Amazon is Doubling Ecommerce Webstore Fees in 2014

Melanie Williamson for Josic.com writes:  While Amazon webstores have enjoyed relatively low fees, this will soon change. In 2014, they will be raising their fees considerably after the first of the year. The monthly fee for webstores will be doubling. Additionally, the webstores that also take advantage of the Sell on Amazon program will have their current transaction fees doubled.
These increases reflect Amazon’s stability and driving force within e-commerce. While there may be some merchants that close down their webstore services, most will not due to the lucrative nature of the arrangement. Amazon can guarantee traffic.

Currently, the monthly fee for a webstore is $39.99. That will go up to $79 per month on February 4^th. Currently the transaction fee for webstores that also Sell on Amazon is 1%, and that will go up to 2% on February 4^th.

The new cost structure will eliminate the $39.99 monthly Pro Merchant fee. Now pro-merchants and webstores will both pay the $79.99 monthly fee. Webstore merchants will also be charged a 30-cent transaction fee plus a 2.9% fee on all transactions.

Amazon webstores have allowed companies like Fruit of the Loom and Marks & Spencer set up ecommerce-enabled stores with little to no effort. Amazon technology has everything set and ready to go for these companies. In addition to these larger merchants, many small businesses utilize Amazon webstores as their e-commerce platform.

The Amazon webstore program integrates the services of Fulfillment by Amazon and Checkout by Amazon to make the shopping experience easier for consumers. Additionally, merchants that sell their products through their own websites powered by the Webstore program and also sell their products directly on Amazon.

In addition to these fees, Amazon will be raising its FBA Fulfillment by Amazon services to merchants starting February 18, 2014. The exact amounts of these increases have not been disclosed yet; only that they are coming.