Amazon has announced that the company is implementing temporary fuel and logistics-related surcharges on fulfillment fees for sellers. This is in response to rising operating costs in the industry, and the company isn’t the first to add such charges. These charges will begin on April 17th, and Amazon hasn’t announced when they’ll end.
Amazon is Adding a 3.5% Surcharge for Some Sellers
In a post on the Amazon Seller Central forums, the company announced that, starting April 17th, it will apply a 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge to some fulfillment fees. These surcharges will be applied to fees across Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in the USA and Canada, as well as to Remote Fulfillment with FBA from the USA into Canada, Brazil, and Mexico.
Beginning on May 2nd, the surcharge will take effect for Buy with Prime in the USA, as well as Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) in both the USA and Canada. Amazon didn’t state when the end date would be for any of these fuel and logistics-related surcharges.
This surcharge is in response to the elevated costs in fule and logistics that are increasing operating costs for the company. Amazon says it has absorbed these costs so far, but has now decided to add these charges to recover some of the cost increases the company is experiencing.
According to Amazon, the surcharge is only calculated on fulfillment fees, and not the sale price of your items. As a result, the average surcharge equates to $0.17 per unit for U.S. FBA, though the exact amount varies depending on the size and dimensions of your items.
Sellers Are Understandable Unhappy
While Amazon has done plenty of things to help sellers recently, such as introducing an AI-powered feature to help them visualize their data, sellers on the platform aren’t happy about this latest move.
The comments under the announcement are full of sellers expressing their concerns about the announcement and what it means for the future. One such commenter says that these types of fees are never temporary and wants Amazon to clarify how long sellers should plan for this fee to be a part of their cost structure.
Amazon Isn’t the Only One
While Amazon is the latest company to impose a surcharge like this, it wasn’t the first. Many other major carriers have implemented similar fees due to rising costs due to recent geopolitical events around the world. For example, USPS recently announced a time-limited price change, an 8% increase, for some of its most popular products.
As a result, it makes sense for Amazon to implement these charges, as many of the company’s largest competitors and peers have already done so.
While it remains to be seen how this new charge impacts ecommerce, it will surely make things more expensive for Amazon sellers. Not only that, but it could raise prices for consumers. Some merchants may eat this cost, but many will pass on the extra cost to customers.
It’ll also be interesting to see how long these additional surcharges are applied. While the post calls them temporary, it doesn’t list an end date, so it’s tough to know just how long Amazon plans to keep the surcharge in place, and whether it’ll increase or decrease it over time.
