Is Amazon charging too much in fees?
I’ve been teetering on the edge of deleting my SF account for some time, I sell a good product in the £3-8 bracket, the brand / product on here has little to no competition, but compared to my ebay sales of 100-200 items a month, plus around 7-800 sales from my re-sellers, amazon is just pitiful.
My ebay shop costs me a fraction of the amazon ‘pro’ account, which I need in order to set realistic shipping charges (amazon automatically set shipping rates at 5x what it needs to be), ebay take 5% and paypal 5%, meaning 10% in commission - a fair price I feel.
Amazon, looking at my latest invoice, is charging me the £30 for the shop, plus about 18% on my sales (including shipping), this is simply unsustainable with the poor sales that amazon generates - some 20-25 a month!!! EG, last month I had 21 sales, totaling a lowly £74, from that £74 I have a total amazon invoice of £49 to pay… all that messing about printing slips and envelopes, going to the post office etc. for £25… in the same period my ebay account took over £400 and cost me about £60. Our customers, through our social media know it’s available on ebay, amazon, from retailers etc. so why such poor sales?
Thankfully this is just a small part of my business, it ticks over in the background and the main idea is brand awareness, i no longer think it’s worth it though, in 18 months on here this is the result…
What are your general opinions on the fee’s. do they get lower for higher priced items? If not then how can it be sustainable to be forever in a bum fight over low prices and still make any profit worth banking?
In the fateful words of Dragons Den investors… I’m out.
Is Amazon charging too much in fees?
I’ve been teetering on the edge of deleting my SF account for some time, I sell a good product in the £3-8 bracket, the brand / product on here has little to no competition, but compared to my ebay sales of 100-200 items a month, plus around 7-800 sales from my re-sellers, amazon is just pitiful.
My ebay shop costs me a fraction of the amazon ‘pro’ account, which I need in order to set realistic shipping charges (amazon automatically set shipping rates at 5x what it needs to be), ebay take 5% and paypal 5%, meaning 10% in commission - a fair price I feel.
Amazon, looking at my latest invoice, is charging me the £30 for the shop, plus about 18% on my sales (including shipping), this is simply unsustainable with the poor sales that amazon generates - some 20-25 a month!!! EG, last month I had 21 sales, totaling a lowly £74, from that £74 I have a total amazon invoice of £49 to pay… all that messing about printing slips and envelopes, going to the post office etc. for £25… in the same period my ebay account took over £400 and cost me about £60. Our customers, through our social media know it’s available on ebay, amazon, from retailers etc. so why such poor sales?
Thankfully this is just a small part of my business, it ticks over in the background and the main idea is brand awareness, i no longer think it’s worth it though, in 18 months on here this is the result…
What are your general opinions on the fee’s. do they get lower for higher priced items? If not then how can it be sustainable to be forever in a bum fight over low prices and still make any profit worth banking?
In the fateful words of Dragons Den investors… I’m out.
34 replies
Seller_TUub7nc5yfL6X
In the fateful words of Dragons Den investors… I’m out.
Bye
Seller_KFjf79lxP4YyY
I get charged £1.10 on a £4 sale, then £30 per month it’s a joke 
That’s also why I have pro so I can offer free shipping or their shipping costs nearly as much as the item.
Seller_KFjf79lxP4YyY
Then I have about another £1.20 production and shipping costs.
Seller_EIGBPAYhT1mVy
Yes!!! I can never figure out the payment summaries… its insane how much gets carried over and then chopped left, right and centre with nothing left…
Seller_WwoUoh19CC2KU
Yeah its not sustainable. Even better is Facebook marketplace - if you have a way of working locally and at good volume, zero fees.
Seller_ZglBP4dxsNAu0
We sell in the software category and can’t sell half of the items we stock due to the 18% fee amounting to more than the margin.
Seller_s0Fyj0kEU4sRp
Your question is all dependent on the business model you’re working with.
If £30 a month plus 15%-25%+VAT per sale is too much for your business either:
- Up your prices to maintain your profit margin
- Up and leave.
That’s the two options Amazon is offering.
Seller_vJ08QoZpmGgNp
Which eBay category are you selling in to get 5% FVF ?
Seller_gXonRAg48GASN
Why do you think the wonky eyed monster is the richest in the world?
Seller_Zm6mSLypM9kp8
Amazon typically charges 15% Referral Fee + VAT but some categories have more like Jewelry has 25%+VAT.
Media categories Books, Music, DVD, Video, Video Games (Games, Accessories and Consoles) and Software charge 15% RF + VAT and additional £0.50p per sale.
You need to make at least 40 sales to justify your £30 spend but then you can’t set the shipping fee if you don’t have PRO account.
Increasing the price seems to be a viable option but that could also impact your sales.
