Amazon will reduce logistics fees for all low-cost products in the USA

Amazon announced it would reduce logistics fees for all low-cost products inside the USA. To do so,  Amazon will eliminate the 'Small and Light' program that sellers have been using for particular items. 

In an announcement to sellers, the company stated that "offering lower rates for low-cost products has helped improve selection for customers," highlighting other improvements such as faster delivery.

"With this change, we will close the Small and Light program in the United States effective August 29 and the new low-cost FBA rates will go into effect. Until then, items enrolled in Small and Light will continue to be charged at the current rates. New product enrollment in the program will end after July 17," stressed the company, which also announced that "any eligible items will automatically receive the low-cost rates and will not be subject to the higher FBA vacation 'peak' rates that will apply from October 15, 2023 through January 14, 2024."

Amazon's new rates will vary according to weight 

At this point, Amazon has yet to detail whether these rates will vary according to the weight of the product, but with this change, the company aims to encourage the sale of low-cost products, as well as to improve their delivery.

Some sellers have expressed dissatisfaction with the rate change, as Amazon FBA Small and Light currently offers lower rates for items priced under $12.00: "The price should have increased from $11.99 to $12.99, not gone backward," said one seller. Once it goes into effect, sellers will only be able to choose between two types of logistics rates: standard for items over $10 and low cost for items priced under $10.

FTC lawsuit continues to push Amazon into a legal battle 

The US Federal Trade Commission has sued Amazon for a years-long effort to enroll consumers without consent into its paid subscription program, Amazon Prime, and making it hard for them to cancel.

The FTC, the US agency charged with consumer protection, filed a federal lawsuit in Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered, alleging that the tech behemoth “ knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime” through a secret project internally called “Iliad”.

The lawsuit marks the first time the agency has brought Amazon to court since its chair, Lina Khan, took the helm in 2021. Khan, a former antitrust scholar, has been widely expected to take a harder line on tech firms that have for years enjoyed unabated growth and little regulation.

In its complaint, the FTC said Amazon used “manipulative, coercive or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions”.