[Crew Review] Amazon raises FBA fees ahead of the holidays

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Amazon announced a “holiday peak fulfillment fee” for the upcoming holiday shopping season. This will directly affect third-party marketplace sellers across the months of October 2022 to January 2023.

Here’s what it means to your business.

Amazon Top Terms

We’re bringing you the top 10 terms from July 31st to August 13th that have increased in searches dramatically over the past two weeks. Let’s see why they’re trending on Amazon!

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to get ready for the spooky sales season.

Taking slot #4 in this week's top movers is “halloween floating candles.” The sales for this product have gone from 15 units to 100 units per day in the past two weeks, and it’s safe to expect more sales as Halloween draws near. This holiday is a great opportunity for sellers and dropshippers in this niche to bump up their revenue and reap big profits.

Restricted Brands on Amazon: Full List

Our friends over at Helium 10 have come up with a list of the restricted brands on Amazon, showing which brands are restricted from being sold on the Amazon marketplace by third-party sellers.

Retail arbitrage is one of the best ways to make big bucks on Amazon, but the company seems to be doubling down on market integrity and its brand gating efforts, now requiring prior approval on Amazon before 3P sellers can resell branded products and even imposing a fee ranging from $1-5K to sell name brands.

Amazon Accuses FTC of Harassing Execs

Amazon is accusing the Federal Trade Commission of using “unusual and perplexing measures” in its ongoing investigation on the ecommerce giant’s Prime subscription business.

The ongoing probe is about how Amazon actively misleads users into signing up for Prime and unduly complicates the process for those who want to opt out. Amazon lawyers are seeking to limit or quash civil investigative demands upon its executives, including founder Jeff Bezos and current CEO Andy Jassy, which would require them to unnecessarily (according to company lawyers) testify in the investigation.

Amazon is under constant scrutiny from FTC Chair Lina Khan, who advocates for the rethinking of antitrust enforcement in the digital markets, of which Amazon is one of the biggest players.

From FTC to FDA

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to Amazon over the sale of unauthorized mole and skin tag removers on its online marketplace.

Procedurally, Amazon has 15 days to respond to warning letters from the FDA, which may be initial steps to stronger actions against violators. The company needs to explain how they plan to address the issue and ensure that such products are no longer sold.

According to The Verge, Amazon reps say the products have since been removed on site, but a quick search for “mole remover” still shows listings for similar items.

It Gets Worse…

Speaking of product safety, a recent investigation by UK-based consumer organization Which? revealed that illegal weapons are being sold on online marketplaces Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, and Wish—for as low as £49.

According to the report, simple site searches show banned weapons are defined under UK law. The weapons include illegal batons being sold as trekking poles on Amazon, zombie knives and paralyzing spays on eBay, and illegal butterfly knives sold on Wish. Other items found include swords, knuckle dusters, and flick knives.

Source: Which?

Which? and other organizations constantly raise concerns over product safety enforcement in online marketplaces like the ones mentioned, especially considering the large number of independent sellers on these platforms.

The Bright Side

Despite all its woes over the past couple of weeks, Amazon is preparing for take-off with its Prime Air drone delivery program. In a recent corporate post, the company shares details of its drone technology and how it potentially comes into play for its online retail business, which has slowed down significantly after the pandemic.

Also on the bright side, Amazon has opened the Amazon Robotic Sorting Fulfillment Center in Canton Mississippi. The million-square-foot facility is the third Amazon FC in the State and the first to operate using advanced robotics technology.