Amazon FBA UAE: Fees, Dubai Warehouses and How to Start

Amazon FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) is the fastest way to start selling in the UAE. You send stock to Amazon's warehouses in Dubai. Amazon does the rest.

Shoppers get free Prime delivery the next day. You get the Prime badge, Amazon's customer service and returns handled for you.

And the numbers work. A small parcel costs AED 10.50 per order to deliver, which is less than you'd pay Amazon to collect it from your own shelf.

Here's what it costs in AED, what you keep on a real product, and how to get stock from a Chinese factory into a Dubai fulfilment centre. It's part of our guide to selling on Amazon Middle East.

What is Amazon FBA in the UAE?

FBA is Amazon's fulfilment service. You ship stock to an Amazon fulfilment centre, and Amazon stores it, picks and packs each order, delivers it and deals with returns.

Here's why most new Amazon.ae sellers start with it:

• Prime one-day delivery. FBA listings get the Prime badge with free one-day delivery across the Emirates. UAE shoppers expect that speed.
• Fast start. Stock is usually sellable 48–72 hours after Amazon receives it.
• No minimum. You can send ten units or ten thousand.
• Less work. Amazon answers delivery questions and processes returns through its online returns centre.
• More visibility. FBA offers can join Lightning Deals and big events like Prime Day and White Friday.

Amazon runs its UAE fulfilment from warehouses around Dubai, including the Dubai South logistics district near Al Maktoum airport. You don't pick the building. Amazon assigns one when you create a shipment.

New to the store itself? Our Amazon UAE seller guide covers licences, VAT and registration.

How much does FBA cost on Amazon.ae?

You pay one fee per unit shipped, plus monthly storage. The fulfilment fee covers picking, packing, delivery, customer service and returns handling.

The fee depends on size, weight and price. Items priced at AED 25 or less get a lower rate.

Size tier	Price AED 25 or less	Price above AED 25
Small envelope, up to 100 g	AED 5.50	AED 7.50
Standard envelope, up to 500 g	AED 6.50	AED 8.50
Standard parcel, up to 500 g	AED 7.50	AED 9.50
Standard parcel, up to 1 kg	AED 8.50	AED 10.50
Standard parcel, up to 2 kg	AED 9.50	AED 11.50
Standard parcel, up to 5 kg	AED 12.50	AED 14.50
Standard parcel, up to 12 kg	AED 19.50	AED 21.50
Oversize, up to 10 kg	AED 19.50	AED 21.50

Most everyday products land in the standard parcel rows. A boxed kitchen gadget or phone case usually pays AED 9.50–11.50.

Storage fees

Storage costs AED 2 per cubic foot a month, based on the average space your stock fills each day. That's tiny for small items.

To work out your volume, multiply the box's length, width and height in cm. Then divide by 28,317.

The water bottle in the example below takes just 0.07 cubic feet. That's about AED 0.14 a month.

Storage only hurts when stock sits still. Units stored 271–365 days pay an extra long-term fee of AED 8 per cubic foot, charged monthly. After 365 days, it jumps to AED 30.

To clear slow stock, create a removal or disposal order in Seller Central. Both cost a fee per unit, except for eligible FBA New Selection products. So send what you can sell in a couple of months.

Other costs to plan for

On top of Amazon's fees, budget for:

• Referral fee. A 5–16% cut of each sale, by category.
• VAT on Amazon's fees. 5%, which you reclaim if you're VAT-registered.
• Prep and labels. Barcode labels and packaging, done by you, your factory or a Dubai prep centre.
• Inbound freight. Getting stock to the fulfilment centre door, duty paid.

The full fee picture, including referral rates, is in our Amazon Middle East seller fees guide.

Worked example: an AED 79 water bottle from China

Say you sell an insulated steel water bottle on Amazon.ae for AED 79, VAT included. It weighs 0.7 kg boxed and measures 24 × 9 × 9 cm.

You buy 1,000 units from a factory near Shenzhen at USD 3.20 each. Packed in master cartons, they fill about 2.2 cbm, so you ship them LCL (less than container load) to Jebel Ali.

Step 1: landed cost

Import VAT of 5% (about AED 755) comes on top. If you're VAT-registered, you reclaim it, so it's cash flow, not cost.

Step 2: what Amazon keeps

Step 3: your profit

The shelf price includes AED 3.76 of VAT. That leaves AED 75.24 of real revenue.

Take off AED 21.83 in Amazon fees and AED 15.11 in landed cost. You keep about AED 38.30 per bottle, or half the ex-VAT price.

Ads come out of that. Dubai agencies say well-run Amazon UAE accounts spend about 22–25% of sales on ads. Even at 25%, you'd keep around AED 19 a bottle, before your broker and the truck to the warehouse.

Try your own product here:

How do you send stock to Amazon's Dubai warehouses?

Inbound runs through two tools: Send to Amazon in Seller Central, and Carrier Central for the delivery slot. Get both right and your stock goes live within three days.

1

Set your listings to FBA

Create or match each listing in Seller Central, then switch its fulfilment channel to Fulfilled by Amazon.

2

Prep and label every unit

Each unit needs an Amazon barcode label and packaging that meets Amazon's rules. Many sellers have the factory do this before the goods leave China.

3

Create a shipping plan in Send to Amazon

Enter quantities and carton sizes. Amazon picks the fulfilment centre and gives you a shipment ID label for each carton.

4

Book a Carrier Central appointment

Your carrier or forwarder books a delivery slot at the warehouse. Trucks without an appointment are turned away.

5

Deliver duty paid and check the receipt

Duty, VAT and freight must be settled before arrival. Once Amazon receives the cartons, compare the counts in Seller Central and raise any gaps quickly.

Shipping FBA stock from China to Dubai

Most FBA stock for the UAE comes from China, and the route is well worn. Cargo lands at Jebel Ali, the Gulf's biggest port, with 80+ weekly services to 150+ ports.

From south China, sea freight takes about 12–25 days port to port. Air freight takes 2–4 days and suits urgent restocks.

The estimator uses October 2026 rates. In late 2026, LCL to the UAE cost about USD 120–180 per cbm for the ocean leg, plus CFS and document fees. A 40ft container to Jebel Ali ran about USD 5,000–7,000.

Who imports the stock?

Amazon won't act as importer of record (IOR) or consignee for FBA stock. Someone else must clear customs and pay duty before the goods reach the warehouse.

You have two options:

1. Your own UAE entity. A mainland or free-zone licence with a customs client code. In Dubai, the code costs AED 120 and takes about a day.
2. A forwarder's IOR or DDP service. DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means the forwarder clears customs, pays duty and VAT, and delivers to Amazon's door.

Most goods pay 5% duty on the CIF value (cost, insurance and freight), plus 5% VAT. The full process is in our guide to importing into the UAE.

Hold bulk stock in a free zone

Here's a trick UAE sellers use. Goods stored in a free zone such as JAFZA stay duty-suspended until they enter the mainland.

So you can land a full container in a free-zone 3PL and send FBA top-ups every few weeks. Duty is paid only on what moves to Amazon, and storage stays small.

Compare routes and rates in our China to UAE shipping guide.

FBA or Easy Ship in the UAE?

FBA wins for most products. With Easy Ship, you keep the stock and Amazon's courier collects each order from you.

	FBA	Easy Ship
Who stores and packs	Amazon	You
Fee, 1 kg parcel	AED 10.50	AED 15
Storage fee	AED 2 per cubic foot a month	None
Prime one-day badge
Charge the buyer for shipping	No (free Prime delivery)	Up to AED 10
Returns and delivery questions	Amazon	Amazon (returns come back to you)
Best for	Most products, new launches	Bulky or slow sellers, quick tests

On the water bottle above, FBA saves about AED 4.20 an order even after storage. Across 1,000 units, that's AED 4,200.

Easy Ship still earns its place for heavy, bulky or slow items, where months of storage would add up. Rate bands and pickup rules are in our Amazon Easy Ship guide.

How do you get paid?

Amazon settles your balance every 14 days by bank transfer. The money reaches your account within about five business days.

Amazon.ae adds a useful extra: Disburse on Demand. It lets you request a payout once every 24 hours, instead of waiting for the next cycle.

That matters for FBA sellers. Faster cash means you can pay for the next shipment sooner and avoid running out of stock.

Selling to the rest of the GCC with FBA Export

Your UAE stock can sell well beyond the Emirates. Amazon.ae ships to shoppers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman through its Global Export programme.

Middle East FBA sellers are enrolled in FBA Export automatically, at no extra fee. Only eligible products ship, and you can opt out in Seller Central.

The buyer pays delivery and import fees at checkout. Orders reach Saudi cities, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman in about 2–4 business days.

It's a cheap way to test the wider Gulf. When Saudi orders pick up, open Amazon.sa with local stock. Our Amazon FBA Saudi Arabia guide covers that step.

Amazon FBA UAE launch checklist

Notes for Chinese sellers

• Amazon SEND. Amazon's own freight service ships from China to the UAE, with the carrier handling customs at both ends. Dangerous goods are excluded.
• Inbound cashback. New cross-border sellers get up to AED 3,672 per product toward FBA inbound. The offer runs until 30 December 2026. Units must arrive within 90 days of creating the shipment.
• Launch pack. A USD 50,000 prepaid referral voucher and up to USD 1,000 in ad credit for new Chinese brands.
• Label at the factory. Have Amazon barcodes printed and applied before export. Relabelling in Dubai costs time and money.

More in Amazon Middle East for Chinese sellers.

Notes for foreign brands

• No UAE company needed. Register through Amazon Global Selling and use a forwarder's IOR service.
• Ship DDP. Ask for one all-in price to the fulfilment centre door, including duty, VAT, clearance and the delivery appointment.
• English sells from day one. Most UAE shoppers are expats, but add Arabic titles and bullets to reach Emirati and wider-GCC buyers.

Notes for UAE-based sellers

• Use your licence. Your mainland or free-zone licence plus a customs code makes you your own importer.
• Mix FBA with a 3PL. Keep bulk stock in a Dubai 3PL and send Amazon fast sellers only. The same stock can serve noon and your own site.
• Dubai licence holders can join the DET x Amazon Accelerator, with AED 2,000 in ad credit and six months of free support.

Find a fulfilment partner in the UAE

The 3PLs below were independently researched and aren't ranked. Many handle FBA prep, labelling and Amazon delivery appointments. The full list is in 3PL and fulfilment providers in the UAE.