As a small business selling on Amazon, the recent fivefold increase in closing fees for self-ship has left us with little choice but to switch to the Easy Ship program, with Prime enabled. Unfortunately, the transition has not been smooth. The logistics operations at our location are marked by inefficiencies and lack of coordination, leading to a noticeable rise in customer rejections and last-minute cancellations after shipments have been dispatched.
These issues are creating significant operational and financial strain. We are incurring recurring losses due to wasted premium packaging materials and lost time spent meeting strict Prime shipping cut-offs. The platform's current policies do not offer adequate safeguards or compensation mechanisms for sellers when orders are rejected or canceled post-dispatch, despite it being a growing problem.
Additionally, the quality of seller support continues to be subpar. Many of the support agents appear to be inadequately trained, often providing irrelevant responses or prematurely closing cases without resolution. This makes it increasingly difficult for small sellers to find timely and effective assistance when facing genuine issues.
Another area of concern is the unethical conduct observed among some members of Amazon’s Service Provider Network (SPN). There is growing evidence that certain SPNs are involved in generating fake orders and deliberately posting negative reviews or seller feedback—tactics that directly damage seller credibility and violate the spirit of fair competition. This issue remains largely unaddressed and contributes further to the vulnerability of small sellers on the platform.
It is disheartening to see that while Amazon promotes zero referral fees in certain categories, the concurrent steep rise in other charges like closing fees has offset any actual benefit, particularly impacting smaller sellers. The absence of fair return and cancellation policies, coupled with increasing operational costs and unethical practices in the ecosystem, is turning the platform into a financially unsustainable model for many of us.
We urge Amazon India to review these concerns seriously and implement balanced policies that protect sellers’ interests, ensure ethical conduct across service partners, and provide a more reliable support system. Only then can sellers truly feel secure and valued on the platform.