Small and light list and some inspiration!
Just a couple of questions
How are people genuinely getting by with this, profit wise-after tax? I’m not asking for figures, just how worth it this is? Have you managed to make a living on it? Has anyone tried going to FBM to cut down on fee’s?
The reason I ask is I have another product priced at £5.45 and the fba fee’s are £4.23! after the price I payed for the product I’m actually down, even though I enrolled in small and light, I might be having a bit of a crisis with this today 
This can’t be possible, I’ve put a lot onto this.
My other question is how can I check what is on my S&L list? I can only find an enrollment page and google has sent me on a wild goose chase. I need to actually see what i have put on and what has successfully been accepted and stayed on.
A link or something would be appreciated.
Thanks
43 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
My fba fees are mainly lower than my fbm postage costs (I do both)
Although that may change in 2 weeks when amazon raise the fees and if RM don’t follow suit in April
That price you state isn’t s&l
Go to reports - fulfilment by amazon and go through the s&l inventory reports
Seller_esvgLzKXw2YAl
Only you can really decide if it’s worth it or not.
I sell nearly all of my inventory on S&L and make a living doing so.
A lot is down to the actual products you choose, as to whether it’s worth it or not.
Do be aware, that there is a point where it’s hardly worth using S&L compared to standard FBA, for the larger items. The difference in cost, is pennies. And the advantage of standard FBA, is generally better visibility.
Seller_77IcbQKVGdZo0
I make good profit on my S&L items but the upcoming changes next month do make it more difficult as there are some rises. I make a living on it and I will continue to make a living on it next month but as always you need to make adjustments.
I have done some analysis on the changes next month and margins are going to be tighter on the very cheaper end of Small and Light. I may well need to retire around 60 of my current lines if my competitors do not put up their prices. This is not the end of the world considering the size of my catalogue.
As @The_Little_Shop says we also need to see what RM do with prices going forward. If RM increases are small it may be cheaper to fulfil the item yourself which could change some peoples models back to own fulfilment.
Seller_lljyzgTxr5fgI
Perfectly fine. The thing about S&L is volume. We are shifting loads of items that are returning 500% gross profit but this still equates to only £1.50 net profit per item, so you need to sell a lot to make any money.
The good thing about S&L is that it is your “bread & butter” and keeps things ticking over if higher value items are a bit slow. Amazon charge us £1.22 in fees (including 65p FBA fee) for the items I mention. It would cost us £1.05 minimum to do FBM, then the cost of packaging on top. Volume is the key.
Seller_pD4k5nUkDbIgP
It depends, I find that small and light works well for some products, it’s a decision that has to be taken case by case. For instance, those that are slightly too big for LL but are still eligible for S&L. I have decided though for the time being to keep most of my S&L here and send them with RM. They are inexpensive and light consumables and about 50% of customers buy 2 or 3 at the same time. Sometimes even 10! Therefore, I have a better margin on FBM, I also sell them on eBay and need to keep stock here anyway. Bigger products go to FBA as my storage is limited, there are more chances of selling them on Prime and I also want to avoid using EVRI and the likes.
Seller_TV2BoTT9GCT9w
Thanks for replies, I think i’ll take the advice on judging products case by case.
Small products I may decide to avoid altogether when I get round to my first big wholesale orders.
What is RM and LL by the way? I’m aware I should probably already know.
Seller_lljyzgTxr5fgI
That won’t be S&L. That looks like standard FBA to me.
Seller_sSxf9ltVoIMz9
I do all three ‘FBA S&L’ , ‘FBA’, FBM. I use Royal Mail Tracked 48 for most of my FBM … The decision is relatively simple, for fast moving items I tend to go FBA and if they qualify S&L and I price them accordingly. The only downside for S&L is you can’t sell into Europe but if you a UK only supplier it won’t matter.
Like others I also sell via other sites so always have the option to sell from my warehouse but I think FBA is comparable, slightly higher because I pay to label and ship the goods to FBA, slightly lower in delivery issues and customer service which become Amazons problem. Certainly for me at least FBA sees a big increase in sales, most people want prime and most people want delivery next day. The big advantage with FBA is that the business operates 7 days a week whereas our physical business now only operates 4 days a week (mon-thur)
Finally (for me at least) any time Amazon displays a calculation I take it with a pinch of salt. As others have said you figures look like full FBA not S&L - Are you sure you have enrolled the product? Are you sure Amazon isn’t showing an ‘illustrative figure’.
Seller_Tlta9YZyrkI5V
I noticed some ASINS had reverted back to standard FBA and I have no idea why. Use the tool in the link to see what the FBA standard fee is and scroll down on the right and it’ll give you the small and light fee. Handy for those who want to see what the difference is and if any savings can be made by switching to S&L.
