Previously, Amazon notified the logistics fee changes in 2023. From January 17th (next Tuesday), changes in FBA delivery fees, removal and disposal order fees, small and light commodity program fees, and dangerous goods delivery fees will take effect at the same time. Sellers are facing various cost increases. These variables need to be included in 2023 year operating plan.

Right now, the more important task is stocking up for the Spring Festival. Since the stock capacity has bottomed out, many sellers frequently refreshed their stock capacity this week. I hope Amazon can open up a little bit of stock capacity to allow them to stock up for the Spring Festival. Most freight forwarders in the industry will cut off stock around the 14th. Can you catch the last water boat before the festival?

4 Amazon fee changes will go into effect next Tuesday

This week, Amazon deducted last month's storage fee, which is not a small amount during the peak season. A seller said that he was deducted more than 100,000 yuan in storage fees this time, resulting in no profit at all last month; another seller bluntly said that Amazon directly emptied his account balance when deducting storage fees.

Amazon's investment in logistics and advertising has expanded year by year, and these costs will eventually be shared with sellers. During the peak season this year, Amazon began to charge peak delivery fees , and charged an additional $ 0.35 per item for FBA products in the United States and Canada . The peak season will officially end on January 14 (tomorrow), and sellers will no longer have to spend this money. But starting next week, more Amazon fee adjustments will come into effect, and sellers should get ready.

The US- Asia Station notified the changes in logistics fees and storage fees in 2023, at least four of which will take effect on January 17 (next Tuesday).

1. Changes to FBA delivery fees will take effect on January 17, 2023. For categories other than apparel, Amazon will use the greater of item weight or dimensional weight to calculate its shipping weight for all large standard-size and oversize items (except special oversized items). For the clothing category, for standard products and oversized products (except for special oversized products) over 0.75 pounds, the larger value of the product or volume weight is also taken.

The overall FBA delivery fee has risen significantly, and the outbound fee has increased by an average of US$0.22. However, Amazon has made a finer weight division and subdivided the fee standard into quarter and half pound levels, which is relatively advantageous for small and light commodities. Combined with the consumption expectations in 2023, some sellers have decided to make more light and small plan products this year.

2. Changes to removal and disposal order fees will take effect on January 17. Under the new fee schedule, removal and disposal fees have nearly doubled for both standard-size and oversized items. This is also an adjustment that sellers complain about the most.

At the end of the current peak season, sellers in the industry have skyrocketed demand for inventory clearance. Commonly used inventory clearance methods include increasing discounts, bundling sales, participating in outlets, off-site promotion, and batch clearance. After the change takes effect, the removal fee and the storage fee will "fly together", and the seller needs to calculate the stocking quantity carefully and clear the redundant inventory in time.

Amazon rolled out a feature this week to add budgets to “discounts” and “buy one, get one free” campaigns, and seller analytics stacks it with a bundled feature that can speed up inventory clearance.

Additionally, bulk clearance fees remain the same , and Amazon charges two fees per unit for bulk clearance: a 15% referral fee, and a per-unit handling fee.

A seller has more than 200 niche products, but the 30% off off-site promotion has not been sold. Now he wants to clear the inventory before the removal fee rises. The price given by the offline service provider is 5% of the selling price. He intends to try the purchase plan, hoping to save more value. However, some peers pointed out that the recovery value of the clearance plan accounts for about 5% -10% of the average selling price of the product, and the progress of clearance will be slower, and the payment will be slower, so sellers need to compare and balance.

3. The fees for the Small and Light Commodity Program will be changed, effective on January 17. Amazon will increase the price of eligible products from no higher than $10 to no higher than $12, and the fee standard has also been refined. At that time, sellers can try to see if they can register.

However, there are some sellers who "sweat wool" and register for the small and light plan at a low price before raising the price. However, Amazon pointed out that the SKU does not meet the price threshold requirements of the small and light plan. Unqualified SKUs will be deleted from the plan and charged standard FBA Fulfillment fee. For some sellers, with a limit of $12, the price of small and light commodities can be raised in a "bug-like" way.

4. Changes to delivery fees for dangerous goods will take effect on January 17. For this fee, Amazon has also refined the weight division and charging standards, but the overall fee is rising. In addition , for dangerous goods that require special handling and storage, FBA will charge a separate delivery fee.

In addition to the changes in the above four items of fees, after next week, several other FBA fees will also be changed one after another. include:

storage fees. Beginning February 1, 2023, the monthly inventory storage fee will increase by $0.04 per cubic foot for standard-sized items and $0.03 per cubic foot for oversized items during the non-peak season (January-September). During peak season (October-December), the monthly inventory storage fee for oversized items will increase by $0.20 per cubic foot.

Storage utilization surcharge. Starting April 1, Amazon will charge a storage utilization surcharge for the monthly storage fee. The surcharge is based on storage utilization, which is the ratio of the seller's average daily inventory (in cubic feet) divided by the average daily shipping volume (in cubic feet) over the past 13 weeks. The platform will calculate the storage utilization rate on the last day of the specific month, for example, calculate the storage utilization rate in April on April 30 .

Aged inventory surcharge (long-term storage fee) . From April 15th, Amazon will increase the surcharge for inventory with an inventory age of 271-365 days. In addition, Amazon charges an overage inventory surcharge on all inventory that is 180-270 days old, except for items in the apparel, shoes, luggage, jewelry, and watches categories. Charges continue for items stored for more than 365 days.

New product warehousing discount plan. Starting in March , for all standard-sized products that meet the requirements, Amazon will provide each parent ASIN with storage, clearance and rebate benefits for up to 100 items, and provide each parent ASIN with up to 120 days of storage and rebate benefits. In terms of sales rebates, Amazon has increased the average rebate from 5% to 10%, which is applicable to sellers who have completed brand registration for new product warehousing discounts.

In the words of the seller, the small size of a fly’s legs is also meat, especially for sellers with more new products. This policy can reduce the risk and cost of new product testing, so it is natural to catch them.

Cost rises in many ways

In the 2023 US logistics fee changes that Amazon has announced , despite the favorable policies, FBA sellers will face various cost increases in the future. This doesn't just happen in the U.S., either.

Starting from March 1, 2023, sales commissions will be increased on the Japan station. On April 1, FBA fees will be raised, Amazon logistics small and light product plan shipping fees will be increased, buyer purchase fees will be canceled, inventory storage fees will be increased, and FBA long-term inventory surcharges will be increased. And launched Amazon logistics new product reward program.

In addition to FBA sellers, self-shipping sellers also face certain cost increases.

Beginning on January 14th, for self-delivery buyers returning goods due to incorrect return labels, the seller needs to bear all the changes in shipping costs, which were previously borne by Amazon. Specifically, if the size or weight of the returned product is incorrect, the seller's account will be debited or credited; if the return address is incorrect or invalid, the return cannot be delivered, and the carrier will charge 18 per package that cannot be returned. USD fee.

To avoid these expenses, sellers need to ensure that the listed product dimensions, weights and return addresses are correct, but even then, it is difficult to guarantee that buyers will fully cooperate without errors.

Rising fees are putting pressure on sellers whose profits have stagnated. Combined with the increase in FBA delivery fees, service providers in the industry have recently begun to promote the operation of "reducing Amazon delivery fees", saying that they can directly reduce 0.8 to 3 US dollars, and do not change the category, size, or price, and the time limit will be valid on the same day , and promised "legal compliance and zero risk", which made some sellers tempted. Some sellers analyzed that this may be another way to participate in the small and light plan, and to bypass Amazon's request to retrograde the shipping fee, there is a high probability that it will be settled after the fall.

With reference to the new fee standards, sellers also need to adjust their operating strategies or product packaging appropriately. But the most important thing right now is to complete the stocking for the Spring Festival holiday, and the storage capacity is urgent, and the stocking work has stumped many sellers.

The storage capacity has bottomed out, and sellers frequently refresh to catch the last boat

The Spring Festival holiday is just around the corner, and sellers hope to end their year-end work as soon as possible, but because the inventory capacity is red and there is no shipment available, the stocking work has been delayed again and again.

In the first two days of this week, the storage capacity data in the background of some sellers was updated, and the shipment volume increased slightly. Some sellers seized the opportunity to send away the goods from the previous few weeks, solving the short-term stocking problem. However, many sellers frequently refresh the background, but still have not seen changes in storage capacity, or even if they increase, they only increase by dozens or hundreds, and even after the increase in storage capacity, they still cannot cover the current deficit, which is quite tasteless. In this case, the service provider's operation of breaking the delivery limit seems to be open again.

Will Amazon still release storage capacity years ago?

A seller remembered that last year, the storage capacity was released four times in two weeks, and once on Monday. The company originally planned to have a holiday after delivery on Thursday, but suddenly released a wave of storage capacity on Thursday afternoon, and the warehouse still had inventory, and the company worked overtime. Another batch of Mason was sent out, just to make up the goods. This year, the seller is also taking a wait-and-see attitude to see if Amazon will give more replenishment opportunities before the festival. If there is no change in the storage capacity policy, in order to facilitate sellers to stock up, Amazon will probably release the storage capacity next.

Sellers have always been skeptical about the distribution standard of storage capacity, and dynamic sales and IPI scores are not decisive factors. In the latest inventory adjustment, the Canadian station was particularly sad. A seller said: "Canada has always been very unreasonable. It takes 2 months to ship by sea, plus the delivery date, at least 3 months of stock. As a result, the daily average in December Dozens of large orders, only more than 1,000 shipments."

Right now, sellers are rushing to collect storage capacity while looking forward to the storage capacity update. Even if there is only a small amount of storage capacity, it is necessary to build up the shipments as much as possible to avoid the number decreasing again after the update. "The last bit of storage capacity before the year must be used up quickly. " A seller said.

During the process of building a shipment, sellers will also encounter various problems, such as bugs. Some sellers found that more and more shipments were built, that is, just after a shipment was built, the storage capacity not only did not decrease but increased. From the actual feedback, this situation is not an exception. In the eyes of other sellers who were anxiously angered by the storage capacity, this bug is simply a great benefit, and it directly solves the urgent need.

However, the seller in question was muttering over and over again: If the system is corrected, will the shipped shipments be cancelled? Can the warehouse receive it normally? In this regard, sellers have different opinions. Some people swear that there will be no problems, and some sellers remind that they will be canceled and may not be able to enter the warehouse.

In addition to waiting for storage capacity, sellers should also pay attention to the logistics deadline. Under normal circumstances, the logistics company will stop receiving goods around the 14th. "The last boat will be around the 15th, and our company will stop the shipment on the 14th. " A freight forwarder said. If Amazon relaxes the storage capacity after that and misses the last boat, it won't do much for sellers.

Another special situation is that the Matson overtime ship and Zim have been temporarily suspended recently.

Last week, Matson announced the 2023 Chinese New Year sailing schedule plan. During the Spring Festival, the sailing schedule of the CLX route will remain unchanged, and the CLX+ route will be suspended for 3 weeks during the Spring Festival (January 22, 29 and February 5. day). It predicts that during the holiday period, the volume of cargo will decrease, and one CLX route can meet the demand. CLX+ users can book CLX during this period until CLX+ resumes weekly services on February 12.

At the same time, the Zim ZEX route will also be suspended for 3 weeks during the Spring Festival (January 21, 28 and February 4) . Sellers need to make a stocking plan in advance to avoid stepping on the empty door.

However, even if you know that the shipping deadline is approaching, the seller’s shipment volume may not be enough for one shipment, and the cost of air freight is much higher, and there is a risk of out-of-stock products with low profits.And if Amazon can't

It is consoling that the price of sea freight, which has experienced a surge during the epidemic, is falling rapidly. Compared with last year, the freight cost of sellers has been greatly reduced, and this situation may continue until 2023.

Shipping prices are close to before the epidemic, what will happen in 2023?

On January 9, 2022, 109 container ships were docked off the coast of California, waiting in line to unload at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but a year later that number was almost zero.

Easing port traffic and collapsing demand, among other things, have brought about a huge reversal in supply and demand fundamentals, with freight rates plummeting from the all-time highs reached during the pandemic. According to Freightos, an online freight marketplace , the cost of shipping a 40-foot container from China to the West Coast of the United States is now $1,400, a 93% drop from the peak of $20,600 in September 2021, basically the same as before the outbreak of the pandemic in February 2020. Not only that , but the cost of other major routes is also falling .

( variation in cost of shipping 40ft container from China )

Some people in the industry believe that some freight rates are already lower than the cost price, and it is expected that the prices of some routes will rebound. Spot rates for a 40-foot container between Hong Kong and Los Angeles held at $1,400 as of mid-December , halting a seven-week slide , Drewry said . That's down from more than $8,500 a year ago and below the five-year pre-pandemic average of about $1,500. But the reality is that this rebound may be very short-lived.

Before the New Year's Day holiday, the demand for domestic sea transportation picked up slightly, and the freight rate rebounded. On January 6, the Shanghai Export Container Composite Freight Index released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange was 1061.14 points, down 4.2% from the previous period.

After the festival, the freight rates of most routes dropped. The supply and demand balance of European routes is not ideal, and the market freight rate has dropped slightly. On January 6, the freight rate (sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai Port to the basic European port market was US$1,050/TEU, a slight decrease of 2.6% from the previous period.

For North American routes, the fundamentals of supply and demand are weak, and the spot market booking prices have fallen. On January 6, the freight rates (sea freight and sea freight surcharges) for exports from Shanghai Port to the basic port markets of West America and East America were US$1,414/FEU and US$2,845/FEU, respectively, down 0.6% and 7.2% from the previous period.

Prices for the most volatile part of ocean freight are plummeting, industry experts said, according to Reuters. Spot rates, which account for 10% to 40% of ocean container traffic and are seen as a key indicator of the industry's health, have plummeted as a recession looms and the pandemic-induced U.S. import bubble bursts.

This situation may continue to ferment. Major carriers such as MSC are also expected to take delivery of hundreds of new container ships, exacerbating the risk as shrinking demand for cargo already oversupplies their existing ships.

Reports from some of the largest U.S. ports in November showed softer business from coast to coast. Loaded imports at the Port of Los Angeles in November fell 24% year-on-year, and total sales up to that time were down 7% from last year's record high; Loaded imports at the Port of Long Beach fell 28% year-on-year, with total volumes down 0.5%; Savannah Port In November, containerized imports fell by 7.6% year-on-year; year-to-date total sales volume increased by about 6%.

Against the background of the unfavorable outlook of the freight industry, shipping companies began to reduce voyages or postpone the delivery of new ships. Carriers such as Maersk said they would continue to support freight rates by canceling voyages.

At the same time, shipping companies began negotiating with shipyards, hoping to delay the delivery of new ships. They have also started to stop ordering new containers and return as much leased equipment as possible to ease the huge storage costs of the mountains of empty containers piling up in yards around the world.

However, the problem of excess containers is difficult to solve in a short time. According to data from Container xChange, an online shipping container platform , container yards will continue to backlog in the first quarter. As container inventory is further released to the market, the pressure on warehouses will increase in the coming months.

At the beginning of this year, the container industry hit a record high, and freight and charter rates reached a peak of about 5-6 times the level at the beginning of 2020. However, as trade volume and congestion eased, the industry experienced a sharp adjustment in the second half of the year. While charter rates are currently still well above 2020 levels, freight rates have returned to the levels at which 2020 began.

The container shipping industry has experienced an unprecedented boom during the pandemic. However , in 2023, sluggish demand and a sharp increase in the number of fleets will occur at the same time. For cross-border sellers, shipping costs may continue to remain low, or even further decrease compared with 2022, which is also a positive factor.