CNN recently reported that Amazon is set to charge its third-party sellers a 5% “fuel and inflation” surcharge. This charge is in addition to any existing Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees. The plan marks the first time Amazon has passed on such a fee to its sellers.
Amazon plans to implement the new surcharge on April 28. Once it does, the added cost will come out to $0.24 per unit. The surcharge will place total fees to sellers at $2.52 per unit.
Amazon spokesman Patrick Graham told CNN that the fee surcharge applies only to fee rates paid by sellers that choose to use Amazon’s fulfillment services, which include storing, packing and shipping products. Other sellers that do not use Fulfillment by Amazon will not be impacted. News of the surcharge was first previously reported by Bloomberg News.
Note that both Uber and Lyft added a fuel surcharge for the first time earlier this year. The move produced some push-back from customers who said the rideshare services’ costs have risen too high.
The new surcharge doesn’t come as a huge shock. Important questions to consider, though, are whether the new charge is here to stay for the long-term and whether Amazon will increase it and some point in the near future. According to a memo that Amazon submitted to CNN, “In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as Covid-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges…It is unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist.”
Brand Focus Digital will continue to monitor this story to try and find answers to both questions.
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