Profitlee blog
Amazon MCF vs FBA fees in 2026
"MCF costs 30-50% more than FBA" is the line everyone repeats. Against Amazon's official 2026 rate card it's wrong in both directions: the same 1.5 lb product runs 96% more expensive as a single-unit order and 3% cheaper at four units. Here's the real math, including the referral fee you stop paying — and the free calculator to run it on your own product.
How Much Does Head Shipping Cost? A Real China → US Freight Bill
The Profitlee calculator asks for "head shipping" per unit — and most sellers have no idea what to put. So here's a real shipment of mine: 150 lightweight canvas mitts, China to the US West Coast, the sea-freight rates I was quoted, the volumetric-weight trap that doubled my bill, and how it became about 14 to 21 cents per unit.
Open-Source Amazon Product Research: A Free 3-Skill AI Pipeline
Product research is really three questions: what to sell, will it profit, will it sell. product-research-skills is a free, open-source bundle of AI skills that answers all three — discovery, cost, and reviews — and hands you a single GO/WATCH/SKIP verdict. Profitlee powers the margin math.
Amazon vs TikTok Shop: Which Is More Profitable in 2026?
Run the same $40 product through Amazon FBA and Fulfilled by TikTok and TikTok usually keeps more per unit — but Amazon's search traffic buys volume TikTok can't promise. Fees, fulfillment, payouts, and a side-by-side margin table.
How to Automate Amazon Product Research with AI (Skill + MCP)
Manual product research means juggling ASINs, guessing 1688 costs, and re-keying dimensions into a fee calculator. Here's how a Claude skill and the Profitlee MCP turn a single keyword into a full profit-and-loss report — and how to run it yourself.
Amazon FBA Fees 2026: Full US Cost Breakdown
Most sellers budget '15% and done.' The real US FBA stack — fulfillment, storage, inbound, ads, and returns — often takes 40–55% of the sale price. Here's every layer, plus a $40 worked example.
How to Calculate Ecommerce Profit Margin (Formula + Example)
Net profit margin is simple as a formula but easy to misread when marketplace fees, fulfillment, tax, ads, returns, and storage are missing from the model.
Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) vs. Self-Fulfilled: Which Is Cheaper?
FBT hands storage, pick-pack, and shipping to TikTok; self-fulfilled keeps it in-house. Here's how the two models compare on cost, control, and the numbers that actually hit your margin.
FBA vs. FBM: Which Is More Profitable for Amazon Sellers?
FBA trades Amazon-run fulfillment and Prime eligibility for fulfillment and storage costs; FBM keeps control but makes shipping and delivery performance your job.
Amazon FBA Fees Japan 2026: Seller Cost Guide
Amazon.co.jp pricing has its own fee stack: marketplace fees, FBA costs, import duty, consumption tax, and yen-denominated margin pressure.
Amazon FBA Fees in Germany (2026): Referral, Fulfillment, Duty & VAT
Selling with FBA on Amazon.de adds European import duty and German VAT to the normal marketplace fee stack. Here's how to think through each layer before you price a SKU.