Amazon is once more increasing fees for third-party sellers; this time, a holiday fee has been added for businesses using the company's fulfilment services to package and send goods to customers.
According to a notification the business sent to merchants on Tuesday, from October 15 to January 14, sellers who use Amazon's fulfilment services in the US and Canada would be charged an average price of $0.35 (approximately Rs. 20) per item sold.
It's the second charge increase the online retail giant has placed on retailers this year. In order to counteract rising gas prices and inflation, which is approaching its highest level in four decades, the corporation implemented a 5% "fuel and inflation" tax in April.
The charge that merchants must pay to use Amazon's fulfilment services varies according on the size, weight, and category of an item.
The volume of goods being delivered over the holiday season drives up fulfilment and logistics expenses, according to the letter published by Amazon on Tuesday. The business claimed that it had already absorbed these cost hikes. However, it said that seasonal costs were now "reaching unprecedented heights."
The company stated, "Our selling partners are extremely important to us, and this is not a choice we made lightly."
The fee increase was first reported on by CNBC.
Holiday price changes are nothing new for Amazon. The US Postal Service announced last week that it has submitted a notice to put in place a temporary pricing increase to offset increased handling expenses during the holiday season.
Since the corporation dominates a sizable portion of the e-commerce market, seller fees at Amazon — and their ongoing hikes — are a contentious issue. According to detractors, the company's high costs can prevent retailers from accessing its marketplace.
Stacy Mitchell, an opponent of Amazon and co-director of the anti-monopoly organisation Institute for Local Self-Reliance, stated that "corporations that have monopoly power tend to raise prices, and that's what we're seeing here." "Small firms have little choice except to pay extra because Amazon dominates the internet industry,"
The greatest percentage in the history of the company, according to Amazon's Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky, third-party sellers accounted for 57 percent of all units sold on the site during the three months that concluded on June 30.
The Seattle-based company's second-quarter financial report also revealed that while revenue from its own retail operations fell by 4%, overall revenue collected from third-party sellers increased by 13% year over year.
