evaporate without meticulous cost control.
According to sources, 47% spend less than $500 per month, while 25% of enterprise brands and retailers spend $100,000 to $250,000 each month, a cost that can quickly erode your bottom line if not managed carefully.
How to Succeed on Amazon
Niche & Competitor Research Best Practices
Choosing what to sell on Amazon shouldnโt start with chasing high-volume keywords. Instead, the smartest sellers begin by identifying real gaps in the market where competitors are falling short.
Itโs crucial to look for products with solid demand but underwhelming competition. Often, even top-selling products on Amazon have poorly optimized listings, leaving space for a well-positioned newcomer.
A smart move is digging into competitor reviews to spot consistent complaints, missing features, or quality issues your brand can address. Tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, and Amazon Brand Analytics help reveal keyword trends, seasonality, and market saturation.
Smart research upfront can save tens of thousands of dollars in wasted inventory or ad spend. If youโre looking for more ways to sharpen your product research process, SalesDuo offers insights on how to analyze Amazon data effectively to uncover untapped opportunities and niche gaps others might miss.
Listing Optimization: Titles, Bullets, A+ Content
Amazonโs algorithm rewards listings that drive sales. So your titles must strike a balance between keyword relevance and human readability, focusing on benefits rather than awkward keyword stuffing.
Bullet points should clearly communicate key features, product benefits, and solutions to common objections. High-quality imagesโespecially lifestyle photosโoften make a bigger impact than plain white background shots.
Consider leveraging A+ Content, which can lift conversion rates by 10โ20% thanks to enhanced visuals, charts, and storytelling. Great listings donโt just informโthey persuade.
Even the best products can fail if your listings look generic or lack polish. If youโd like a deeper look into crafting winning Amazon content, check out SalesDuoโs articles on listing optimization techniques, which dive into effective ways to boost rankings and conversions.
Advertising Strategies: Sponsored Products & Brands
In 2025, simply listing a product on Amazon without advertising is like whispering into a hurricaneโitโs almost invisible.
Sponsored Products remain essential for gaining visibility in search results and appearing on competitor listings. Meanwhile, Sponsored Brands let you showcase your logo and multiple products, helping build brand awareness and cross-sell opportunities.
Defensive bidding on your own brand terms protects you from competitors hijacking your traffic. Retargeting via Sponsored Display is another potent tactic, allowing you to reconnect with shoppers who browsed your products but didnโt purchase.
A sustainable Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS) typically sits between 15โ25%, though this varies dramatically depending on the niche. Keeping close tabs on ad performance is non-negotiableโad spend can quickly turn a profitable SKU into a money-loser if left unchecked.
If youโre looking to refine your ad strategy or understand how to maximize returns on your Amazon campaigns, youโll find actionable advice in SalesDuoโs comprehensive guides on Amazon advertising. Their perspectives on balancing cost and visibility can help you navigate the increasingly competitive ad landscape.
Conclusion
So, is selling on Amazon worth it in 2025? The answer is yesโbut only for those prepared to approach it strategically.
Amazon offers unmatched reach, trust, and fulfillment capabilities. Yet itโs not a casual playground anymore. Costs are rising, competition is intense, and brand control is limited.
For sellers willing to research niches thoroughly, craft stellar listings, and run well-optimized ad campaigns, Amazon remains one of the strongest eCommerce channels in the world.
If youโre serious about scaling on Amazon, donโt hesitate to lean on specialized partners who understand the marketplace inside out. Quietly behind many successful brands, companies like SalesDuo help navigate the complexities of selling on Amazon, from listing optimization to advanced advertising strategies.
Because in 2025, winning on Amazon isnโt about being presentโitโs about being exceptional.
Book your 1:1 growth call with SalesDuo today!
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About the Author
A dynamic customer success professional, Rahul Gowda helps businesses grow smarter at Amazon by building strong relationships, solving tricky operational challenges with data-driven strategies. Beyond work, Rahul loves exploring new tech trends and experimenting with creative cooking.
