YCD News – Amazon said Wednesday (Sept. 20) that it will cancel plans to charge sellers who don’t use its delivery service.
Last month, Amazon emailed sellers to tell them that starting Oct. 1, it would reopen Seller Delivered Prime and add a 2 percent surcharge to sellers who joined the program. It will take a 2 percent commission on each item sold, with a minimum of $0.25 per item. The e-commerce giant said at the time that the move was aimed at helping the company cope with rising costs.
Launched in 2015, the SFP program allows third-party sellers to display Prime-tagged items without using Fulfillment By Amazon. Currently, Amazon charges sellers who join the program a referral fee of 8% to 15%. Additionally, sellers may have to pay for costs such as warehouse storage, packaging and shipping, as well as advertising fees.
Reports suggest that Amazon’s elimination of this fee may be related to an investigation launched against it by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The agency is investigating whether Amazon pressured third-party sellers to use its services in exchange for preferential treatment on marketplaces.
In addition, the FTC is preparing to file a far-reaching lawsuit against Amazon within the month. The agency has been investigating the company on a number of fronts over the past few years.
Amazon’s move to eliminate extra fees for self-delivered Prime sellers means it has had to take a cautious approach to its operations amid growing antitrust scrutiny.
After careful consideration, Amazon decided not to implement the shipping policy to ensure sellers could support its application to reopen the SFP program, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.
YCD has learned that the FTC began investigating Amazon during the administration of former President Donald Trump, when the government investigated Amazon, Google, Faceboook and Apple for “alleged antitrust violations.” Among other allegations, Amazon has been criticized for allegedly favoring its own products and suppressing third-party sellers on its platform. However, Amazon has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Last month, Amazon also pushed back against the regulator’s allegations. But the company argued that sellers continue to flock to its massive marketplace because it offers great value for money. Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of global sales partner services at Amazon, said, “Some sellers are able to operate without these services, but many choose to use them because they provide impactful opportunities to drive their business growth at a lower cost.”