Selling on Amazon Australia: A Practical Guide for Retailers

Amazon Australia is worth considering for most retailers with competitive pricing, accurate product data and dependable dispatch. It is the largest pure marketplace in the country by estimated sales, and Amazon says independent sellers make up most of its store. Margins depend on choosing the right selling plan, knowing your category's referral fee and meeting strict performance targets from day one.

How big Amazon Australia is

Roy Morgan estimates Amazon achieved nearly $7.1 billion in Australian retail sales in 2025, up from about $5.9 billion in 2024, and gained 500,000 shoppers in the year (Roy Morgan, 2026). Since launching in December 2017, Amazon.com.au has grown to more than 200 million products across 31 categories, and more than 14,000 Australian businesses sell through it (Amazon, 2026).

Third-party sellers do most of the selling. Amazon says more than 60% of sales in its store come from independent sellers, and that Australian sellers, mostly small and medium businesses, sold more than 33 million products in its stores in 2024 (Amazon, 2026).

Major events also pull in shoppers. Amazon reported that its weeklong Prime Day in July 2025 was its biggest Prime Day ever in Australia, with record sales and more items sold (Amazon, 2025).

What it costs

Amazon's published fee structure has three main parts:

• Selling plan. The Individual plan costs $0.99 (excl. GST) per unit sold; the Professional plan costs $49.95 (excl. GST) per month when you have active listings (Amazon, 2026). Professional is the plan to choose if you sell more than about 50 items a month, want to advertise or want API and bulk tools.
• Referral fees. A percentage of the total sale price, including delivery. Most referral fees are between 6% and 15%, and there is no minimum or maximum.
• Fulfilment. You either ship orders yourself or pay for Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), plus storage fees.

Referral rates were restructured in 2025. From 1 August 2025, Amazon merged several categories and set, for example, Home & Kitchen at 13%, Electronic Accessories at 13.5% and Consumer Electronics at 8% (Amazon, 2025). Check your category's current rate before pricing. For a side-by-side view, see our marketplace fees comparison.

The performance bar

If you ship orders yourself, Amazon measures how you do and sets clear limits in its Order Performance policy (Amazon, 2026):

• Order Defect Rate (negative feedback, A-to-z claims and chargebacks) under 1% over 60 days.
• Pre-fulfilment Cancellation Rate under 2.5% over 7 days.
• Late Shipment Rate under 4% over 10 or 30 days.
• Valid Tracking Rate above 95%.

Breaching these can lead to loss or restriction of selling privileges. Cancellations caused by overselling, and dispatches confirmed after the expected ship date, are the most common ways multichannel sellers get into trouble. Our account health guide explains how to stay well clear of these limits.

Fulfilment: FBA or ship it yourself

Fulfilment by Amazon suits fast-moving, small to medium items where Prime eligibility lifts conversion. You pay for pick, pack, delivery and storage, and you must keep enough stock in Amazon's warehouses.

Merchant-fulfilled orders suit bulky, slow-moving or high-variety ranges, and sellers who already hold stock for other channels. You keep one pool of inventory, but you carry the dispatch and tracking obligations above. Most multichannel retailers use a mix: FBA for their best sellers and self-fulfilment for everything else.

Listings that rank and convert

Amazon search favours listings that match what shoppers type, sell well and are complete. In practice:

• Use titles that lead with brand, product type and the attributes shoppers filter on, within Amazon's category style rules.
• Fill every relevant attribute. Missing attributes can keep a product out of filtered results.
• Meet the image requirements, including a main image on a pure white background.
• Keep price and stock competitive and accurate. Offers that are frequently out of stock lose visibility.

Key figures

• Amazon's Australian retail sales reached an estimated $7.1 billion in 2025, up about $1.2 billion (Roy Morgan, 2026).
• More than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers (Amazon, 2026).
• Amazon.com.au lists 200 million+ products across 31 categories, with 14,000+ Australian businesses selling (Amazon, 2026).
• Most Amazon Australia referral fees are between 6% and 15% (Amazon, 2026).
• Seller-fulfilled orders must keep cancellations under 2.5% and late shipments under 4% (Amazon, 2026).

How eComChannels helps

• AI listing optimisation uses AI already trained on Amazon's listing rules to turn your master product record into Amazon-ready titles, bullet points and attributes. A person approves the drafts, and the same record feeds every other marketplace. More complete, rule-compliant listings give your products more chances to appear in Amazon search and filters.
• AI auto shipping creates labels and manifests with Australia Post, StarTrack, CouriersPlease or Allied Express and sends tracking back to Amazon automatically. That protects your Late Shipment and Valid Tracking rates and removes manual copy-and-paste.
• Order management keeps the stock you sell through Amazon in sync with every other channel, which reduces the oversell cancellations that count against your Cancellation Rate.

Book a demo or start a 30-day free trial.

FAQ

Do I need an Australian business to sell on Amazon.com.au?

Amazon accepts sellers from many countries, but Australian retailers usually register locally to sell in AUD and handle GST correctly. Check Amazon's current registration requirements and get advice on your tax position.

Is the Professional plan worth $49.95 a month?

If you sell more than about 50 units a month, Amazon positions Professional as the better value. It also gives access to advertising, bulk listing tools, APIs and eligibility for top placement on product pages.

Should I use FBA or fulfil orders myself?

It depends on product size, sales velocity and margin. Many retailers use FBA for their fastest-moving small items and fulfil bulky or slow-moving lines themselves from shared stock.