Prices are rising at Amazon. Monthly Prime membership costs went up a few days ago. Now, adding to the list, sellers in two of Amazon’s most popular categories will be facing some higher costs as well.
According to reports from Chain Store Age, seller fees for several categories under the heading of apparel and accessories will be increasing. Going forward, Amazon will be getting a larger percentage of third-party sales, according to additional reports in Business Insider.
Fees for apparel will be increasing from 15 percent to 17 percent; handbags and sunglasses will see fees increase from 15 percent to 18 percent. Notably, the increases will only apply to items with a purchase price of $75 or more. Items which cost under $75 will see their fees remain at 15 percent.
Fees on jewelry are also going up, with Amazon charging 20 percent on the first $250 in price — and 5 percent thereafter.
Some have theorized that the fee hike is a move to push third-party retail brands off the platform now that Amazon is a competitor with a private label line of its own. Others have noted this would be a strange move for Amazon — and likely an ineffective one, given Amazon’s strength as a marketplace for its third-party sellers.
As was mentioned previously, the decision comes a few days after Amazon announced prices for monthly access to its Prime services would be going up by nearly 20 percent for both regular consumers and students — from $10.99 to $12.99 and $5.49 to $6, respectively. The cost of annual membership, $99, remains unchanged.
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