Amazon sellers, who account for more than 60% of goods sold on the online marketplace, are reportedly protesting to voice concerns over the company’s latest policy changes. According to a CNBC report, hundreds of sellers from the Million Dollar Sellers (MDS) community are staging a 24-hour boycott of Amazon’s advertising platform. These sellers have alleged that the e-commerce giant’s new policies on advertising payments and additional fees are affecting their businesses. This comes after the company revised how it disburses seller earnings and collects ad charges and even introduced a 3.5% fuel surcharge linked to rising oil prices amid the conflict in West Asia.“Sellers have complained for years, but this feels different. The reason is simple: this is no longer just about irritation. It is about cash extraction,” Eugene Khayman, the co-founder of MDS, told CNBC. The report claims that several sellers have said that these changes are adding strain to their businesses at a time when they are already dealing with the impact of import tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump as well as higher energy costs. The combined pressures are forcing merchants to either raise prices for consumers or absorb the additional costs, the report adds.
What Amazon sellers said about their recent problems and how the company responded
In a statement to CNBC, Amazon seller Michael Patrón said, “We’re running out of f***ing margin. I think that’s why it keeps getting more and more frustrating.” Amazon responded, saying that the changes affect only a “a small subset of sellers” and are in line with how things are already done, the report noted. The company also said the fuel surcharge is meant to offset rising oil and logistics costs. But sellers have claimed that these changes could make it harder to get cash, and some are worried that prices will rise or that they won’t be able to pay their employees and suppliers. Moreover, Amazon recently decided to take ad costs directly out of seller earnings, but they pushed the change back to August 1 after hearing from sellers. The report says the sellers say the change could hurt “cash flow management,” even though Amazon says it would help.“The majority of sellers… get 3% cash back on their ad spend… and they’re taking away that ability,” Khayman added, highlighting that many sellers rely on credit card rewards tied to ad spending.Apart from this, Amazon’s new seller policies include delaying payouts until 7 days after delivery, rather than at the time of shipment. Amazon said most sellers have used similar payout timelines since 2016 and that the policy allows time for returns and claims.In a LinkedIn post responding to Amazon’s new policies, Adam Runquist, founder of Heist Labs, a company that acquires e-commerce brands, wrote, “Combined with the payout delays, this creates MAJOR cash flow crunch.”
