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▶ Video account attention cross-border navigation At the end of last month, Amazon released its third-quarter financial report, and both its revenue and net profit were lower than market expectations. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the situation is also very grim, and it is expected that profits may drop to a freezing point, setting a record low in quarterly revenue.
Amazon pointed out in the report that in order to balance the peak shopping demand during the peak season with the supply chain crisis and labor shortage, Amazon will have to spend billions in transportation costs in the future to hire workers and increase freight vehicles. It can be seen that the huge delivery costs have put Amazon's Q4 performance under exponential pressure. Now that it is the peak season, in order to ease the pressure, Amazon has once again extended its "claws" to sellers and adjusted the FBA delivery fees and sales commissions. Early this morning, many sellers opened their backend and were shocked to hear bad news again: logistics costs have risen again! ▲ The picture comes from the seller communication group In the early morning, Amazon US issued a notice of changes in logistics costs and sales commissions, announcing that it will adjust Amazon's logistics delivery fees in the United States and will take effect on January 18, 2022. Amazon said in the announcement that in order to offset the high and long-term operating costs it will face in the future, it has increased its logistics and distribution fees. The changed fees are still 30% lower than the average fees for sellers to deliver orders themselves. The specific adjustments are as follows: 1. Changes in logistics costs - Delivery rates will increase by an average of 5.2%;
- For all large standard-size products (except apparel), Amazon will use the greater of the product weight or dimensional weight to determine the shipping weight;
- Amazon will increase removal and disposal fees;
- Amazon will increase monthly storage fees for standard-size and oversized items during the off-season (January-September) , while peak-season storage fees (October-December) will remain unchanged.
- Amazon will introduce a tiered rate structure for long-term storage fees;
- Amazon will increase the fees for its FBA prep service.
- For the Amazon Logistics Small and Light program, the maximum weight requirement for items has been increased from 12 ounces to 3 pounds;
- Amazon will launch Amazon Logistics rating and resale services and charge corresponding fees.
▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan 2. Changes to Amazon sales commissions The adjustment of logistics and distribution costs is undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for sellers whose profits have already been squeezed out: "Since 2019, the price of small items has increased by about $1. A net profit of $1 has been lost. Amazon is a cannibal!" "But everyone in the market is still clearing out their stock, so few have raised prices. Large sellers don't raise prices to maintain sales, while small sellers raise prices but still have no sales." "Amazon is expanding and taking advantage of us." "The removal fee has doubled. Does this mean that Zhang San will be banned next year?" ▲ The picture comes from Zhiwubuyan The most criticized aspect of this policy change by sellers is the use of the maximum value of the product weight or volume weight to determine the delivery weight for large items. ▲ The picture comes from the seller communication group Some sellers pointed out that in the past, for large standard-size products, only when the weight exceeded 0.75 pounds would the larger value of the product weight and volume weight be used. Amazon's volume weight calculation formula is (length x width x height) divided by 139. Once the policy is changed, the process may cost a lot of money if you are not careful. For example, a product actually weighs 0.73 pounds and weighs 1.05 pounds in volume. The original standard was to charge the actual weight within 0.75 pounds, so the original FBA fee was 3.64. The current standard is to charge the larger of the actual weight and the volume weight, which is 1.05 pounds. The updated fee is 5.14, 5.14/3.64=1.41, a 41% increase. It can be seen that the logistics costs of large commodities are calculated based on the weight, which will greatly reduce the profit. For small commodities, the increase in logistics costs is equally fatal. In this regard, the sellers feel like they are being manipulated by others: "The leeks can never be harvested completely, they will grow again in the spring breeze. The platforms and third-party service providers always make a profit, and the sellers feel like tenants, working hard, using their sweat and hair to exchange for some meager wages. Love it."
With this policy update by Amazon, various fees such as logistics delivery fees, off-season storage fees, inventory removal and abandonment fees have all increased to a certain extent. The multiple increases can be said to be like a Five Fingers Mountain pressing down on the already thin profits of sellers. Therefore, sellers also need to adjust their operating strategies in a timely manner to ensure maximum profits.
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