- Amazon announces 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge for customers in the US and surrounding areas
- Two-stage approach introduces changes on April 17 and May 2
- It’s unclear if the company plans to eliminate the surcharge when possible.
Amazon has confirmed the introduction of a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge for sellers amid rising global fuel and shipping costs, and with sellers likely to pass costs on to buyers, it could mean your online purchases could become even more expensive.
The company said in an announcement that it was forced to pass these costs on to vendors after absorbing them for so long.
“Like other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recoup a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing,” Amazon wrote.
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Iran war raises Amazon’s fuel and logistics costs
Although the impacts have been widely felt for several weeks, Amazon is still waiting as long as it can, introducing the 3.5% surcharge starting April 17.
It will apply to FBA fulfillment fees in the US and Canada, as well as remote FBA fulfillment from the US to Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
Starting May 2, Buy with Prime in the US and Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) in the US and Canada will also be affected by the price increase.
The company also noted that the surcharge will be billed against a product’s fulfillment cost, not its selling price, so it’s not always the most expensive products that will see the biggest increase in dollar value. “On average, this equates to $0.17 per unit for FBA,” Amazon wrote.
While Amazon has linked the surcharge to the war in Iran, nowhere in the notice does the company use the word “temporary,” or any other word for that matter.
TechRadar Pro has asked the company if the surcharge is likely to be removed once fuel costs stabilize, but we didn’t get an immediate response.
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