Amazon will soon begin adding a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge to FBA fees for sellers in the U.S. and Canada, and a 1.5% surcharge for sellers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, and Belgium, both taking effect April 17th. The fees come in response to the war in Iran driving up global oil prices by more than 60%.
Amazon wrote in an e-mail to sellers:
“Elevated costs in fulfillment and logistics have increased the cost of operating across the industry. We have absorbed these increased costs so far. However, similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing.”
On average, the surcharge equates to $0.17 per unit for U.S. FBA or CAD $0.26 per unit for Canada FBA, but varies depending on the item’s size.
An Amazon spokesperson noted that the surcharge is “meaningfully lower” than those applied by other major carriers — which is true. USPS recently proposed an 8% fuel surcharge starting April 26th, while UPS and FedEx are already charging fuel surcharges of 21-25% on top of base shipping rates.
The average price for a gallon of fuel in the U.S. now stands at $4.11, up from $2.99/gallon a month ago, so I can hardly blame Amazon for imposing a surcharge. They did not indicate how long the surcharge would last, but I imagine it’ll last as long as gas prices remain elevated. However, many sellers fear that “temporary surcharges” can easily become “permanent fee increases” — and it’s certainly fair to be skeptical when it comes to Amazon.
