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Can no longer use First Class Mail for SFP orders
Changes to USPS First Class Package Service® for Seller Fulfilled Prime orders
Apr 26, 2018
Starting May 1, 2018, USPS First Class Package Service® ship method will no longer be available in Buy Shipping Services for Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) Premium orders (One-day and Two-day orders). You can still use USPS First Class Package Service® to ship your standard SFP orders.
We are taking this action to maintain the Prime delivery promise to our customers. We will continue to work with USPS to ensure that First Class Package Service® can meet the Prime delivery promise, and we will notify you when it is available again for SFP premium orders.
220 replies
Seller_DTrL5Hq1wcVfA
I’m very concerned about how this will effect my business. I guess I need to consider FBA
Seller_sfOOHmdamf1rn
This is a potential disaster for us. It’s key to our business to squeeze a modest profit on smaller orders. Not in a position to raise prices to offset higher shipping costs, unfortunately.
Seller_4iKglXa3AdHk2
Amazon wants to be the low price leader but also wants fast shipping. They do not go hand in hand. First class mail might not always make it on time but it is usually fast enough and pretty reliable we have found.
Seller_gRqkURGXViRYG
priority express is the only successful way to deliver sfp orders on time anyways lol
Seller_AUzuM3OtTC6nd
The majority of Handmade Amazon vendors will no longer be able to use any Prime in my opinion. Our profit margins are so low now - competing against internationl cheap goods. An example is a product I sell for $40 and if it sells 2nd Day it costs me over 50% of my selling price for Second Day Shipping. Why isn’t Amazon taking up some of the cost if they are demanding it? Prime is not for me.
Seller_piL7iNoHXIzZw
I’ll bet anyone $1.00 that Amazon themselves continue to use USPS First Class on their prime shipments. I receive items “sold and shipped by Amazon” by USPS first class all the time.
Seller_oEw5wUNHgJxxP
Sad, It was going so well for us. We have not had one single First Class Package arrive late in many hundreds of shipments. It is as much about timing and knowing when not to use it as it is the service.
We did have one Priority Package arrive 2 days late. That was the only late shipment we have ever had. That was in FL and we often see issues with the USPS in that state.
Let’s hope this slaps the USPS up side the head, while we will not say how much here, our shipments through USPS have increased significantly since offering SFP.
Seller_etzuR2VWGFKtX
I don’t use SFP any more than I would use FBA. I put some thought into the SFP some years back and what I realized is that to be able to take advantage of Prime, people pay $99 or whatever the price is these days to Amazon and so Amazon has that money in its kitty toward postage. However, 3P sellers trying to do SFP don’t get anything from that $99 kitty toward their postage for these packages. Doesn’t make math sense in my mind.
Seller_9t8tzdrRugULw
This really blows. FIrst Class for SFP really worked out well for us. As someone else mentioned, it wouldn’t work all the time but if you knew when to use it it was great. My Premium shipping metrics never suffered with it and to this day remain well above what Amazon requires.
Maybe Amazon will be more persmissive where it allows Priority for SFP instead but I kind of doubt that.
Seller_7flVwCul7ouOO
OK this one is just over the top. We were invited into Seller Fulfilled Prime under certain terms. One of them being USPS First Class available on certain days. So we set up a system to run this way and now… poof… gone. This is a terrible move for several reasons.:
- You have effectively removed lower priced items from SFP. You cannot get viable profit shipping ten dollar items without First Class, Period.
- How many times have we gotten “Prime” shipments from Amazon themselves that did not meet the two day window. Plenty!
- How many FBA “Prime” returns did we give in December for “item arrived late”? Dozens.
- How many returns have we given on SFP for “item Arrived late”? ZERO
- At the same time as this Amazon sends out daily e-mails and little notes about this item “overstocked” in FBA or the new FBA storage metric! Plus, all of our FBA shipments are split into three ridiculously ineffective shipments. Yesterday we shipped a 300 item FBA shipment and just 8 (eight!) of them needed to go to one certain warehouse, (why)? All of this as well as raising storage fees through the roof!
Someone from Amazon please tell me how we’re supposed to win here???
Sure, we have slow moving inventory, so with SFP we had no problem just storing it here. Everyone wins, the customer has access to our products, amazon doesn’t need to store it, we still make our sales. EVERYONE WINS. Now, with now SFP USPS EVERYONE LOSES! Yes, even you Amazon. EVERYONE LOSES!
Now, we have no choice but to load up FBA again. Pay higher storage fees.
A year ago I would not have cared about this. But in that years time Amazon invited us to SFP (under certain terms), Amazon jacked storage fees sky high, and then Amazon started splitting our FBA shipments. They used to all go to one warehouse.
Instead of disabling USPS First Class why not modify the SFP available items to read “2 to 3 day Prime Shipping”? Then it is the customers choice. If they don’t like those terms they can buy from someone else? Wouldn’t that fix the whole issue?? I know, I know, way to easy.
Again, someone from Amazon please let me know how we’re supposed to win here???
Perhaps just assume the fetal position and take it???
SO FRUSTRATED!!!
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