Amazon is charging extra fees again! Sellers’ order costs are rising

Yesterday, Amazon sent a group email to sellers, officially notifying them that they will charge an FBA peak season delivery surcharge during this year’s peak season!

From October 15, 2022 to January 14, 2023, Amazon will charge a peak season logistics surcharge for products delivered using FBA logistics in the United States and Canada. The average charge is about 35 cents per order, and the charges will be divided into segments based on the specific circumstances of the delivery order, such as volume and weight.

It is not new for logistics companies to charge peak season surcharges. This is not new in the business of traditional logistics companies such as USPS and FedEx. The last few months of each year are the time when logistics companies charge peak season surcharges. This year is no exception. USPS also announced this year's peak season surcharge policy last week, which is similar to the time period when Amazon charges money, and the surcharge ranges from US$0.3 to US$6.

For Amazon, charging surcharges during the peak season is actually the first time . Previously, in order to allow its own logistics to compete with traditional logistics providers such as USPS, Amazon has long used "no surcharges" as one of the selling points of its own logistics services. However, Amazon has always invested heavily in logistics, and it is obvious that the government is indeed relying on burning money and low-price subsidies to expand FBA logistics. There was nothing wrong with this gameplay. Previously, the proportion of third-party logistics providers' business on Amazon was reduced from more than 70% to less than 40% . There was even a time when Amazon kicked Fedex out of the self-delivery Prime plan, and the confidence came from the strength of its own logistics.

However, after the outbreak, logistics, warehousing and labor costs rose rapidly. Amazon suffered a great loss after a sweet first. The huge investment in logistics caused a deficit in Q1. Amazon began to charge fuel surcharges after the US fuel price surged in April. Amazon also started to charge peak season surcharges during the peak season at the end of this year. The advantages of self-operated logistics are gradually shrinking. On the contrary, traditional logistics companies that do not pursue price wars to grab the market are handling it more easily. This fully shows that playing with small profits means that you cannot withstand risks, and profit margins are the best shield against risks.

When I analyzed the Q1 financial report, I also mentioned that Amazon is now looking for profit points to balance the deficit, which is the premise for the April fuel surcharge. And when the Q2 financial report was released, the data showed that Amazon had found growth points and achieved profitability in third-party seller services and in-site advertising. With the gradual stagnation and even shrinkage of sales of self-operated products, Amazon will definitely continue to take advantage of third-party sellers. We cannot control Amazon's price increase, and our only way to fight it is to raise prices. We have also been advocating for everyone in the core group of big sellers to raise prices together.