Beginning Oct. 1, Amazon will impose a 2% fee on members of its Seller Fulfilled Prime program for each sale. This affects merchants who ship their own packages but include the Prime badge on their listing. The decision by Amazon is coming at the same time the FTC is reportedly preparing to file a lawsuit against the company.
Starting October 1, members of the Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime program will be facing a new 2% fee on each product sold, according to a notice sent to merchants recently reviewed by CNBC. Previously, no such fee had been imposed. Amazon has yet to comment on the situation, which was initially reported by Bloomberg.
When the SFP program launched in 2015, it allowed third-party vendors to put the Prime badge on their products without having to use Amazon's fulfillment services, Fulfillment by Amazon. However, this program has yet to draw as much attention as FBA, due to its stringent requirements (such as speedy delivery times and weekend service). In June, Amazon restarted enrollment in SFP after suspending it in 2019.
In addition, Amazon charges its sellers a referral fee between 8% and 15%, while they may also have to pay for warehouse storage, packing, shipping, and advertising fees. With Amazon's marketplace being a recent focus of antitrust investigations in both the U.S. and abroad, regulators are scrutinizing whether or not the company uses its power to force sellers to use its services in change of preferential treatment.
This fee increase comes as the FTC is allegedly preparing to file a legal case against Amazon later this month. The agency is presently investigating the company's treatment of sellers on the marketplace. On Monday, Amazon wrote a blog post stating that sellers still choose the platform due to its many benefits, and that the optional services are not mandatory for the success of a business in the Amazon store.
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