Report: Amazon hiking seller fees for holidays
Amazon will reportedly temporarily increase the fulfillment fees it charges third-party marketplace sellers during the upcoming holiday season.
According to CNBC, Amazon sent an email to its third-party sellers informing them that from Oct. 15, 2022, to Jan. 14, 2023, they will have to pay an extra 35 cents per item shipped via the hosted Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) logistics service. The extra charge, due to record-setting expense increases, will be in addition to other fees Amazon already charges FBA users.
The October start of this holiday fee hike will mark the second time in 2022 that Amazon has added a surcharge to the cost of FBA services. Starting April 28, Amazon began applying a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge to existing FBA fulfillment fees for Amazon Marketplace participants selling in the U.S. Amazon said the surcharge is subject to change.
[Read more: Amazon adds new surcharge to some sellers' fees]
According to Amazon, U.S.-based sellers sold more than 3.8 billion products, or 7,400 products per minute, in Amazon stores during 2021. During the year, the company says it added more than 200,000 new third-party sellers to its U.S. store, up 45% over the previous year, with the number of U.S. sellers who surpassed $1 million in sales growing by nearly 15%.
Despite these surcharges, Amazon is also trying to actively recruit new third-party sellers to Amazon Marketplace with an array of benefits and resources. Among these incentives, new sellers who adopt Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) hosted fulfillment services can obtain benefits that include $100 in credits for using the Amazon Partnered Carrier program, or $200 in credits for using Amazon Global Logistics for inbound shipping fees; auto-enrollment in FBA New Selection, which provides free monthly storage, liquidations, and return processing for eligible new-to-FBA products; and $200 in promotional clicks for sellers that also adopt Amazon Sponsored Products pay-per-click ads.
U.S. Postal Service proposes holiday price changes
The U.S. Postal Service wants to temporarily adjust some parcel delivery fees during the peak 2022 holiday season. The agency recently filed a notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) requesting a temporary price adjustment for key package products for the 2022 peak holiday season.
The planned peak-season pricing, which has been approved by the Governors of the Postal Service, would affect prices on the following commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels: Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select and USPS Retail Ground. International products would be unaffected.
Pending approval by the PRC, the temporary rates would go into effect at 12 a.m. CT on Oct. 2, 2022, and remain in place until 12 a.m. CT on Jan. 22, 2023. According to the U.S. Postal Service, these temporary rates would keep it competitive while providing revenue to cover anticipated extra costs resulting from handling peak-season volume. The PRC will review the proposed prices before they are scheduled to take effect on Oct. 2. No structural changes are planned.