Everyone knows the standard Amazon commission is roughly 15%. But did you know some categories charge as little as 8%, while others spike to 45%? If Amazon's algorithm accidentally reclassifies your product into a different category, you could be overpaying commission on every single sale. The Referral Fee Preview Report is your only way to audit the specific commission Amazon plans to charge you. This guide shows you how to stop assuming your fees are correct and start verifying them. We'll cover how to automatically pull your Referral Fee Preview report directly into Google Sheets to build a live "Commission Audit" dashboard.
How to Automatically Sync & Import the Referral Fee Preview Report to Google Sheets (The Hopted Way)
Using an Amazon to Google Sheets integration like Hopted, you set up the connection once, and your data flows automatically.
Step 1.
Install the Hopted browser extension and sign in using your Google Account.
Step 2.
Securely connect your Amazon Seller Central to Google Sheets using Hopted's integration wizard.
Step 3.
In Google Sheets, from the list of available Amazon Seller Central reports, select "Referral Fee Preview".
Step 4.
Select the critical columns for calculation: SKU, Product name, Price, and Referral Fee.
Step 5.
Set your schedule. Choose how often you want to export and refresh your commission estimates. Since referral fees usually only change when you change your price or category, a Weekly sync is typically sufficient.
Step 6.
Save your data pipeline. This will export your fee data from Seller Central into spreadsheets automatically. Your financial audits will be up to date forever.
What is the Amazon Referral Fee Preview Report?
This report provides the estimated referral fee (often called the "commission") for each of your products. Unlike FBA fees, which cover picking, packing, and shipping, the Referral Fee is the cost of "selling" on the Amazon marketplace.
The fee is calculated as a percentage of your total sales price (including delivery charges and gift wrapping). This percentage varies wildly depending on the Product Category.
This makes it the single source of truth for answering questions like:
Is Amazon charging me the correct **percentage** for my category (e.g., 8% vs 15%)?How much will my margin shrink if I lower my **Price**?Has a recent **Category Change** caused my fees to spike?What is my exact break-even point when combining Referral Fees with FBA Fees?
How to Analyze & Track Your Referral Fees in Spreadsheets
Now that you have a live feed, you can move from data entry to data analysis. This is the real power of analyzing your Amazon Seller Central data in spreadsheets and building your Amazon excel-like template.
Here are 3 Amazon spreadsheet template ideas you can build immediately:
Template 1: The "Wrong Category" Detector
This is the most valuable audit you can run. If you sell "Consumer Electronics" (typically 8% fee) but Amazon categorizes you as "Office Products" (15% fee), you are losing 7% of your revenue for nothing.
How to build it:
Columns:
SKU,Price,Referral Fee.Formula: Create a new column "Effective Rate":
=(Referral Fee / Price). Format as %.The Check: Sort by "Effective Rate" High to Low.
What it shows you: Any product showing a percentage higher than your category standard (e.g., >15%) is likely miscategorized. You can open a case with Seller Support to change the category and request a reimbursement.
Template 2: The "Net Margin" Calculator
Don't rely on "back of the napkin" math. Use the exact data Amazon provides.
How to build it:
Columns:
Price,Referral Fee.Add Data: Add a manual column for
COGS(Cost of Goods Sold) andTotal FBA Fee(select this attribute from the FBA fee report while creating automated data import for Referal fees).Formula:
Net Profit = Price - Referral Fee - FBA Fee - COGS.What it shows you: The true profitability of every SKU. You might find low-ticket items where the Referral Fee + Minimum FBA fees eat 100% of your profit.
Template 3: The "Pricing Threshold" Planner
Referral fees are based on your total price. Sometimes, lowering your price slightly can maintain your sales velocity while reducing the absolute fee amount, or qualifying you for "Low-Price FBA" rates (though this report focuses on the commission side).
How to build it:
Scenario Planning: Use the sheet to model "What-If" scenarios.
Formula:
= (New Price * 0.15).What it shows you: Use this to update your Repricing Software min/max bounds. Ensure your "Minimum Price" always accounts for the
Referral Feeshown in this report so you never sell at a loss.
Common workflows this report unlocks
Category Appeals: Provide hard data to Amazon Seller Support when requesting a category change ("You are charging me 15% for a Computer Accessory that should be 8%").
Repricer Configuration: Sync the
Referral Feecolumn to your repricing tool to ensure your "Net Margin" calculations are accurate dynamically.Financial Forecasting: Use the total projected Referral Fees to estimate your monthly Amazon payout more accurately.
FAQ about Referral Fee Preview Report
Q: What is the difference between Referral Fee and FBA Fee? The Referral Fee is the commission you pay to Amazon for finding the customer (usually ~15% of the price). The FBA Fee is the cost to pick, pack, and ship the item (based on size/weight). You pay both.
Q: Why is my Referral Fee higher than 15%? Certain categories, like "Amazon Device Accessories," "Jewelry," or "Gift Cards," have higher fee percentages (up to 45%). Alternatively, your product may be miscategorized. Use this report to calculate your effective rate and check if it matches Amazon's fee schedule.
Q: Does the Referral Fee change if I lower my price? Yes. Since the Referral Fee is a percentage of the total sales price, lowering your price reduces the fee amount. However, there is usually a minimum referral fee (often $0.30) per item.
Q: Why doesn't this report show FBA fees? Amazon separates these into two reports. Use the Referral Fee Previewfor commissions and the FBA Fee Preview for fulfillment costs. You should use Hopted to sync both into Google Sheets and combine them using a VLOOKUP on the SKU column for a complete view.
Q: How is Hopted different from other Amazon seller software? Most Amazon tools force you into their rigid dashboards and pre-built reports. You have to change your workflow to fit their software. With Hopted is the opposite. It’s a flexible data automation layer that works directly inside your existing spreadsheets (like Google Sheets). Instead of forcing you to learn a new system, Hopted brings all your scattered Amazon data (sales, inventory, fees) right to you. You can build the fully custom reports and automations you need, not the ones a rigid tool dictates.
