Amazon adds 5 percent ’fuel and inflation surcharge’ to seller fees
SEATTLE
Amazon is taking a step to offset its rising costs, announcing on April 13 that it will add a 5 percent “fuel and inflation surcharge” to fees it charges third-party sellers who use the e-commerce giant’s fulfillment services.
The Seattle-based company said on its website that the added fees, which take effect April 28, are “subject to change” and will apply to both apparel and non-apparel items.
The latest fee hike follows one announced in November and went into effect in January.
In a notice sent to sellers, the company said its costs had gone up since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic due to increases in hourly wages, the hiring of workers and construction of more warehouses.
It said it had absorbed costs whenever possible, and only increased fees to address permanent costs and to be competitive with other providers. Amazon competitors FedEx and UPS both have fuel surcharges.
“In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges,” the company said in the notice.
Federal data released on April 12 showed inflation jumped 8.5 percent in March, its fastest pace in more than 40 years. Gasoline prices have rocketed 48 percent in the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, French authorities on April 13 slapped a 90,000-euro-per-day ($98,000) fine on Amazon until it removes abusive clauses in its contracts with businesses using its platform to sell their goods.
The anti-fraud DGCCRF service said the online sales giant’s contracts with third-party sellers who use its Amazon.fr website contain “unbalanced” clauses.
