Amazon Delays Raising Seller Fees Until June 2021
Recently, in a blog post, Jeff Wilke, the outgoing chief executive officer of Amazon’s retail unit, announced that the company would delay charging independent sellers fees to store and ship items until June of 2021. This comes as welcome news to many Amazon Sellers amid a year of nationwide turmoil. Generally, around December of every year, Amazon announces increases in fees, and though many sellers expected this to happen this year, fortunately, it did not.
In the blog post, Jeff Wilke said, “Now, as we look ahead with vaccines on the horizon, other logistics providers have already announced their annual fee increases for 2021. In a normal year we’d be doing the same, but this isn’t a normal year and we’ve made the decision to postpone our annual fulfillment fee adjustments and continue to absorb the costs we are incurring on your behalf until June 1, 2021. We’ll share more details in the spring.”
In the past, Amazon Sellers have voiced their reasonable gripes with the tech giant making it more and more expensive for independent sellers to make a living using Amazon’s platform, and though there is no telling what the hike in fees will be this June, Amazon Sellers can take a breath, for now at least.
Jeff Wilke also recapped all that Amazon has done in support of small businesses this year, stating, “Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve invested more than $10 billion in COVID-19 related operating costs. We’ve increased square footage across our fulfillment and logistics network by 50%, opening dozens of new delivery stations and fulfillment centers around the world. We’ve hired over 400,000 employees in the biggest peacetime workforce ramp-up by any company in history. And we’ve spent more than $2.5 billion on pay incentives and bonuses.”
While these are certainly turbulent times, the fact remains that Amazon has had its most successful year so far, and if you are someone who has been considering becoming a seller on Amazon, now is still a fantastic time to do so. If you have any additional questions, speak with Avask today to learn more about how we can help your business thrive.
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