- Amazon has answered some of its third-party sellers most burning questions about the fees it will not be charging them during the COVID-19 crises.
- Amazon is telling sellers that it is waiving a list of fees after its policy barred restocking of non-essential products due to the COVID-19 crises.
- The ban on non-essential products began on March 16 and was to last through April 5. But Amazon didn't immediately answer sellers' questions on things like their loan payments or stocking fees.
- The ban has not been entirely lifted, but on March 27, the company began to allow non-essential stock back on its shelves on a case-by-base basis.
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Amazon has told its millions of third-party resellers that it would waive many of the fees it normally charges them.
This comes on the heels of a policy the company announced last month, restricting its warehouses to restock only essential items during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon shocked millions of its third-party sellers when it announced the ban, which it said would continue until at least April 5, sellers told Business Insider.
While sellers understood the need to prioritize essential items during this unprecedented global crisis, they told Business Insider that they weren't thrilled with the way Amazon executed its ban: as a surprise announcement that gave no guidance on if sellers remained on the hook to pay all the fees Amazon normally charges them, some said.
In the past few days the company has finally answered these questions and shared those answers with Business Insider.
It has waived two weeks of inventory storage fees in March, as well as long-term storage fees, and fees associated with white glove services like its Strategic Account Services.
It has waived its Launchpad program fees in April, too. Launchpad is a program for products that already have some buzz such as from crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or because they are backed by venture capitalists. Sellers in this program get some extra visibility and Amazon tacks on an extra 5% to its normal referral fees, Smallbiztrends reports.
The company has also paused Amazon Lending loan repayments from March 26 until April 30. As we previously reported, this was a big question for sellers in the first few days after the ban was announced. Amazon Lending is a revolving credit account based on sales data. Sellers can borrow money to pay their manufacturers and then pay Amazon back, often biweekly, out of sales receipts.
Amazon also said that it relaxed its delivery and fulfillment policies for sellers who experienced supply chain issues due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. This was another area of great concern. It can take years for an Amazon seller to build its reputation so that its products shows up in search results. If a seller is out of stock, that will change the seller's search results placement, not just immediately, but in the long term.
As for the complaints that Amazon doesn't communicate fast enough or thorough enough with sellers about policy changes, that's a long-standing gripe. "Amazon sellers get stuff thrown at them all the time," seller Carlee Peszko previously told Business Insider.
However, Amazon said that it had created a page in its Seller Central site where it is sharing the latest news related to its COVID-19 policies.
As of March 27, Amazon began allowing more non-essential products to be sent to its warehouses on a case-by-case, item-by-item basis.
Although it has not yet fully lifted the ban, some industry observers tell Business Insider that it is on track to slowly get back to a more a normal stocking policy in as fast a few weeks.
Here's the full statement that Amazon sent:
"We understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on many of our selling partners, and appreciate their understanding as we implement extensive health and safety measures across our network and focus our available capacity on high-priority products that customers need and want at this time. We know this is a change for our selling partners and are working hard to help them during this difficult time, including waiving certain fees, pausing loan repayments, providing regular updates and guidance via direct communication channels, and relaxing our policies around shipping-related performance metrics to mitigate impact on their account health.
As we begin to selectively bring in more products to our fulfillment centers while maintaining health and safety measures, we have launched new tools for sellers to check which products are eligible on an item-by-item basis.
We are also hiring over 100,000 positions across the U.S. to help us meet growing demand from people who need critical supplies and assist employees in our fulfillment centers."
Are you an Amazon insider with insight to share? Contact Julie Bort via email at jbort@businessinsider.com or on encrypted chat app Signal at (970) 430-6112 (no PR inquiries, please). Open DMs on Twitter @Julie188.
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