Shipping costs for FBA to increase by 6.2% on average
Amazon has announced that there will be another price increase for its fulfilment-by-Amazon (FBA) services on 31 March 2023. There have already been two price increases in 2022, the first in March at around 6% and the second in May 2022 with a fuel and inflation surcharge of 4.3%. The upcoming price increase is similar, with an average of 6.2% (for local shipping).
Particularly affected by this increase are products that are considered “oversized”. Here, prices will be raised disproportionately. However, Germany is little affected by this, as the average increase is 2%, and many size ranges are exempt from this increase. However, other countries, such as France (3.2 %), will be more affected by the rise, as the increases here are significantly higher than 5%.
Small and Light” is also possible in future for products up to €11
The threshold will be raised from €11 to €12 in France, Italy, and Spain, from €10 to €11 in Germany and £9 to £10 in the UK. The threshold in the Netherlands is €12, 140 skr in Sweden and 55 zł in Poland.
This change is intended to make the particularly favourable shipping programme accessible to more sellers and, simultaneously, reflect the increased selling prices. At the same time, however, the shipping fees for the Small and Light programme will also be adjusted.
Increase of 7.9% for Small and Light shipments
In Germany, these costs increase by an average of 1.5%, but in the UK, by 15%. On average, sellers using the programme for exceptionally light and low-cost items will face increases of 7.9%.
Monthly storage fees for FBA to increase by 10%
From 1 March 2023, Amazon will adjust monthly storage fees for all standard-sized products, excluding dangerous goods. This will affect standard-size items (except shoes, apparel and bags), and the fees will increase from €27.82 to €30.60 (+10%) in January-September and €38.52 to €42.37 (+10%). This change will not take effect until April 2023. However, the fees for dangerous goods and oversize products will remain unchanged.
Continuation of the discount promotion for clothing and accessories
The original plan was to end the discount promotion on 31 March 2023. However, Amazon has now decided to continue the programme for items sold via shipping through Amazon and Prime. Products in the apparel and accessories categories will receive a 7% discount (previously 15%) on the sales charge for the portion of the total sales price exceeding €45. However, in the shoes and handbags category, the promotion will end on 31 March 2023.
A new classification of sales categories
Amazon has set out a list of which products will be divided into which categories in the future. This may result in the product being charged in a different category and thus with a different sales commission.
For example, from 15 May 2023, products in the electronics accessories for cars and motorbikes category will be charged the same percentage sales fee as electronics accessories in general. This means that the percentage sales charge will increase from a flat rate of 12% to 15% for the total sales price up to €100 and 8% for the part of the total sales price above €100.
The same sales charge for sports and leisure products will then apply to the category of bicycle accessories, resulting in a change of the percentage sales charge from 10% to 15%.
New size and weight categories to be introduced
In future, large and extra-large envelopes will be allowed to be significantly heavier, up to 960g. A new weight class for standard envelopes will also be introduced, which will be 460 g.
In addition, mailing rates for special oversizes will be introduced. An ASIN is considered special oversize if it weighs over 31.5 kg, the longest side is longer than 175 cm, or the circumference exceeds 360 cm.
The minimum sales charge for items classified as heavy and not sortable will be €25.
Shipment weight to determine shipping costs
In the future, Amazon will use the higher unit or volume weight to determine the shipping weight for all package size categories. A table will indicate which weight counts for which products.
The volume weight is calculated in kilograms by combining length, width, and height in cm³ and dividing by 5,000.
Long-term storage fee adjusted
Amazon is bringing a new adjustment for items stored between 271 and 330 and 331 and 365 days. The previous long-term storage fee will be divided into two different age ranges. From 15 May 2023, the long-term storage fee will apply to goods stored in logistics centres between 331 and 365 days across all product categories. A new tier will now be introduced for goods stored between 271 and 330 days. This change excludes clothing, footwear, suitcases, backpacks & bags, watches, and jewellery. Sellers should check their old stock before 15 May 2023, as the changes will apply at the 15 May 2023 stock check. The long-term storage fee of 365 days remains unchanged at €320 per cubic metre per month.
Storage usage surcharge
Amazon has announced that from 15 May 2023, it will introduce a surcharge for storing items by sellers with very high inventory levels in Amazon’s logistics centres relative to their sales. This surcharge is based on inventory utilisation and is calculated by dividing the average daily inventory volume by the average daily shipping volume in cubic metres over the last 13 weeks. The markup is calculated on the last day of the month and applied to the monthly storage charges for the following month. This surcharge only applies to stock stored in Germany, France, Spain and Italy and does not apply to items in clothing, shoes or bags and only if the stock load exceeds 26 weeks.
Significant increase in the waste disposal and take-back fees
From 1 July 2023, the fee for returning an item, also known as a return fee, will increase by approximately 20%. Similarly, the disposal fees incurred for destroying items in the warehouse will increase by about 25%. These changes will have their first impact in August 2023.
Discounts for UK and new FBA items
For one year, Amazon will offer a discount on shipping charges from the EU (Germany, France, Italy and Spain) to the UK and vice versa. This discount will apply to all ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Number) that are newly added and will average 10% (compared to the previous 5%).
The VAT Calculation Service changed
From 30 June 2023, Amazon will change how percentage sales fees are calculated for the VAT Calculation Service. Previously, sales fees were calculated based on the gross price, but in the future, only the actual sales price paid will be used as the basis for the sales fee. However, this change does not apply to promotions such as flash offers, vouchers, coupons, free products and discounted products, Amazon-funded discounts and exclusive Prime discounts. These promotions will continue to charge percentage sales charges on the total sales price.
