Amazon adds a new payment for sellers who dispatch their own parcels

August 18, 2023: Amazon adds a new payment for sellers who dispatch their own parcels for the organization’s fulfillment services.

Beginning October 1, Amazon’s Seller Fulfilled Prime program members will pay the company a 2% payment on each product sold, according to a notice sent to merchants last week. Previously, there was no such fee for sellers.

“We’re updating our requirements for Seller Fulfilled Prime to ensure that it provides customers a great and consistent Prime experience,” the notice states.

Bloomberg first reported the news.

The SFP program, founded in 2015, allows third-party merchants to sell their products with the Prime badge without paying for Amazon’s fulfillment services, known as Fulfillment By Amazon. The SFP program hasn’t attracted as many users as FBA has, given that sellers are expected to meet the company’s Prime delivery standards, such as speedy shipping and weekend service. In June, Amazon reopened signups for the invite-only program after it suspended enrollment in SFP in 2019.

Amazon also charges sellers a referral fee between 8% and 15% on each sale. Sellers may also pay for things like warehouse storage, packing, shipping, and advertising fees.

Amazon’s marketplace has been an increasing focus of antitrust investigators in the U.S. and abroad, many of whom believe the company uses its power to pinch the merchants that sell on its platform. Regulators have examined whether Amazon pressures sellers into using its services in trade for preferential treatment.

The fee increase comes as the FTC reportedly gears to file a long-awaited lawsuit against Amazon as soon as this month. The agency has been probing Amazon on several fronts, including its treatment of sellers on the marketplace, which now accounts for roughly 60% of Amazon’s overall retail sales.

Amazon has pushed back on regulators’ accusations. In a blog post on Monday, the company argued sellers continue to flock to its sprawling marketplace “because it’s a great value.”

“These optional, paid services aren’t required for succeeding in the Amazon store, some independent sellers run thriving businesses without them, but many sellers choose to use them because they offer impactful opportunities to drive their business growth at lower cost,” Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president selling partner services, wrote in the blog post.