Buying from Amazon? Several products on platform to become costlier from April 7

Amazon has said that it is tweaking its seller fee for several categories and products from April 7. It means that several items sold on the online platform will see an increase in prices, Moneycontrol reported.Every time an item is purchased on Amazon, the seller pays a free to the company, which includes charges for inventory storage, technology, shipping, returns and a seller fee. According to an Amazon notification, this revised seller fee structure encompasses tweaks in several categories of products, the long-term storage and refund fees. The fee hikes do not include 18 per cent goods and services tax (GST). ALSO READ: Burglar disguises himself as Amazon worker, steals $35,000 in NYC robbery spree
As per the Moneycontrol report, home improvement products saw an increase in seller fee from nine per cent to 13.5 per cent. The luxury beauty items reported an increase in seller fee from five per cent to a tiered system that goes up to 10 per cent. The products in sleepwear category have witnessed an increase in seller fee from 11-15 per cent to 13.5-19 per cent. On the other hand, product categories including flip flops (10-12.5 per cent to 13-15 per cent) and musical instruments (7.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent) saw a hike in seller fees.
However, Amazon cut seller fees for inverter and batteries (5-5.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent), baby apparel (11-21 per cent to 11-20 per cent) and other products. An Amazon spokesperson told the website that the fee revision took into account factors including interest rates, operational costs, inflation etc.
The Amazon spokesperson said that the e-commerce giant considers seller fees and incentives as long-term levers that will help in sustaining a robust thriving marketplace and are focused on digitising small and medium businesses in the country.
Amazon added that the changes in seller fees reflect the company’s “commitment to make Amazon (India) one of the most preferred marketplaces for selling in India and creating right choices for sellers to grow efficiently”.
According to the report, the increase in seller fee means that big brands like Mamaearth, boAt and others who get a bulk of sales from marketplaces including Amazon will be subject to this new fee.