Amazon Sellers Hit With Fuel, Inflation Surcharges: How Much More Will It Cost?

It will now cost Amazon’s (AMZN) third-party sellers more to use the e-commerce giant’s marketplace platform to sell their products to consumers as they have been hit with a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge.

The fee – a first from Amazon – is part of an effort to mitigate surging inflation caused by spiking gas prices and is on top of the sellers existing fulfillment fees, Fox News reported.

In an email to sellers obtained by Fox News, Amazon wrote, “Like many, we have experienced significant cost increases and absorbed them, wherever possible, to reduce the impact on our selling partners. When we did increase fees, we were focused on addressing permanent costs and ensuring our fees were competitive with those charged by other service providers."

“In 2022, we expected a return to normalcy as COVID-19 restrictions around the world eased, but fuel and inflation have presented further challenges. It is still unclear if these inflationary costs will go up or down, or for how long they will persist.”

The new fee will only apply to sellers that decide to take advantage of Amazon’s fulfillment services, which include storing, packing, and shipping products, company spokesperson Patrick Graham told CNN.

Sellers will see the new charge take effect on April 28, costing 24 cents per unit, which added to their existing fees will total $2.52 per unit, according to Fox News.

It was unclear at the time of writing how the new fees will impact consumers who buy from Amazon as impacted sellers may pass on the expense to buyers, raising the total cost of products on the site.

According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, supplier prices jumped 11.2% in March – the largest increase on record since 2010, while consumer prices rose 8.5% year-over-year in March – the highest inflation increase in four decades.

The national average gas price, while dropping in recent weeks, was at $4.074 on Thursday, according to American Automobile Association (AAA).

Amazon is not the only company that has passed on a fuel surcharge. Uber and Lyft pushed a fuel surcharge to riders to help drivers, which was highly criticized by passengers. Airlines have also raised the price of fares to offset inflation and fuel costs.

As of Thursday premarket hours, shares of Amazon were trading at $3,114.03, up $3.21 or 0.10%.