Pricing Just Under ₹1,000 on Amazon India: When to Re-Price and When Not To

Re-price to ₹1,000 or below only when the referral fee you save outweighs the margin you give up. Amazon.in charges 0% referral fee for items priced up to ₹1,000 across 1,800+ categories, effective 16 March 2026. Above ₹1,000 the category rate returns, for example 8% for Shoes and 22.5% for Fashion Jewellery. This page shows the break-even sums. Rates are as of 9 November 2026.

Where exactly is the threshold line?

Amazon says zero referral fees apply to "products under ₹1,000" in the press release. The fee schedule uses "item price <= 1,000" for the 0% band, so ₹1,000 itself is inside the zero band. The schedule formula is: total referral fee = item price x referral fee percentage.

Two things Amazon does not spell out on the pages we opened:

• Whether the test uses your listing price or the discounted price the customer actually pays after a deal or coupon.
• Whether shipping or gift-wrap charges you add count towards the ₹1,000. The closing fee does count them: Amazon says the closing fee is based on the item price paid by the buyer, including any shipping or gift-wrap charges you add.

Until you have that in writing from Seller Support, do not build a plan that relies on a ₹1,001 item being treated as under ₹1,000 because of a discount.

How big is the fee cliff above the threshold?

It depends on the category row. These are the new rates from the schedule for three fashion rows:

Rates from Amazon's fee schedule.

Fee rates vary by category, so check your own row; Amazon also says referral fees above ₹1,000 were reduced by 4% to 9.5% in select high-demand categories such as apparel, shoes, home and personal care.

For example, a Fashion Jewellery item at ₹999 pays ₹0 referral fee. At ₹1,001 it pays 22.5% of ₹1,001, about ₹225. Raising the price by ₹2 cost you ₹225. Referral fee is not the only variable: closing fees also step up by price band, and Amazon lists a ₹75 closing fee for items above ₹1,000 in select fee categories. Look up your category group.

What price do I need to match the ₹999 payout?

Use this formula, ignoring closing and shipping fees, which you should add separately:

Illustrative break-even price = ₹999 / (1 - referral fee rate above ₹1,000)

For example, for Apparel - Accessories: 19% of ₹1,234 is about ₹234.5, leaving about ₹999.5. These are arithmetic from the schedule rates, before 18% GST on fees and before closing, weight handling and other fees. Any price between ₹1,001 and the break-even leaves you with less per unit than ₹999 would, unless you sell more units.

When should I re-price down to the threshold?

Consider it when all of these hold:

1. Your price today is within about 5% to 10% above ₹1,000, so the move is small.
2. Your category's rate above ₹1,000 is high, as in jewellery and accessories.
3. Your product cost leaves a positive margin at ₹999 or ₹1,000 after weight handling, closing fee and GST on fees.
4. Your competitors cluster under ₹1,000, so a lower price may win the Buy Box and clicks. Amazon itself suggests that lower fees give you room to price more competitively in price-sensitive categories.

For example, run the other check too: what the shopper pays. If MRP and list price are fixed by your brand, a drop to ₹999 from ₹1,099 changes the discount shown and may need a catalogue update. See the Amazon zero referral fee guide for how the waiver works.

When should I not re-price?

• Your margin is already thin below ₹1,000. Weight handling and closing fees still apply under ₹1,000, and the zero referral fee does not remove them.
• Your category's rate above ₹1,000 is low. At Shoes' 8%, a small price drop gives a small gain, and the brand positioning might matter more.
• You sell bundles. Amazon says sellers shipping several units together can save over 90% on selling fees for the second unit. The offers page repeats the up to 90% saving on the second unit. A multi-pack priced above ₹1,000 may serve the buyer better than two separate ₹999 orders. Check the unit-level fee.
• You would train buyers to expect the lower price. Price drops are easy; raising later costs conversion.
• Your product is a premium or gift item where ₹999 signals low quality.

For example, the ₹1,000 mark affects the whole catalogue. A sensible order is to rank SKUs by units sold and by distance to ₹1,000, then test the top ten.

How do I test it without risking the whole catalogue?

Assume a small test:

1. Pick 5 to 10 SKUs priced between ₹1,000 and ₹1,150 with similar volume.
2. Re-price half of them to ₹999 and keep half as controls for 2 to 4 weeks.
3. Compare units, conversion, and net payout per unit after all fees.
4. Check the Seller Central order report to confirm the referral fee actually charged was 0%.
5. Roll out only where net payout per day improved.

Use Seller Central's revenue calculator to check each SKU. For a spreadsheet version, see Amazon seller fee calculator for India. For a full dated list of 2026 changes, see Amazon India fee changes in 2026.

FAQ

Is the Amazon India zero referral fee for prices up to ₹1,000 or under ₹1,000? The press release says "under ₹1,000". The fee schedule bands read "item price <= 1,000" for 0%, so ₹1,000 falls in the zero band. Pricing at ₹999 gives a rupee of safety if you doubt it.

Does the zero referral fee mean zero fees? No. Weight handling and closing fees still apply, plus 18% GST on fees. Amazon's fee schedule lists the closing fee by price band and channel. In its press example, a ₹999 necklace set on Easy Ship still carried ₹100 in total fees.

Is the threshold on the discounted price or the listing price? Not confirmed from Amazon's public pages. Test one SKU with a deal running and check the referral fee in the order-level report, or ask Seller Support.

Which categories get the zero referral fee? Amazon says 1,800+ categories, including t-shirts, shoes, earphones, bed sheets, sarees, kettles, chairs, pet accessories, fashion jewellery and toys. See the eligible categories page.

Will Amazon change the threshold again? Not announced. Amazon changed the waiver from under ₹300 in 2025 to under ₹1,000 in 2026, and raised some referral rates in June 2026. Recheck the schedule before every pricing review.

Should I list at ₹999 or ₹1,000? Both pay 0% by the schedule bands. ₹999 is safer if the rule is read as "under ₹1,000", and many shoppers read ₹999 as the lower price band. The ₹1 you give up is small, but confirm with your own margin.

Does the closing fee change near ₹1,000? Yes, by category group and price band. Amazon lists a ₹75 closing fee above ₹1,000 for select categories at FC. Find your group in the schedule.

What was the threshold before 2026?

In 2025 the waiver covered products under ₹300 on over 1.2 crore products in 135 categories, from 7 April 2025. Amazon's current offers page still shows that older wording, so quote the fee schedule rather than the offers page when you share rules inside your team. If you built a pricing sheet in 2025 around ₹300, rebuild it: the zero band is now more than three times wider, and the cliff has moved to ₹1,000.

What to do next

Say you list SKUs priced between ₹1,000 and ₹1,200: find each category rate in the fee schedule and calculate the break-even price above. Blooprint's Amazon account management team can run that model across a full catalogue and test the results with you.