Amazon hits third-party sellers with 5% “fuel and inflation” fee

Amazon is taking a step back to offset its rising costs, announcing Wednesday that it will add a 5% “fuel surcharge and inflation” to the fees it charges third-party sellers who use the e-commerce giant’s compliance services.

The Seattle-based company said on its website that the additional rates, which take effect on April 28, are “subject to change” and will apply to both clothing and others.

The latest rate hike follows the one announced in November and went into effect in January. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the recent move. But in a notice sent to sellers on Wednesday, the company said its costs had risen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to rising hourly wages, hiring and construction. of more warehouses.

He said he had absorbed costs whenever possible and only increased tariffs to meet permanent costs and to be competitive with other suppliers. Amazon’s competitors, FedEx and UPS, have refills.

“In 2022, we were expecting a return to normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have posed more challenges,” the company said in the notice.

By 2021, Amazon had a $ 33.4 billion profit with revenue of nearly $ 470 billion.

Federal data released on Tuesday showed that inflation rose 8.5% in March, its fastest pace in over 40 years. Gasoline prices have soared 48% in the last 12 months.

While the company is blaming inflation and rising fuel costs for the surcharge, Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the antitrust group Institute for Local Self-Reliance, criticized Wednesday’s announcement, saying Amazon was seizing the moment.

“Amazon continues to increase its rates to sellers who have to depend on its platform,” Mitchell said, adding that the new rates are a way to “get more money out of the pockets of independent companies and put it in the coffers of Amazon. “

Amazon’s third-party market, where independent retailers list millions of their products, is a big part of their business. It has about 2 million sellers and more than half of the products sold on Amazon.com come from these sellers.

Last year, sellers paid Amazon about $ 103 billion in commissions, which accounted for about 22 percent of the company’s revenue. The online retailer said the new rates will apply to products ordered before April 28 but shipped and delivered after that date. Amazon is also expected to release its earnings report for the first three months of this year on April 28th.

Amazon has long faced accusations of undercutting traders who come to its platform by making “reproductions” or very similar products and increasing their presence on the site.

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