Amazon shoppers were a little peeved this week when Amazon announced it was raising Amazon Prime monthly fees from $10.99 to $12.99 a month. Now it looks like the e-commerce giant is extending the price increase to apparel and accessories sellers, too.
According to Business Insider, Amazon raised the percentage of the sale it takes from third-party sellers of clothing, accessories, handbags and sunglasses. The company raised the fee for clothing and accessories from 15 to 17 percent, and handbags and sunglasses from 15 to 18 percent. Items under $75 will still be charged 15 percent.
Business Insider pointed out that it looks like the fee is limited to apparel and accessories, which is notable given that this is Amazon’s chief area of growth. With apparel now carrying the heftiest fees, it will be interesting to see if this affects the market.
The reasoning behind Amazon’s move isn’t clear. Perhaps the company is trying to deter third-party sellers to make way for its own apparel offerings. Or maybe it simply wants to make more profits off third-party sellers, and it knows the increased fees won’t dissuade sellers.
It will be interesting to see if this move changes anything for Amazon’s apparel business, but it definitely seems to signal something.
