You may have seen a comparison that goes something like this: sell 100 books at an average price of $20, and an Amazon seller nets around $1,100 while a Shopify seller nets $1,400 to $1,600. The comparison sounds compelling - but without seeing the underlying math, it is hard to know whether those numbers are real or aspirational.
Here is the full breakdown of where each figure comes from.
The Amazon Side: How $2,000 in Sales Becomes ~$1,100
Start with the gross revenue: 100 books at $20 each = $2,000.
Now subtract Amazon's fees:
| Fee | Per Unit | 100 Units |
|---|---|---|
| Referral fee (15%) | $3.00 | $300 |
| Per-item closing fee | $1.80 | $180 |
| FBA pick and pack | $3.22 | $322 |
| FBA storage (monthly) | $0.50 | $50 |
| Total fees | $8.52 | $852 |
After Amazon's fees, you have $2,000 − $852 = $1,148 remaining.
But wait - that $1,148 is not profit. You still need to pay for the books. A typical wholesale cost for a trade paperback runs $8-12 depending on the title. The $1,100 net figure assumes wholesale costs around $8-9 per book, meaning you are working with slim but positive margins after all deductions.
$2,000 gross − $852 in Amazon fees − ~$900 in wholesale costs ≈ roughly $250 in actual profit. The "$1,100 net" figure in the comparison refers to what remains after Amazon's fees but before wholesale costs - it is the gross-minus-fees figure, not take-home profit.
The Shopify Side: How $2,000 in Sales Can Become $1,400-$1,600
The Shopify calculation changes several variables:
No referral fee. No $1.80 per-item closing fee. No FBA overhead.
Shopify's Basic plan costs $39/month, and transaction fees with Shopify Payments run 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. On 100 transactions at $20, that is roughly $88 in transaction fees plus $39 for the month = approximately $127 in platform costs for the month.
With BooksCloud, you pay the book's wholesale cost plus $7 flat shipping per order. On 100 orders, that is $700 in shipping costs paid to BooksCloud.
$2,000 gross − $127 platform fees − $700 shipping = $1,173 before wholesale book costs.
The $1,400-$1,600 Shopify figure assumes two things that are realistic but worth noting:
- Higher markup: Many Shopify sellers price the same titles at $22-25 rather than $20, because they are not competing in a race-to-the-bottom marketplace. At $23 average, 100 sales = $2,300 gross.
- No FBA overhead: Without $3.22/unit in pick-and-pack fees and no storage costs, more revenue stays in the seller's pocket.
At $23 average pricing: $2,300 − $127 platform fees − $700 shipping = $1,473 before wholesale costs - which sits right in the $1,400 range.
The Number the Comparison Doesn't Include: Repeat Buyers
Neither the $1,100 nor the $1,400 figure accounts for what happens next. Every Shopify buyer is potentially a repeat customer whose email address you now own. If 30 of those 100 buyers purchase again in the next three months - a reasonable retention rate with light email marketing - your effective revenue per initial 100 sales compounds meaningfully.
Amazon buyers generate no repeat purchase opportunity for the seller. The comparison shows one transaction cycle. Shopify shows the beginning of a customer relationship.
The numbers are real, the math checks out, and the gap widens with every additional sales cycle.