|
It is learned that yesterday, Amazon launched an account status protection plan, and announced that as long as sellers who join the plan cooperate with Amazon to solve the problem, their accounts will not be deactivated. Many sellers jokingly called it a "golden medal of immunity from death." But just as sellers were still rejoicing over the benefits of this new program, Amazon’s latest notice dealt a heavy blow to cross-border sellers. Amazon’s US delivery fees have increased again! It is learned that early this morning, Amazon US issued a notice of changes in sales commissions and logistics costs , announcing that it will adjust the logistics and distribution costs of Amazon US and will take effect on January 17, 2023. Amazon stated in the announcement that in order to improve warehouse utilization efficiency, Amazon has decided to adjust logistics costs, further refine charging items , and provide more storage capacity for sellers who use storage space effectively. Except for sales commission which remains unchanged , other expenses are adjusted as follows: 1. Changes in logistics costs - The outbound logistics costs increased by an average of $0.22;
- Starting February 16, 2023, for apparel products, Amazon will use the larger of the unit weight or volumetric weight to determine the shipping weight of all large standard-size products;
- For apparel and footwear, the return processing fee was reduced by an average of $0.20 per return;
- Logistics rate adjustments: Cancel separate fuel and inflation surcharges (i.e., surcharges become long-term cost increases).
2. Changes in storage fees - Starting April 1, 2023, Amazon will begin charging a storage utilization surcharge to sellers whose inventory volume is significantly larger than the volume of inventory sold;
- Starting April 15, 2023, Amazon will increase the inventory surcharge for inventory with an age of 271-365 days, and charge an overage inventory surcharge for inventory with an age of 180-270 days;
- Amazon will increase removal and disposal fees, while liquidation fees will remain the same.
3. Adjustment of relevant plan expenses - Amazon Logistics New Product Warehouse Promotion: The sales rebate for eligible new Amazon products will be increased from an average of 5% to 10%. The number of products eligible for the benefit will be increased, and the applicable period of certain benefits in the program will be extended;
- Amazon Small and Light program: The price of eligible products will be increased from "US$10 or less" to "US$12 or less", allowing sellers to list more selections at a lower cost.
Amazon said in the notice that despite the increase in logistics fees, on average, these changes are still lower than the fees announced by other logistics service providers so far. But no matter what, the price increase notice caused an uproar in the cross-border circle. Amazon's delivery fees continue to rise, and sellers' profits are further squeezed! It is learned that since the beginning of this year, Amazon has raised FBA logistics fees several times. Among them, the US site officially raised delivery rates, inventory disposal and other fees on January 18, and imposed a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge on the original charges on April 28, and added a "peak sales season delivery fee" on August 17. Survey data shows that in the first half of 2022, 64.08% of sellers believe that Amazon FBA’s price increase policy has a greater impact on them and has caused a significant increase in costs. ▲ The picture comes from the report Amazon's announcement that it will increase logistics and delivery fees, which will take effect on January 17, 2023, will undoubtedly add to the already tight profits of sellers. Many sellers are angry about Amazon’s adjustment notice: "After reading this, I have the following six points to say..." "Eat meat and don't spit out the bones. The delivery fee has just increased and it's going to increase again not long ago." "Storage fees have also increased, disposal fees have also increased, Amazon has increased, and sellers have decreased." ▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan Some sellers also pessimistically speculated: the long-term storage fee has been reduced from no fee before to charging for those exceeding 365 days, and now to 180 days. I wonder if it will be compressed to 90 days in the future. As long as it exceeds 90 days, it will be considered overage (long-term) storage, and then another fee will be charged. It is learned that as early as when Andy Jassy announced the reduction of Amazon's warehousing scale, some sellers had speculated that if Amazon failed to eliminate overcapacity and solve cost problems in the second half of the year, it would most likely choose to increase delivery fees again . The current situation undoubtedly confirms this speculation. In 2022, multiple unfavorable factors such as inflation and consumption downgrade have been weighing on sellers' thin profits like a Five Fingers Mountain. With this policy update, various fees such as logistics delivery fees, off-season storage fees, inventory removal, and abandonment fees have all increased to a certain extent. Amazon's passed-on fees offset part of its own costs, but it also added another burden to Amazon sellers. As of now, it is unclear how long the US inflation will last and whether Amazon will have another fee increase. Sellers can only ensure maximum profits by adjusting their operating strategies in a timely manner .
|
