News Roundup: Biggest FBA Fee Increase EVER, German tax authorities vs. Chinese Sellers
From Amazon announcing it’s biggest FBA fee increase ever to German tax authorities freezing accounts of Chinese sellers–the new year for ecommerce sellers is definitely in for a very busy start.
This is the EcomCrew News Roundup, where we gather Amazon news and industry updates so ecommerce sellers like you can stay in the loop.
Amazon Increases FBA Fees…again.
First on our list is yet again another Amazon FBA fee increase. While the holidays bring joy to many, it also strikes terror to the hearts of Amazon sellers, as it’s usually the time when Amazon announces changes to its FBA pricing. Terror struck indeed as Amazon announced their biggest FBA fee increase EVER, which will be effective February 22nd. Check out Dave’s article to find out how these changes will affect your business.
On the bright side, Amazon is easing up their suspension protocol with “pre-POA”
While we’re on the subject of terror, there’s nothing more petrifying for an Amazon seller than account suspension. Onto the bright side of things though, Amazon is now easing up on their account suspension protocol with something it calls a “pre POA”. Previously, when a seller gets suspended, their selling rights would be revoked immediately and they have the option of submitting a POA or Plan of Action while Amazon reviews their case. Thanks to a new change, Amazon is now asking sellers to submit a POA before a suspension occurs, allowing sellers to correct their mistakes before serious action is taken against their account.
German tax authorities target Chinese online sellers
Speaking of suspension, German tax investigators closed in on about a hundred Chinese Amazon sellers, suspending accounts and seizing funds and inventory, on the grounds of failing to pay sales taxes. A German taxpayers’ union said that the country could be losing out on 1 billion euros a year because retailers from China and other non-EU states fail to pay taxes. This is truly a brute-force approach to collecting sales taxes, which really makes us think in our own confusing battle with sales taxes in the US.
In other news: Meltdown and Spectre
In other news, the tech community is alive with the sound of panic as researchers revealed two bombshell bugs found in the design of CPUs that could make it possible for potential hackers to steal sensitive and private information from individuals and businesses. These vulnerabilities are embedded on the very basic building blocks of the majority of devices we use today and we’ve seen big tech companies scramble, rolling out updates in an attempt to mitigate the risk. We have not heard of the bugs being exploited though; and while exploits are difficult to carry out, it wouldn’t hurt to update your system just to be on the safe side.
Well, those are some of the most significant ecommerce updates for the first few days of 2018. Now, on to Ecomcrew updates.
EcomCrew Updates
We recently posted a list of our most popular blog posts of 2017, so make sure to check it out to know what advice most people are looking for when building an ecommerce business.
Dave also wrote a very detailed mega guide on how to start importing from China. It is packed with information and is a great read when you want to put up your own ecommerce business but have no idea where to start.
New Podcast Episodes
We devoted the last podcast episode of 2017 to 2018 ecommerce predictions. It’s always fun to make these predictions and then revisit them by the end of 2018 to see how many of them actually happened. Head over to ecomcrew.com/107 to check out our predictions.
Of course, with predictions come our 2018 goals. We truly think everyone should start setting goals at the beginning of the year since having clear and sharp goals keeps you from getting distracted by meaningless pursuits. Goal-setting helps you focus your time, energy and resources on the things that truly matter. Mike talked about his goals for this year on a recent podcast. Check out ecomcrew.com/109. How about you? What are your goals for this year? Feel free to share in the comments below.
That’s it for this week’s roundup. Don’t forget to check the description for the links and head over to EcomCrew.com for all your ecommerce business advice and updates. Until the next one, happy selling!
