Amazon has bumped up its merchant fees yearly since 2016 and is now taking over 50 per cent of each sale through its massive online marketplace.
This is according to a study by Marketplace Pulse, which calculated Amazon’s sizable, and ever-growing cut by adding up the straight commission, warehouse storage fees, packing and delivery costs, and advertising.
Marketplace notes that Amazon’s third-party logistics service is optional, but also points out that “most merchants consider these a necessary part of doing business” through the marketplace.
“For these small businesses, it’s getting harder and harder to be profitable because they are spending more and more money on Amazon fees,” said Juozas Kaziukenas, Marketplace Pulse CEO.
“Amazon might be tempted to keep increasing fees because it’s in a tough spot, but you have to reach some kind of equilibrium.”
Amazon took a 35.2 per cent cut from the average merchant sale in 2016. The following year it leaped to 40 per cent, and by 2020 it had reached 45.8. Last year it jumped from 2021’s 48 per cent to 51.8 per cent.
An Amazon spokesperson feels these figures are misleading, as they include advertising and logistics costs, which she argued are optional.
“Many selling partners have built and run their businesses without advertising,” Amazon spokesperson Mira Dix said.
“If they choose to advertise their products, they have many service providers to choose from.
“Sellers are not required to use our logistics or advertising services, and only use them if they provide incremental value to their business.”
