Amazon is raising fees for sellers who use its fulfillment services to store their inventory and deliver their orders to buyers. The new “fuel and inflation surcharge” will be an extra 5% on top of its current Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fulfillment fee per-unit rates.
“Since 2020, and inclusive of this change, Amazon has increased fulfillment rates less than other carriers and continues to cost significantly less than alternatives,” it told sellers in today’s announcement.
The new surcharge will take effect in two weeks, April 28. One seller took issue with the timing – “They’re giving us 15 days notice. It’s not enough time.” But the seller sounded resigned to the fee itself. “I’m pretty certain that we’re stuck in an inflationary spiral until we’re hit by a significant recession. I’m just going to pass the cost increase to the customer and hold-on for better times.”
Amazon said it had expected a return to normalcy this year as COVID-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel prices and inflation presented further challenges.
Rather than making a permanent fee change, Amazon chose to implement the surcharge which, it noted, is a mechanism broadly used across supply chain providers.
UPS and FedEx have had fuel surcharges for many years, but have never entirely eliminated them.
One seller pointed to the irony of Amazon raising fees while forcing sellers to lower their prices – “Cant agree more (with Amazon). I am selling an outfit with the price 29.99 and Amazon deactivates most of my listings with the reason: violate fair price policy. They suggest to sell below $10 lol.”
Another seller replied, “Yes, and most of their problems come from 3rd party sellers (hopefully not like us) too. I don’t see Amazon as an evil empire out to get us. I see them as trying to weed out the sellers that don’t have a business model to succeed here. We all have the choice to sell here or don’t. If it doesn’t fit your business model, you are free find another way.”
Amazon provided some product examples to help illustrate the new FBA fee structure:
Mobile device case – Small standard-size (6 oz or less)
Dimensions: 13.8 x 9 x 0.7 inches
Unit weight: 2.88 oz
Rounded shipping weight: 3 oz
Fulfillment fee (per unit) before April 28, 2022: $2.92
Fulfillment fee (per unit) April 28, 2022, and after: $3.07
T-shirt – Large standard-size (Apparel, 12+ to 16 oz)
Dimensions: 14 x 10 x 0.76 inches
Dimensional weight: 12.24 oz
Unit weight: 12.32 oz
Rounded shipping weight: 13 oz
Fulfillment fee (per unit) before April 28, 2022: $5.07
Fulfillment fee (per unit) April 28, 2022, and after: $5.32
You can find the full announcement with seller comments on Amazon Seller Central.
