Shenzhen banned account seller lays off another batch of employees but refuses compensation

The peak sales season is coming, but the sellers caught in the account suspension storm are still in a mess. This week, a leading seller in Shenzhen laid off employees again. Because there are many employees involved this time and the company did not give them enough compensation, some employees have considered taking legal action.

Sellers whose accounts are safe and secure have already felt the peak season. This week, many sellers reported that their order volume has rebounded, and holiday products such as Halloween have started to explode in sales. "The net profit in the middle of the month has exceeded that of last month," said one seller.

A big seller in Shenzhen laid off employees again

For the company in question, although it is plagued by internal problems, it is necessary to cut off things reasonably and as quickly as possible. After downsizing, the company can invest more manpower in peak season sales and have a chance to recover some of its losses.

Orders increased in August, sellers saw hope

For most sellers, the orders and profits in July were lower than expected. August is the prelude to the peak season, and many sellers have reported that orders have increased significantly, which makes them very happy.

"I asked a few friends who do business on Amazon today, and they said August gives us a sense of hope, because the profits in July were too low, and we even suffered losses. The orders and profits in August have slowly increased." said a seller, who said that currently, some of his Halloween products have received 30 orders a day, and he is a little excited.

Many people feel the same way. Sellers reported that the order volume is good, and the profit in the middle of the month has exceeded that of the previous month. August is a little better than July, and sales are gradually rising. Some sellers are mixed: "The sports category has a small explosion of orders today. The number of orders in the morning is 7 times the usual. Unfortunately, I don't have enough inventory and it's almost out of stock."

In addition to the fact that orders are finally starting to pick up, another reason that makes sellers excited is that peak-season products such as Halloween have started to increase in volume early this year, and even winter product sales have begun to increase, which may mean that this year's peak season will be extended.

However, affected by factors such as copycat sales, the current order volume of some sellers has not improved significantly compared to July, and has even declined.

Cannot book a space, seller has goods but cannot ship them out

Orders came, but sellers were even more panicked because they had goods but could not ship them out. "There is no space for ocean freight, no flights for air freight, and it is ridiculously expensive. The goods for July are still at sea," said a helpless seller.

What is making it difficult for some sellers nowadays is that they cannot book space. According to Shipping Today, among the 504 voyages on major routes such as the Trans-Pacific, Trans-Atlantic, Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean , 20 voyages have been announced to be cancelled between Week 33 and Week 36, with a cancellation rate of 4%. In the next four weeks, THE Alliance announced the cancellation of 12 voyages, followed by 2M and Ocean Alliance, which announced the cancellation of 4 and 1 voyages respectively.

Congestion has intensified in the West and East U.S., regions where cross-border sellers ship the most. According to the latest data from the Signal platform of the Port of Los Angeles , there are currently 20 container ships waiting at anchorages in Southern California and 14 ships waiting outside the port. The number of waiting ships has increased from 30 in the previous period to 34, and the average waiting time for berthing has increased from 5.8 days in the previous period to 6.2 days.

At the same time, truck transportation on the east coast of the United States was delayed by about two weeks. In addition, rail congestion also delayed the delivery of imported goods from the United States, and empty containers could not flow back to Asia quickly. When the transportation capacity was tight, some freight forwarders refused to accept low-value goods. Some freight forwarders issued a notice that they would stop accepting booking services for goods with a value of less than US$70,000!

It is sad that the cargo cannot be booked, and the sellers who have shipped the cargo before are also anxious. One seller said that it has been two months since the cargo was shipped, but the cargo has not arrived yet. Now all the cargo links are out of stock, and he does not know whether the cargo will be cleared out directly after it arrives.

Some sellers also reported that on June 22, ZIM finally said that the container could be picked up tonight, and the delivery was scheduled this week, but it really took 60 days. The situation of other sellers is roughly the same. The goods in June basically take two months, or more than two months.

Sanne Manders, Flexport’s chief operating officer, said shipping time from Shanghai to Chicago via the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, including cargo transfers at the port of departure and the vessel journey, has more than doubled to 73 days from 35 days.

Shipping prices have risen sharply, and sellers are saying they can’t afford it

Shipping delays are one aspect, but the key is that it is ridiculously expensive. The most intuitive feeling of many sellers is that shipping prices have increased again, and they can no longer afford to ship.

A seller asked, can you still afford to ship by sea now? Some sellers said frankly that they can't afford to ship and will fight again next year. Some sellers said that they can't afford to ship but have to ship, so they have to bite the bullet and ship.

Many sellers expressed their disapproval of the price hikes:

“——The shipping fee was updated again today, and I died right where I was;

——It’s right to go up, there is only higher but no highest;

——The price has tripled and is heading towards 30.”

Regarding the ocean freight, the editor consulted the freight forwarder, who said that the recent price increase is indeed very large. The current freight rates in the West Coast of the United States are basically above 20, and the East Coast of the United States will be higher. Prices are rising with the market, and the space is really tight and difficult to book, especially recently many sellers are preparing for the peak season.

As freight rates rise, shipping companies are also imposing peak season surcharges, which will undoubtedly further increase sellers' costs.

Recently, Maersk issued a notice to levy peak season surcharges from August 16, including $750 per 20-foot container and $1,500 per 45-foot high container. Other shipping companies will also start to levy peak season surcharges at the end of this month. Sellers said: "Shipping companies are making a lot of money, but sellers can't survive!"

Amazon, layoffs, shipping