Major adjustment! Amazon policy changes again

Working for Amazon is crazy!

As Prime Day approaches, Amazon has been taking frequent actions, tightening its auditing, cleaning up illegal accounts, blocking a large number of accounts due to illegal variants, and shopping carts have also been frequently damaged...

This is not the end, Amazon's policy changes are becoming more frequent.

Amazon adds 3 new exemptions for low-volume inventory fees

Amazon previously announced that starting from April 1, 2024, Amazon will charge a low inventory level fee for standard-size products whose inventory levels are always lower than buyer demand (inventory levels remain too low compared to sales for a long time).

Amid the sellers’ “condemnation,” Amazon once again issued an announcement, announcing that it would provide a one-month transition period for the new policy.

In May, Amazon issued a new notice on the policy - making three additional changes aimed at better applying low-volume inventory fees to urge sellers to improve inventory management and ensure that inventory is in good condition.

US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain

New return processing fee added to European site

In early May, Amazon announced the return rate thresholds and return processing fee standards for various categories on its US site. Returned items exceeding the thresholds face a processing fee of at least approximately US$2 per item. The larger the product, the higher the fee, which caused an uproar in the industry.

The only thing I was thankful for was that this fee only applied to the US site. But it was too early to be happy. Starting October 1, Amazon will also charge a return processing fee for European sites.

The return rate algorithm is the same as that of the US site. For example, for products shipped in October 2024, the return rate is the percentage of products returned in October, November and December 2024.

Amazon charges a fee for each unit returned that exceeds the product category return rate threshold for units shipped in a given month.

For example, if a seller ships 1,000 items in October and 120 items are returned in October, November, and December, the actual return rate is 12%. If the return rate threshold for this category is 10%, the seller will have to pay a processing fee for the 20 returned items that exceed the threshold.

The European return processing fee applies to the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain , and does not apply to orders shipped in the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and Belgium.

1. All returned items of clothing and footwear;

2. Products with a return rate above a certain threshold , except for apparel and footwear;

1. If the number of items delivered in a month is less than 25 , no payment is required.

2. For sellers who sign up for the Amazon Logistics New Product Warehouse Promotion Program, Amazon will waive the return processing fee for up to 20 items for each eligible parent ASIN.

1. The return rate thresholds for each category will be announced on October 1, 2024 (European time);

2. For apparel and footwear products, each customer returned merchandise is still subject to a return processing fee;

3. For products that exceed the return rate threshold, except for apparel and footwear, size tiers will be used to determine the applicable rate.

Only capture part

Whether it is the new round of charging standards or the frequently changing FBA policies, they have posed greater challenges to sellers’ preparations for the peak season. Sellers need to quickly adapt to changes, adjust strategies in a timely manner, and fully prepare for the upcoming Prime Day promotion.