FBA sellers..how have you been adapting to the inbound placement fee?
I am just wondering how some of the FBA Sellers are handling this ridiuculous placement fee hike and the incoming low inventory fee. I have only sent in one shipment (or batch of shipments this month - 5 total boxes) , which is way lower than usual). I am winding down my FBA operations and looking for somewhere else to sell/something else to do. I think Amazon is on the decline for its retail sellers and with the recent fee increases and decline in services (missing shipments, horrible customer support, increasing amount of glitches that are not fixed, and the myriad of other issues facing us every day), Amazon does not look like a long term solution. Actually, it is not a long term solution and I do not think sellers can ignore this any longer.
Just wondering what other sellers are doing.
FBA sellers..how have you been adapting to the inbound placement fee?
I am just wondering how some of the FBA Sellers are handling this ridiuculous placement fee hike and the incoming low inventory fee. I have only sent in one shipment (or batch of shipments this month - 5 total boxes) , which is way lower than usual). I am winding down my FBA operations and looking for somewhere else to sell/something else to do. I think Amazon is on the decline for its retail sellers and with the recent fee increases and decline in services (missing shipments, horrible customer support, increasing amount of glitches that are not fixed, and the myriad of other issues facing us every day), Amazon does not look like a long term solution. Actually, it is not a long term solution and I do not think sellers can ignore this any longer.
Just wondering what other sellers are doing.
53 replies
Seller_z3XfkorVSmnEY
Adapting. Spending way too much time trying to optimize shipping quantities. We ship multiple SKUs. Thought we had a system down and then this week options are different.
Also, moving to more FBM and also selling off-Amazon.
Seller_Sram36TnVt73c
im raising my prices...when products stop selling at what I need to charge, they get yanked.
I used to have 100s of SKUs in FBA. I now have just a handful there.
Dominic_Amazon
Hi @Seller_M4NWRaRnU1uDM,
We have heard a lot of feedback from our Sellers about the New Inbound Placement Fee.
You are able to choose Amazon split shipments if you qualify and avoid the fee entirely.
When you create a shipping plan, you can select one of the following inventory inbound placement options:
- Minimal shipment splits: You can send your inventory to the minimal number of inbound locations, generally to a single location, and we will spread inventory across our network on your behalf, for a fee. The fee may vary by inbound location—for example, there may be higher fees for shipments sent to locations in the West versus other parts of the country.
- Partial or Amazon-optimized shipment splits: Send your inventory to multiple inbound locations yourself for a reduced or no fee. The reduced fees will depend on the number of shipments and inbound locations that you send your inventory to. For instance, if your shipping plan qualifies, you can select the inbound placement option to send your inventory to the optimal number of inbound locations recommended by Amazon, generally four or more locations, and pay no fee. If you select the placement option in which you send your inventory to a partial number of inbound locations, generally two or three, you will pay a reduced fee.
Inbound placement options will be provided when your shipments qualify. Factors that affect the number of inbound options include the following:
- Whether your shipment includes a mix of standard-size items, non-standard-size items, or special handling categories
- Whether each box contains the same mix and quantities of SKUs
- Quantities and number of boxes for each item
- Geographical demand
To maximize the number of inbound options, try the following:
- Create separate shipments for standard-size items, non-standard-size items, and each special handling category
- Ensure that the item mix and item quantities are equal across all boxes
- Increase the number of boxes
Additionally one thing to note:
- On average, we will decrease FBA fulfillment fee rates for standard-sized products by $0.20 per unit and for Large Bulky-sized products by $0.61 per unit. These fees will apply starting April 15, 2024, the same date that the first inbound placement fees will begin to be charged. Products priced below $10 will continue to have an additional $0.77 discount on per-unit fees. Go to the FBA fulfillment fee rates page for more details.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
Dominic
Seller_svCmKWvWCJB17
The main gripe is Amazon made it so meticulous to get the free option it really isnt workable. I remember you could have Amazon split up your shipment for you. This is no longer working. You must figure out how amazon wants 5+ boxes with the SAME units and counts pretty much. I have actually made a 5 box workplan and it only allowed me to do partial. I made a 6th box and it allowed me to do the free one BUT!!! It still sent it to 5 locations...
Seller_4a0fT0P2nCPQq
Split shipments do NOT save us money!!! The shipping costs just go up as we are asked to then ship across the country. What do you all NOT get?? Your answer to this is just flat out wrong Dominic.
Seller_HH57ZbA7Hx0Ks
Amazon is pretending that delaying the billing for placement fees is the same as starting them on April 15th. This type of dishonesty is why sellers lose trust.
Seller_rr45B3vDsauwa
You guys keep posting about these fee's dropping, but you do realize the placement fee's range into the dollars per item and you're posting about a max of a .60 cents drop in fee's. That doesn't really help all that much. Especially when not only the new inbound fee, but the low inventory fee, and overall ups rates you guys raised. this drop in fba fee's is a drop in the bucket compared to all the fee's you guys are hitting fba sellers with.
Seller_2nHKMJRUHkO90
[Moderator edit: Removed Inappropriate Commentary]
Seller_lDD0jLSfQL7QI
It's not only the placement fee that is hurting sellers but even with "no placement fee" selected, the shipping (ground and LTL freight) costs are 2-3x higher now.
Seller_zn7tpix66ls7i
Hello Dominic,
I have seen similar responses from Amazon, and received 2 same from Seller Support as well. Neither directly address the issue we are facing, particularly as it relates to East Coast shippers having to ship to West Coast Exclusively. Are there not "Main" FBA Centers somewhere closer to NY then IN, NV and CA?
Please see my previous, unanswered post below. Thanks. Mike--SMCCI
Sending a large 10 box, 1,800 plus unit shipment to FBA, but using the 5 location option are all of my FBA shipments are going to the West Coast exclusively. I split up the items so 5 locations could get the same skus and nearly identical quantities but not one of my 10 boxes is going to an East Coast location. If the point of having us split it up is to expedite the transfer of FBA inventory, why am I not shipping at least some to the East Coast and Mid West?
There is no way these Skus aren't selling to East Coast buyers. As is this shipment will take 7 days to get from me in NY to CA, then FBA has to transfer them back to NY to fill orders? Makes absolutely no sense. Seller Support tells me there are no restrictions associated to allocation and the shipment I created has no issues or errors. SS tells me "How inventory placement works is, the shipment is first shipped to the main warehouse where the shipment is divided and then sent to other centers" So does that mean there are no "Main" warehouses anywhere but in CA?
I took the time to sort and pack 10 nearly identical boxes with 40+ different skus figuring common sense would dictate they'd be split up into different regions. I could choose to ship using the 3 location option with inventory placement fees starting at X. How accurate is that "starting" figure? Will I expect to pay X, only to be charged 2X, 5X, or 10X?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, expect to make another large shipment tomorrow but hoping for better options. Thanks.
Seller_307zy7B6J6H4Y
"You are able to choose Amazon split shipments if you qualify and avoid the fee entirely."
So, you avoid the fee by splitting the shipment, but you pay more for splitting the shipment?! So, either way you're paying more since splitting shipments make the cost per lb go up substantially.
Seller_HjfyVYcuJdbTf
@Dominic_Amazon
We've been trying to get Splits. We sell many SKUs, 1 to 10 of each.
We get less splits now than we did before March 1st.
EXAMPLE FROM TODAY:
It was split into 2 locations, SAT4 and AVP1 (preference is set to Partial Split - East).
We were charged full price, no Split option.
For 7 SKUs, 7 Units to SAT4: $18.90 in placement fees
For 23 SKUs, 47 Units to AVP1 - $16.28 in placement fees
Not sure the system is working as intended... it probably should've been a soft release until April 15th, where these weren't actually getting charged (i.e. billed, debited, whatever Amazon calls what they're doing now).
Seller_JMIyweVJ2cYl7
Exactly. I can't ship LTL with the split shipment, only UPS @ 2x the cost.
Seller_2VvE1As3Hvl6A
I'm only sending in my highest volume sku's and raising prices. I also had 100's of sku's in FBA, but slowly trimming them back and switching to FBM when my FBA stock runs out. I am also listing a LOT more of my items on other sites, since they won't be FBA.
The downside is that i won't get the buybox as often, but the upside is that my inventory is immediately available instead of taking a month or more.
Between the DC->FC transfer process losing inventory from shipments, warehouse damage without adequate compensation, letting customers steal, low inventory fees, and now the inbound placement fee.
The straw that broke the camel's back Amazon.
Seller_wc3hEgm0kJ23u
Our forwarder tries to support us and offers a good price for sending goods to 5 warehouses, still cheaper than paying those FEES
Seller_Qvkq0XIyYVeNa
I am TRYING to raise prices of my FBA offerings, but I am getting flagged for High Price violations.
I don't understand how Amazon can raise fees but not allow sellers to raise their prices.
Seller_2nHKMJRUHkO90
Spending more on marketing my shopify store, which is working. Must diversify off Amazon
Seller_ftCS5LmKZ26gg
We never did the placement program. The per unit fees would have averaged us about 35 cents, which would have cost us over $1,800 per month. It just worked better to allow split shipments.
