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Amazon raising third-party seller fees over the holidays due to 'inflation'

Sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) will need to pay an additional 35 cents per item sold over the holidays.

Morgan Shaver

August 16, 2022 10:55 AM

David Becker | Getty Images

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Amazon has announced it’s raising fees charged to third-party sellers who utilize Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) over the holidays for the first time in company history. According to an email sent by Amazon, the price increase will begin October 15 and will run until January 14, 2023.

The reason for the price hike is due to inflation and “expenses reaching new heights” which, as a result, has reportedly made it harder for Amazon to balance the costs of services provided to merchants via FBA.

Among the services third-party sellers receive with FBA include Amazon handling things like packing and shipping items. With the seller fee increase, those looking to continue using FBA will have to pay an additional 35 cents per item sold in the U.S. and Canada as reported by outlets like CNBC. This extra 35 cents will be tacked on to existing fees that sellers currently pay for FBA services based on the items being sold (size, weight, category).

The extra 35 cents per item sold also comes after previous price hikes, such as when Amazon hit U.S. sellers with a 5 percent fuel and inflation surcharge back in April of this year.

While you’d think these sorts of hikes would discourage sellers from using Amazon’s FBA, many have come to rely on these services with Amazon’s third-party marketplace becoming “the centerpiece of its dominant e-commerce business” as noted by CNBC, accounting for over half of online retail sales.

The increased fees that third-party sellers will have to pay over the holidays will likely result in price increases from sellers on the items that are being sold. With this, it sounds like it might be a good idea to do your holiday shopping sooner, rather than later. As always, we’ll keep you posted as well on any additional price hikes and pertinent Amazon news here at Shacknews.

Speaking of which, if you’re curious as to what else Amazon has been up to recently, be sure to read through some of our previous coverage including Amazon’s acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot, and how Amazon’s Q2 2022 earnings results beat revenue expectations.

Morgan Shaver

Senior Editor

Morgan is a writer from the frozen wastelands of Maine who enjoys metal music, kpop, horror, and indie games. They're also a Tetris fanatic who's fiercely competitive in games like Tetris 99... and all games in general. But mostly Tetris. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @Author_MShaver.