WFS's pitch is a simpler rate card than competing fulfillment programs — just a fulfillment fee and a storage fee, no signup or subscription cost. That's true at the headline level, but the actual math involves several sub-tables depending on item size, season, and how long inventory sits. This breaks down every piece. For the general enrollment picture, see WFS: What It Is, What It Costs, and How to Enroll.
These figures are effective as of April 2025 per Walmart's published rate card and are subject to change — always confirm current rates in Seller Center or with the WFS Cost Estimator before pricing a new SKU.
Standard fulfillment fees
An item qualifies as "standard" (shipped by small parcel) when all three are true: unit weight ≤150 lb. including packaging, longest side ≤108 inches, and longest side + girth ≤165 inches (girth = 2 × (width + height)). Anything exceeding these moves to big-and-bulky pricing below.
To find your base fee: first calculate shipping weight — for items under 1 lb., add 0.25 lb. for packaging and round up; for items between 1 and 150 lb., use whichever is greater between unit weight and dimensional weight (length × width × height in inches, divided by 139).
| Shipping weight | Standard base fee per unit |
|---|---|
| ≤ 1 lb. | $3.45 |
| 2 lb. | $4.95 |
| 3 lb. | $5.45 |
| 4-20 lb. | $5.75 + $0.40/lb. over 4 lb. |
| 21-30 lb. | $15.55 + $0.40/lb. over 21 lb. |
| 31-50 lb. | $14.55 + $0.40/lb. over 31 lb. |
| ≥ 51 lb. | $17.55 + $0.40/lb. over 51 lb. |
Several add-on fees stack on top of the base fee where applicable (not charged on big-and-bulky items):
| Add-on | Trigger | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel | Item is clothing | +$0.50 |
| Hazardous materials | Chemical, aerosol, pesticide, or battery | +$0.50 |
| Low retail price | Priced under $10 | +$1.00 |
| Oversize 1 | Longest side 48-96", or median side >30", or side+girth 105-130" | +$3.00 |
| Oversize 2 | Longest side 96-108", or side+girth 130-165" (also re-priced starting at the 90 lb. rate) | +$20.00 |
Big and bulky fulfillment fees
An item is big-and-bulky when it exceeds standard thresholds: unit weight 150-500 lb., longest side 108-120 inches, or side+girth over 165 inches. These ship by freight, with no additional stacking fees beyond the base rate.
| Shipping weight | Big & bulky base fee per unit |
|---|---|
| Up to 500 lb. | $155 + $0.80/lb. over 90 lb. |
Storage fees
Based on cubic feet (length × width × height in inches, divided by 1,728) and how long the item sits.
| Period | Rate |
|---|---|
| Standard (Jan-Sep), up to 365 days | $0.75 per cubic foot per month |
| Peak (Oct-Dec), first 30 days | $0.75 per cubic foot per month |
| Peak (Oct-Dec), beyond 30 days | add $1.50 per cubic foot per month on top of the standard rate |
| 366-450 days (effective June 30, 2026) | $2.25 per cubic foot per month |
| Beyond 450 days (effective June 30, 2026) | $7.50 per cubic foot per month |
The jump at the 365-day mark is steep — three times the standard rate, rising to ten times beyond 450 days — so aging inventory is worth actively monitoring through the Inventory Health Report rather than discovering it at the end of a billing cycle.
Prep service chargebacks (unplanned)
Charged when inventory arrives incorrectly bagged or labeled, per Walmart's packaging standards:
| Issue | Chargeback per unit |
|---|---|
| Missing or incorrect label | $0.65 |
| Missing or incorrect poly bag | $0.80 |
Choosing Prep Services when creating a shipment avoids these chargebacks at a lower planned rate — worth doing for your first few shipments if you're not confident in WFS's exact packaging spec.
Return processing fees
Based on the same shipping-weight logic as fulfillment, with the same apparel/hazmat/oversize add-ons applying:
| Shipping weight | Standard return fee per unit |
|---|---|
| ≤ 1 lb. | $4.70 |
| 2 lb. | $6.20 |
| 3 lb. | $6.70 |
| 4-20 lb. | $7.00 + $0.40/lb. over 4 lb. |
| 21-30 lb. | $15.55 + $0.40/lb. over 21 lb. |
| 31-50 lb. | $14.55 + $0.40/lb. over 31 lb. |
| ≥ 51 lb. | $17.55 + $0.40/lb. over 51 lb. |
| Big & bulky, up to 500 lb. | $155 + $0.80/lb. over 90 lb. |
Who pays it depends on fault. Walmart waives the return fee for returns it classifies as Walmart-at-fault — lost in transit, lost after delivery, undeliverable, item or box damaged, arrived late, or wrong item shipped. You're responsible for the fee on everything else: wrong size/fit, quality complaints, missing parts, not as described, customer-initiated refunds, buyer's remorse, and similar. See WFS Returns and Fulfillment Exceptions for the full fault breakdown and what happens to your referral fee in each case.
Disposal and removal fees
For inventory you choose to dispose of or ship back to yourself:
| Unit weight | Disposal fee per unit | Removal fee per unit |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 2 lb. | $0.35 | Disposal fee + $0.40/lb. shipping |
| 3-500 lb. | $0.35 + $0.20/lb. over 2 lb. | Disposal fee + $0.40/lb. shipping |
Hazmat items add $0.50 to the base disposal fee.
A worked example
A 4 lb. standard, non-apparel, non-hazmat item priced at $15, stored for 20 days at 0.5 cubic feet:
- Fulfillment: $5.75 base (no add-ons triggered) = $5.75
- Storage: 0.5 cubic ft × $0.75 × (20/30 of a month, prorated similarly by most sellers' internal models) ≈ $0.25-$0.75 depending on how your storage is billed within the month
- Total fulfillment-side cost before referral fee: roughly $6-$6.50
Run your own SKUs through the Marketplace Fee Calculator alongside Walmart's referral fee for your category to get a full landed cost per sale.