Operations

FBA vs self-ship on Amazon India: which should you choose?

Fulfilment quietly decides your delivery speed, your badge, and a big chunk of your margin. On Amazon India you have three broad routes — FBA, Easy Ship, and self-ship (FBM). Here is how to choose.

FBA — Fulfilled by Amazon

You send stock to Amazon; they store, pack, ship and handle most customer service. The upside is the Prime badge, faster delivery promises, and strong conversion. The trade-off is storage and fulfilment fees, plus the discipline to keep inventory healthy so you avoid long-term storage costs and stockouts.

Best for: fast-moving products, small-to-mid sized items, and sellers who want conversion and reach over hands-on control.

Easy Ship

You store and pack; Amazon's logistics picks up and delivers. It is a middle ground — better delivery promises than pure self-ship, without shipping everything to a fulfilment centre. Useful while you are testing demand or handling items that do not suit FBA.

Self-ship (FBM)

You handle storage, packing and delivery through your own couriers. Maximum control and no FBA fees, but delivery speed and the buyer trust that comes with it are on you — and account health metrics like on-time delivery become your responsibility.

Best for: bulky or fragile items, very low-volume SKUs, or brands with an existing logistics setup.

How to decide

• Model net margin per order for each method, including all fees and shipping — not just the headline commission.
• Match the method to the product: small and fast-moving leans FBA; bulky or slow-moving often leans self-ship.
• Mix and match: many sellers run bestsellers on FBA and the long tail on self-ship.

The badge and speed usually justify FBA for your hero products, but run the numbers per SKU rather than applying one rule to everything. Our Amazon management team sets this up as part of onboarding, and a free audit will flag where your current mix is costing you.