Amazon is increasing fees for using its FBA fulfillment services, effective February 22, 2018. The new fulfillment fees will apply throughout the year, with no separate rate for October through December as is currently the case.
FBA inventory storage fees are not changing now (look for an announcement in early 2018), but Amazon is making dim weight changes:
“Dimensional Weight Calculation: We are adjusting the way we calculate dimensional weight to align with current industry standards. Currently, dimensional weight is calculated as the unit volume (based on length x width x height in inches) divided by 166. Effective February 22, 2018, we will calculate dimensional weight as the unit volume (based on length x width x height in inches) divided by 139 (instead of 166). The dimensional weight is only applicable for large standard-size items weighing more than 1 lb. and all small, medium, and large oversize items.”
Amazon said it was making the fee changes “to reflect the changing costs of fulfillment, transportation, and customer service.” It also provided sellers with a list of improvements it made to the Fulfillment By Amazon program in 2017, including “Even Faster Free Shipping,” referring to its Prime FREE One-Day Shipping and Same-Day Delivery in more than 5,000 cities.
Also cited were improvements to FBA international selling tools; a new SKU performance feature that allows access to product sales, pricing, and inventory performance data; a new Inventory Performance Index that measures the health of a seller’s business along with recommendations.
FBA Small and Light program rates will not change at this time, and rates for the Multi-Channel Fulfillment program and the Inventory Placement Service are not changing at this time. However, Amazon said, “please note that dimensional weight is also used to calculate fees for both Multi-Channel Fulfillment and the Inventory Placement Service, and the way we calculate dimensional weight is changing.”
Find more information on Amazon Seller Central.
