[Crew Review] Here’s why sea freight rates are soaring

High ho!

Increased Rates Ahead!

Your inventory is still delivered to your country by sea, but the cost of doing so is sky-high. As if the Suez Canal traffic jam wasn’t enough, freight costs have gone up to 300% in 2021.

Wondering why this is happening, whom to blame, and what you can do to minimize its impact on your business? We have the article for you.

Be INFORMed

Recently, a group of senators revisited the Integrity, Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act, otherwise known as the INFORM Consumers Act. This is in response to the 44% growth ecommerce has seen last year.

Among other things, the Act aims to protect consumers from counterfeit, dangerous, and defective goods. And it aims to do so by demanding more transparency from sellers and online marketplaces.

If passed, the Act will require so-called “high-volume third party sellers” to provide more information such as

• Verified bank account information or payee information
• (For individuals) Valid government-issued identification that includes the individual’s name and physical address
• (For non-individuals) one of the following:
• Valid government-issued identification for an individual acting on behalf of such seller
• Valid government-issued record or tax document that includes the business name and physical address of such seller
• Tax ID
• Working email and phone number

You will be considered a high-volume third party seller if in any continuous 12-month period during the previous 24 months, you

• Participate in an online marketplace platform
• Have entered into 200 or more sales of new or unused products and
• Accumulated an aggregate total of $5,000 or more in gross revenues

The Act has pros and cons for sellers. While it will make the enforcement of IP rights easier, you should prepare the required documents and talk to a lawyer to protect your personal information such as your home address.

It Wasn’t Just a Walmart Move After All

We just celebrated Easter, but it seems like Amazon is not done with resurrections just yet.

The ecommerce giant has been buying dead malls and turning them into distribution centers. Walmart made a similar move when it turned some of its physical stores into local fulfillment centers (LFCs). This gave it the potential to deliver to more customers faster.

But the King of Logistics won’t be dethroned that easily. Amazon recently acquired malls in:

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Worcester, Massachusetts

Having more fulfillment centers is good news for FBA sellers. However, just like a lot of the new Amazon warehouses, the change is not well-received by locals who are concerned about pollution, traffic, and its impact on small businesses.

Amazon’s Digital Ad Shares

We invite you to take a look at your Amazon ad spend last year and see how you feel about these charts from eMarketer:

Amazon’s share of the US digital ad market has increased from 7.8% in 2019 to 10.3% in 2020, eating away at Google’s share. The revenue comes mostly from Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, so if you used these advertising methods last year, you had a hand in this increase.

An Outlet for Your Excess Inventories

Amazon reminds sellers about Amazon Outlet, a place where you can get rid of excess inventory. There are no additional fees involved. So what’s the catch?

You have to offer your products for at least 20% discount and not all sellers and products are eligible.

To participate in Amazon Outlet, you need to have

• A Professional selling plan and
• An overall customer rating of at least 3.5 stars

The ASINs you register should also meet additional requirements including

• Being new
• Availability of more than 10 units
• A product rating of at least 3 stars or no reviews at all

This is a way for sellers to still get something from their excess inventory and for Amazon to offer highly discounted prices on its site. So… win-win?

Almost Normal

More people are getting vaccinated every day.

You may have experienced a boost in revenue last year because online shopping is the norm. But as Zoom meetings become more and more optional, revenge shopping might make a dent in your sales.

To keep the momentum going, Amazon sellers need to go back to tried-and-tested methods of launching and maintaining best-selling products. If you’re not sure what they are, we’re offering a free book for your guidance.

The steps outlined in Amazon Domination have helped us build multiple 7-figure brands. If you want to take the offensive and start planning today, just pay for the shipping fee and we’ll deliver a physical copy to you.

Get the book for free.