Sellers who use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) should brace themselves for a rate hike going into effect in February. Amazon told EcommerceBytes it periodically adjusts fees due to rising labor and transportation costs.
It appears the bigger the product, the bigger the rate increase for certain FBA services.
Monthly Inventory Storage Fees for Standard-Size products are going up almost 6% effective March 1, 2016, from 51 cents/cubic foot to 54 cents. And for the busy months of October and November and December, rates are increasing from 68 cents to 72 cents/cubic foot, also a less than 6% increase.
Monthly Inventory Storage Fees will rise by 7.5% for oversize items.
Fulfillment Fees for Standard-Size products are also going up, on February 18, 2016:
- Order Handling fees per order are not changing.
- Pick & Pack per unit are rising almost 2%.
Weight Handling rates for Small Standard-Size (1 lb or less) are not changing, while Weight Handling rates for Large Standard-Size (over 2 lbs) are going up 41% for the first 2 pounds for Media and 23% for the first 2 pounds for Non-Media - the other tiers (Large Standard-Size under 1 pound and between 1 - 2 pounds.
Fees for Order Handling, Zero-Fee Fulfillment Long-Term Storage, and FBA Prep Services are not affected by this change and will continue to apply where applicable. Multi-Channel Fulfillment fees will not change at this time
An Amazon spokesperson provided EcommerceBytes with the following statement:
"We remain dedicated to providing high value to our sellers. Periodically, we adjust fees due to rising labor and transportations costs. FBA offers Sellers a fulfillment service that provides 2-day Prime shipping nationwide, same and next day shipping in select areas and Amazon's award-winning customer service. FBA provides Sellers the opportunity to grow their business around the world at a lower cost than if they purchased these services separately."
Sellers who use Merchant Fulfilled may be wondering if Amazon will increase shipping credits, since it's acknowledging the rising cost of shipping. An Amazon spokesperson could not address that since it was not a part of today's announcement, so it will be interesting to see if the company makes changes to non-Amazon fulfilled shipping.
Let us know how this impacts your business, and if you will make any changes to your practices.
