Fee Changes for FBA Sellers from February 2024
Just before the end of last year, Amazon made a series of fee changes, some of which are already valid from February 2024. The fee changes are extensive and will be implemented gradually throughout the year. We have summarized the most important news for you in this blog article.
Fees for Domestic Shipping by Amazon and Pan-EU
For sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon in Germany, one of the most important news is that the fees for domestic shipping by Amazon and for pan-European shipping remain unchanged. This also applies to domestic shipping by Amazon in France, Italy, and Spain. In the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, and Belgium, the fees for domestic shipping will be increased. The changed shipping fees come into effect on 02/05/2024. The following table provides an overview of the shipping fees in the mentioned markets according to shipping weight or size. Red-highlighted values indicate price increases.
The shipping costs in the European shipping network for FBA sellers as well as the long-distance shipping from the United Kingdom to the EU also remain unchanged. The long-distance shipping fees for shipments from France, Germany, Italy, and Spain to the United Kingdom, on the other hand, are reduced. This puts exporters from the United Kingdom at a disadvantage, while exports to the United Kingdom become cheaper for EU sellers. Green-highlighted values indicate price decreases.
Change in Oversize Surcharge for Pan-European Shipping
Currently, there is a surcharge for oversized products in pan-European shipping. From 07/01/2024, this surcharge will be waived if inventory is available in the store in the country of sale. The surcharge no longer applies to sales with pan-European shipping in the stores in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
If the assortment for pan-European shipping is not available in the country of sale, Amazon takes measures to relocate the inventory to the corresponding EU logistics centers.
To determine eligibility, a new metric is introduced, the so-called historical inbound sales quantity. This is the difference between the historical inbound receipt quantity and the historical inbound sales quantity of a specific item in a store for pan-European shipping, which is eligible for pan-European shipping.
The surcharge for an item sold in the following week only applies if the historical inbound sales quantity is below zero both long-term (last 150 days) and short-term (last 30 days).
The metric is updated at the beginning of each week for products in the German, French, Italian, and Spanish Amazon stores. The surcharge for oversized items does not apply to sellers who are new to the pan-European shipping program (less than 365 days before fee calculation) and FNSKUs that are new to the pan-European shipping program (for less than 180 days before fee calculation).
The updated rates for the pan-European shipping surcharge for oversized items are listed below.
Discount for Product Packaging Without Additional Packaging
From 02/05/2024, a discount on Fulfillment by Amazon fees applies for shipping in product packaging without additional packaging. For products certified for this program, reduced Fulfillment by Amazon shipping fees are automatically calculated for each shipped certified unit. Excluded from the program are dangerous goods items, special oversized items, and products smaller than 15.2 cm x 10.2 cm x 0.95 cm. The discount for items in the Shipped Without Additional Amazon Packaging program applies in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. For a standard envelope of more than 210 g up to a maximum of 460 g, this means, for example, a discount of €0.02 per unit in Germany and France and €0.03 in Italy and Spain; in the United Kingdom, the discount on Fulfillment by Amazon fees for low-priced items is £0.01. An overview of the various discounts depending on product packaging is listed below.
Sellers who are interested in participating in the program and want to benefit from the discounts can have their products qualified for the shipping program. To do this, the original packaging - depending on whether it's flexible or rigid packaging - must meet certain requirements. For example, the packaging must not have handles, hangers, or openings. Additionally, Amazon points out that clear labeling is required that provides information about the content - except for potentially sensitive items such as health and wellness products, etc.
Subsequently, suitable products must either pass drop tests or laboratory tests in cooperation with ISTA 6 before registration can be carried out.
You can find more information about this on Amazon's program page.
Fee for Covering Low Inventory Costs (Pan-European Shipping)
From 04/01/2024, sellers who use the Pan-European Fulfillment by Amazon program must expect an additional fee for low inventory. The prices are based on the shipping weight of the item as well as the inventory in relation to sales history. Affected by the fee are items whose historical inventory coverage, i.e., the average inventory quantity per day in relation to the average shipped units per day, was below 28 days in both the last 90 and the last 30 days. This means that if more items were shipped on average than are stored at Amazon, the historical inventory coverage value decreases. From a value below 28 days in both mentioned time periods (90 or 30 days), the fee is calculated. The lower value is used as the criterion. With an average of 170 stored and 10 shipped items per day in the past 90 days, this results in, for example, a value of 17, i.e., less than 28. If the value for the past 30 days is also below 28, the fee applies - otherwise not. If the value is below 28 but above 17, then the second value is used as the basis for calculating the fee.
The fee is further increased with decreasing inventory coverage. In Germany, Italy, and Spain as well as in France, €0.07 is charged in the first fee level and for the size category of a standard envelope. With an inventory coverage of less than 14 days, this fee in the same size category in the three aforementioned stores is €0.32 and in France €0.33.
Shipping Fees for Low-Priced Items
For low-priced items, the Fulfillment by Amazon fees for domestic shipping in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland remain unchanged. In the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sweden, the fees will be increased. In Belgium, Fulfillment by Amazon fees for low-priced items will be introduced from 09/01/2024. The price thresholds remain unchanged, meaning products continue to automatically receive Fulfillment by Amazon fees for low-priced items if they cost at most £10 in the United Kingdom, at most €11 in Germany, at most €12 in France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, at most 140 skr in Sweden, and at most 55 zł in Poland. All Fulfillment by Amazon fees for low-priced items are available with free shipping for Prime customers and standard shipping for non-Prime customers.
The following overview shows the price development for the affected stores. In the United Kingdom, prices increase by an average of 5.69%, in the Netherlands by an average of 9.37%, and in Sweden by 9.49%.
Changes to Monthly Storage Fees for Fulfillment by Amazon
For FBA sellers, the monthly storage fees for January to September for all standard-size items (excluding dangerous goods) will decrease from 03/01/2024. The monthly storage fees for October to December as well as the monthly storage fees for January to September for oversized items will be increased. For standard-size items in the clothing, shoes, and bags categories, €16.52 will be charged from March 2024 instead of the previous €18.36 in the months January to September. The changes come into effect for the first time in April 2024 for storage fees in March 2024.
Surcharge for Storage Utilization in Fulfillment by Amazon
From 06/01/2024, Amazon introduces a surcharge for storage utilization and charges an additional fee for sellers in the Professional selling tier with a storage utilization of more than 22 weeks. Excluded from the surcharge is inventory with a storage time between 0 and 30 days as well as products in the clothing, shoes, and bags categories. This change comes into effect for the first time in July 2024 for storage fees in June 2024.
Amazon also updates the fee categories. Previously, there were three fee categories: under 26 weeks storage utilization, 26-39 weeks storage utilization, more than 39 weeks storage utilization. From 06/01/2024, the following fee categories apply: under 22 weeks, 22-28 weeks, 28-36 weeks, 36-44 weeks, 44-52 weeks, from 52 weeks. The base fee remains the same in each case. Up to 22 weeks storage utilization, the storage utilization surcharge remains excluded. Previously, this limit was at 26 weeks. Between 22 and 28 weeks storage utilization in the months January, the storage utilization surcharge costs €14.85 per unit (per cubic meter) for standard sizes, from 28 to 36 weeks this fee is €27.05. In the comparable category 26 to 39 weeks, this surcharge only costs €18.01 until 06/01/2024.
Surcharge for Old Inventory in Fulfillment by Amazon Storage
From 02/15/2024, the surcharge for old inventory in storage with a storage time between 271 and 365 days will increase. The inventory is checked every 15th of the month. For items with a storage time between 271 and 300 days, a fee of €92.37 per cubic meter and month will be charged in the future, between 301 and 330 days this fee is €95.67, and between 331 and 365 days €98.97. The fee has thus been more than doubled in some cases, as shown in the following two figures.
