An Amazon seller on Reddit says half an inch of extra packaging cost them $1.50
By Brandon Fishman · October 10, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
An Amazon seller on Reddit says half an inch of extra packaging cost them $1.50 per unit. At VitaCup, changing our bag size saved us more than $500K a year.
u/Ok_Dentist7388 said their manufacturer made their box bigger, pushing the product into a higher FBA fee tier.
Their advice was to check your fee tier every time you restock. I agree. But I’d go further than checking what Amazon is going to charge you.
Look at what you can change BEFORE you manufacture the next batch.
At VitaCup, we switched from 12-ounce coffee bags to 11-ounce bags. That reduced our FBA fees by $1.50 per unit.
It also meant customers were getting less coffee in each bag. That’s a product decision, so your product team needs to be involved.
Before approving a packaging change or production order:
- Measure and weigh the finished, packed unit.
- Check which FBA fee tier it falls into.
- Calculate whether a smaller or lighter version would qualify for a lower fee.
Then decide whether the savings justify a change that works for your product and your customer.
Run that math before you manufacture thousands of units. Otherwise, you could pay the same avoidable fee on every one.