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#129 - Amazon Fees for 2024, Refund Abuse Scheme, and more

Amazon employee in fulfilment center
Get ready to dive into the 129th edition of FBA Monthly, your go-to source for all things Fulfillment by Amazon. In this issue, we've curated a wealth of valuable insights, strategic tips, and game-changing updates to propel your success on the Amazon marketplace.

Hot News

In an email to sellers it reposted in a corporate blog, the e-tail giant said it is breaking its seller shipping fees into charges for sending products into its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fulfillment network (“inbound”) and shipping products out of its network (“outbound”).

chainstoreage.com

Ten years after Jeff Bezos promised half-hour shipping with Amazon drones, the company has made zero drone deliveries. But it now delivers billions of packages yearly using good-old delivery trucks.

marketplacepulse.com

Amazon filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging that an international fraud organization called REKK stole millions of dollars of products through systematic refund abuse by tricking the company, including bribing employees.

ecommercebytes.com


Good to Know

Where do you go if you're looking for refurbished goods? Many people might start by searching eBay or even Facebook Marketplace, but Amazon wants people to think of its site, announcing on Wednesday a "Second Chance Store" in the UK to draw attention to its offerings.

ecommercebytes.com

Amazon Web Services, the retailer’s cloud-computing division, is infusing generative artificial intelligence into more products, expanding its efforts to reclaim ground in a field led by its main rivals. Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have announced similar moves.

yahoo.com

Amazon was accused this week of selling a baby crib bumper that has been banned because of concerns that it poses a suffocation hazard for infants, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said.

newsweek.com

Low prices matter to customers—they always have and they always will. From the beginning, Amazon has obsessed over offering customers low prices across our wide selection of products, with fast, reliable delivery. Decades later, this hasn’t changed. We strive to offer Earth’s largest selection with fast, reliable delivery, and work hard to keep prices low across our store.

aboutamazon.com

The report shines a light on which categories produce the most top sellers, what a top seller’s business looks like and what strategies online retailers should have in place to succeed. Third-party sellers began to join Amazon in 1999 and now more than 60% of what is sold in Amazon stores globally comes from small and medium-sized businesses.

channelx.world

As holiday shoppers return items purchased during Black Friday and Cyber Monday online shopping sprees, more U.S. retailers could tell them to keep items that cost more to ship back than they are worth. This year, 59% retailers offer so-called "returnless" or "keep it" policies for unwanted products whose returns costs exceed their value, according to returns services firm goTRG, which surveyed 500 executives at 21 major retailers, including Walmart and Amazon.com.

reuters.com

Amazon asked a judge to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust case against the e-commerce giant on Friday, arguing that the company engages in legal competitive behavior that benefits consumers. “Amazon promptly matches rivals’ discounts, features competitively priced deals rather than overpriced ones, and ensures best-in-class delivery for its Prime subscribers,” the company argued in Friday’s filing.

thehill.com

Amazon probed sellers about free shipping in a survey this week. It wanted to know why sellers didn't offer it and if they would consider offering it in their area if they switched to lower-cost regional carriers. Amazon asked sellers who didn't offer free shipping on their 1-2 day delivery orders why they did not, and it provided them with numerous responses from which to choos.

ecommercebytes.com

Move over, Santa. Amazon runs the holidays now. The dot-com behemoth captured two-thirds of online gift shoppers in 2022, nearly doubling up its closest competitor. More generally, the Seattle company controls nearly 38 percent of American e-commerce, leaving just 7 percent for second-place Walmart, and even beat out NATO, the CDC and the Supreme Court in a 2021 survey ranking the country’s most favorably-viewed institutions.

deseret.com

Amazon India today held its annual Amazon Research Days (ARD) in Bengaluru. This event served as an interactive platform for Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) experts from Amazon, industry, and academia to connect, share ideas and best practices, and explore the latest advancements in these fields.

cxotoday.com

Approximately a week ago, Greene released MTG, her self-titled autobiography printed by Donald Trump Jr.’s publishing company. The book explores Greene’s reflections as one of the most outspoken and controversial members of Congress, though it’s hard to say if people are interested since MTG clocks in at number… 9,805 on Amazon’s Best Seller list.

mediaite.com

This holiday season, Amazon will cheerily assert its dominance on doorsteps across the country. There will be the stacks of Amazon boxes, of course, delivered in many cases by workers wearing Amazon uniforms and driving Amazon-branded vehicles. But there will also be the small mysteries: packages delivered by Amazon, but ordered from somewhere else.

nymag.com

Where do you go if you're looking for refurbished goods? Many people might start by searching eBay or even Facebook Marketplace, but Amazon wants people to think of its site, announcing on Wednesday a "Second Chance Store" in the UK to draw attention to its offerings.

ecommercebytes.com

Phoenix is known for many things: beautiful hiking trails, a world-class art scene, and abundant nightlife. But what many Phoenicians may not realize is within the heart of the valley is a thriving and growing small business community that is both collaborate and innovative.

bizjournals.com

This shift in power dynamic is driven by one major change — Amazon is no longer the only game in town. The last few years have seen a veritable explosion of online marketplaces, and a number of these newer platforms have become sophisticated enough to challenge Amazon’s dominance.

retailtouchpoints.com

Amazon says it will change the way it charges sellers who use its fulfillment services, introducing a new fee designed to give sellers a financial incentive to ship products to multiple locations in its fulfillment network. The idea, Amazon says, is to get products closer to customers more efficiently and cost-effectively, in line with its latest strategy of putting comprehensive sets of inventory at each of its regional fulfillment hubs.

geekwire.com


Tips and Tricks

As more and more consumers choose online shopping over in-store shopping, advertisers need to take advantage of this audience of ready-to-buy customers. Nearly 3 in 4 consumers start their product search on Amazon.com — a compelling reason for sellers and brands to learn how to use the powerful advertising tools that Amazon provides.

junglescout.com

Amazon's expanded supply chain function and AI-driven product listing tools aim to help SMBs drive sales on its site and beyond, says Claire O’Donnell, Director, Selling Partner Empowerment. More than 60% of sales in the Amazon store come from independent sellers, most of which are small and medium-size businesses, up from 40% a decade ago.

uschamber.com

Hey there, Amazon sellers! Let’s cut to the chase. You know it, I know it – the Amazon marketplace? It’s like a crowded New York street, sellers elbowing for space, each trying to shout louder than the next. But here’s the deal: AI’s not just another buzzword; it’s the secret sauce you’re missing.

foundr.com

Amazon Handmade is a powerful platform that can expand your reach and boost your sales. If you’re making and selling handmade products, having as many revenue streams as possible makes sense. And the more places you have where to sell crafts online, the better your chances for increasing your revenue streams.

smallbiztrends.com


Podcasts

Get ready to immerse yourself in an enlightening discussion and AMA session with Matt, an expert in advanced strategies and Amazon PPC. Join us in this TACoS Tuesday episode, as we answer questions about variation listings, auto campaigns, broad campaigns, and ranking.

helium10.com