Amazon Seller Fees – Why Are They Higher Than Ever?

Amazon Seller Fees – Why Are They Higher Than Ever?

Amazon Seller Services, which is the selling tools of Amazon, has just started charging business users more fees to use their selling tools. Amazon has always been the number one online e-commerce platform and has been growing at a steady pace for the past two years now. However, its competitors have been rapidly catching up in terms of customer base and customer satisfaction as well as growing gross profit margins. They have also been expanding their customer database not only to attract a larger number of customers but also to enable them to sell more products. With these two goals in mind, it is quite likely that they may also raise their prices to gain a wider customer base and ultimately increase their profits by selling more products.

The reason for the price hike is simple – to maintain their competitive edge and attract new customers. According to an Amazon spokesperson, “We are always looking to give our members the best tools possible to help them succeed. Today we are adding new features and new fees to give all sellers additional opportunities to increase their profitability while working with Amazon.” Amazon Seller Services currently offers a wide range of tools and features for all levels of sellers, and a new fee called Seller Solutions Funding will be available starting in the third quarter of 2010.

According to the Marketplace Research Center, which analyzes market trends and consumer spending habits, Amazon’s marketplace is seeing an average percentage increase in spending by buyers and an average percentage decrease in fees by sellers. The fees that sellers pay for include: insertion fees, set up fees, marketing fees and monthly or annual fees. The amount of fees charged varies from one seller to another and can depend upon how much work an individual seller does as well as the popularity of that seller. It is not unusual for a new seller to pay a few hundred dollars in monthly fees in order to get the tools that he needs to be able to compete with established sellers.