Amazon charges more again? Sellers are angry

In recent years, Amazon has added a number of new charges, causing a sharp increase in sellers ' operating costs, and complaints about the platform have begun to grow louder .

Many sellers even choose to withdraw or start a multi-platform layout due to the platform’s various "unfair terms" in order to reduce their dependence on Amazon.

However, even if they have expanded into other platforms, Amazon is still the largest source of income for many sellers, so Amazon’s various fee changes will have a great impact on sellers’ revenue.

Amazon sellers are constrained by platform policies

Is the platform forcing you to charge more?

Recently, a seller reported that the shipping fee through Amazon Buy Shipping is slightly higher than that through Shipstation ( PayPal) . What’s going on?

According to the seller, as the peak season is approaching, he had expected that USPS shipping rates would increase, but after actual comparison, he found that the shipping costs using Amazon Buy Shipping would be even higher.

The seller took one of his batches of goods as an example. The shipping fee using Amazon Buy Shipping was $5.03, but the fee through Shipstation was only $4.71. Although it may not seem like a big difference, it is just one batch of goods. If you pay a little more for each shipment, it will not be a small amount in the long run.

The seller also emphasized that before the price increase, the fee was only about $4.36. Soon, the seller's statement was supported by the seller community, and many sellers said they had also discovered this situation.

“Yes! I have a batch of 8 ounces of goods. Amazon Buy Shipping is a full dollar more expensive than Shipstation. It’s outrageous.”

"My situation is similar to yours. I just sent out a few 4-ounce packages a while ago. The shipping costs have indeed increased a lot. Amazon is taking advantage of this opportunity to 'rip off sellers.'"

However, some sellers hold different opinions. These sellers believe that although Amazon Buy Shipping is a bit more expensive, it can provide sellers with more protection.

"In fact, the extra fees of Amazon Buy Shipping are not much, but sellers can get services far beyond its value. First of all, shipping through Amazon Buy Shipping is actually equivalent to the seller buying an insurance for himself. If the buyer initiates an INR claim, the seller can get the protection of the platform, but Shipstation cannot provide these services."

“In addition, some sellers may not consider the impact of INR and AZ claims on whether the seller can obtain the shopping cart, which are potential advantages of Amazon Buy Shipping.”

Another seller believes that it is unfair to simply compare the fees of Amazon Buy Shipping and Shipstation because Buy Shipping provides sellers with many protections that Shipstation does not have.

On the other hand, using Amazon Buy Shipping can also protect the seller’s OTDR score.

The so-called OTDR, or On-Time Delivery Rate, measures the proportion of self-delivered goods that are successfully delivered to buyers on or before the "delivery date" promised by the seller.

Some time ago, Amazon issued new regulations requiring self-delivery sellers to maintain an on-time delivery rate of more than 90% without extending their commitments. If the OTDR score is too low, it may affect the seller's account health.

Therefore, many sellers will choose to use Amazon Buy Shipping in order to maintain their OTDR scores. After all, it is more important to keep their account than to pay a little extra fee.

For sellers, if the OTDR score drops, it may cause a series of chain reactions. However, sometimes the delayed delivery of an order is not caused by the seller, but points are still deducted.

USPS delayed, but the seller's OTDR was deducted points

Recently, a seller reported that his OTDR score dropped due to late delivery, but it was not actually his fault.

According to the seller, two orders were delivered late in the past two weeks, but the orders were clearly shipped on time. However, due to USPS reasons, the orders were ultimately delayed.

In response to this situation, the seller contacted Amazon's official customer service, hoping that they could restore their OTDR score. However, the customer service replied that they needed to conduct an internal investigation first and then feedback the results to the seller.

"What is there to investigate? Just look at the logistics records and you will know. USPS also admitted that the delayed delivery of the package was caused by the logistics company, but Amazon wants to blame the seller for the mistake," the seller complained.

In addition to affecting the OTDR score, the seller said his sales volume was also greatly impacted. On the front page, Amazon marked its products with a sign that logistics would take 2 weeks.

“No one is going to order something on Amazon that takes two weeks to get.”

Another seller said that he had an order that was expected to be delivered on October 16, and it was delivered on time, but Amazon still marked it as delayed, and communicating with customer service did not have any effect. The seller believed that this situation occurred because he did not purchase Amazon's logistics services, and Amazon was using this method to get more sellers to purchase its services.

After sharing this incident on the seller forum, Amazon's official customer service replied, "I noticed that you are worried about affecting your account rating due to USPS. In order to better help you, you can provide the relevant case ID number and I will report this matter to the relevant team. In addition, it is recommended that you read the FAQ about OTDR again to make sure you have enabled all relevant functions."

But obviously, the official customer service’s response still did not solve the problems faced by the sellers, but simply passed the ball to other departments again.

However, although sellers now have many complaints about Amazon, they still have to rely on the platform for their livelihood. All sellers can do now is to adapt to the platform's policies as quickly as possible to avoid affecting their sales.

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