Ecommerce News Roundup: May Recap
Stay on top of Amazon selling with BQool, your go-to for the latest news, trends, and insights to help your business thrive.
May 1, 2024
Update to FedEx shipping methods on Amazon Buy Shipping
Amazon has updated two FedEx shipping methods on Amazon Buy Shippinwg. FedEx Ground Economy, formerly FedEx Smart Post, is now available and FedEx One Rate is more easily accessible.
FedEx Ground Economy is a shipping option for small and medium businesses to ship low-weight packages to residential addresses. Currently, FedEx Ground Economy is only for non-linked accounts and offers:
- Delivery of packages in 2 to 7 business days
- Domestic deliveries in the US with full residential shipping
- Deliveries 7 days a week (Sunday residential coverage for 80% of the US)
- Shipment of packages 1 to 70 lb and up to 130 inches (length plus girth)
- Twenty-four hour shipment visibility with FedEx tracking
While FedEx One Rate has already been available on Amazon Buy Shipping, it’s more accessible now. If your package dimensions are within the One Rate package type range, One Rate shipping options will be available for predictable shipping costs that do not require calculation.
With FedEx One Rate, you can:
- Select a package size from one of the flat rate boxes, envelopes, packs, and tubes offered by FedEx, or bring your own box.
- Provide the dimensions of your box and Amazon will calculate the volume into a One Rate package type (small, medium, large, or extra-large). Packages must be under 50 lb and envelopes must be under 10 lb.
- Use Amazon protection to be refunded for claims due to delivery issues when you ship on time.
You can now buy shipping labels for FedEx Ground Economy and One Rate on Amazon Buy Shipping through Seller Central, Shipping API V2, or certain multichannel shipping integrators.
For more information on FedEx shipping methods, go toFedEx shipping services and restrictions.
May 9, 2024
UPS® Ground Saver is Now Available with Buy Shipping
UPS® Ground Saver is now available on Amazon Buy Shipping. This shipping service is a reliable solution designed for residential deliveries.
You can buy shipping labels for UPS® Ground Saver on Amazon Buy Shipping through Seller Central, Shipping API v2, or select multichannel shipping integrators.
UPS® Ground Saver provides the following advantages:
- Delivers seven days a week.
- Is ideal for non-urgent residential packages.
- Allows you to deliver to PO boxes, US territories, and military addresses worldwide.
- Accepts packages up to a maximum size of 130 total inches. To learn more about how to calculate your package dimensions correctly, go to this UPS website.
If you use multichannel-order management tools or your own software connected to our APIs, you may be required to manually add UPS® Ground Saver as the shipping method to buy UPS® Ground Saver labels and automate order fulfillment with this shipping method.
For more information about UPS shipping methods, go to UPS shipping services and restrictions.
May 14, 2024
Updates to the Return Insights Dashboard and Returns Processing Fee Reminder
On June 1, 2024, the updated returns processing fee will go into effect for products with high return-rates (except apparel and shoes). This was announced as part of the 2024 US fee changes. Fee charges will occur after the close of each three-month period. For example, for returns of units shipped in June, the fee charge will be in September.
To help you better understand your returns, return rates, and identify actions you can take to limit your risk of incurring returns processing fees, Amazon has made improvements to the Return Insights dashboard on the FBA Returns page.
The Return Insights dashboard will now include the following insights:
- Number of returned units and return rate percentages used to calculate the fee
- Minimum return rate thresholds above which fees are charged
- Number of returned units above the threshold for which fees are charged
To access the Return Insights dashboard, go to the FBA Returns page.
The updated returns processing fee looks at product returns across a three-month period starting with the month the product shipped and ending two calendar months later. For example, for products shipped in June, returns will be tracked through June, July and August. The fee will only be charged if the total number of returns for the products shipped in that month exceeds the threshold set for the specific product’s fee category, which are now published on the Returns processing fee page. If the returns threshold is exceeded, the returns fee will apply to each returned unit above the threshold.
For products that ship less than 25 units in a month, the updated returns processing fee is not applied for that month. Additionally, for products enrolled in the New Selection Program, Amazon will waive the fee for the first 20 returned units that exceed the return rate threshold.
For detailed information on fee structure and rates, return rates calculation, thresholds, and exemptions, go to 2024 returns processing fee changes.
May 23, 2024
Brands can Now add Size Charts with New Self-Serve Tool
If you’re enrolled in Brand Registry, you can now easily add size charts to your products with our size chart self-service tool. All new and eligible brands are automatically enrolled to the tool upon registration to Brand Registry.
The size chart tool offers a range of convenient features including:
- Existing Amazon size chart refinement.
- Existing size chart templates that can be used for new charts.
- Ability to apply a size chart from a single product up to 1,000 ASINs across entire product types simultaneously.
- Receive real-time instructions to improve size chart accuracy.
- Enhance the relevance of your size charts for your products.
To access the tool, select Add size charts from the Catalog drop-down menu in Seller Central.
To learn more, go to Size chart self-serve tool.
May 27, 2024
Analyze Aging and Excess FBA Inventory with New Analytics Page
Amazon has launched a new FBA Inventory Age & Excess Analytics page with trends and key metrics to help you analyze your aging and excess inventory.
The FBA Inventory Age & Excess Analytics page:
- Provides a summarized view of how your aging inventory levels are trending over time
- Shows you how other metrics like FBA sales and aged inventory surcharge match up with your aging inventory
- Summarizes excess inventory recommendations and aged inventory surcharges
The page contains one year of historical data.
For more information, go to FBA Inventory Age & Excess Analytics
If you don’t have access, learn how to access the page by going to: Add permissions for FBA dashboard and FBA Analytics
Amazon monitors your feedback to improve our reporting and management tools in Seller Central. Click “Feedback” at the bottom left of the page to tell us what you think of the new FBA Inventory Age & Excess analytics page.
Leave a Reply