Amazon Small and Light fee change

Some time ago, Amazon introduced the “Small andLight” program for its fulfillment service (FBA). This enables retailers to ship particularly small goods cost-effectively.

However, Amazon has now announced that it will introduce a new fee structure from September 26, 2023.

This change means that low-priced items up to a value of 11€ will in future be automatically sent via the faster “Fulfilled by Amazon” delivery service.

Since this price limit is in line with the current “Small and Light” threshold, the old “Small and Light” program will be discontinued on September 26, 2023.

Cost structure as of September 26, 2023:

The specific new model, which will be introduced across Europe from September 26, 2023, provides that products up to the specified price limit will in future be charged with the “Dispatch by Amazon for low-priced items” fee.

The specific price limits are:

11€ for Germany

12€ for Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands

£10 for Great Britain

140sk for Sweden

55 zł for Poland

All items that are stored via the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program and are within these limits are automatically shipped via the new “Small and Light” program.

Pan-EU or EFN?

Depending on the dimensions of the goods, shipping costs of between 1.45 euros and 2.87 euros are charged — at least if you participate in the Pan-EUFBA program.

On the other hand, retailers who store their goods exclusively within a specific EU country (European Fulfillment Network, EFN) must be prepared for a significantly higher price list.

For goods that are stored exclusively in Germany and are shipped via “Dispatch by Amazon”, an additional fee of 0.26 euros is due. The fee varies for other EU countries.

This additional fee applies to all shipments that are shipped via “Fulfilment by Amazon,” regardless of whether they are low-priced items or not.

For many retailers, storage in the Czech Republic and Poland could therefore be a significant added value.

Fees are not getting cheaper for all retailers

In general, this change is presented as a positive innovation, as the “Shipping by Amazon” advertised as faster is becoming available to more retailers.

Those who have not previously used “Small andLight” or may not have been qualified for it could now benefit from more favourable conditions.

The situation is different for retailers who have already used the “Small and Light” program.

Here, it may happen that the new prices are slightly higher, as our example shows:

A small envelope of up to 80 grams measuring 20 x 15 x 1 centimeter has so far cost 1.19 euros for “Small and Light” — 1.45 euros will be estimated for the same shipment in the future.

On the other hand, it will be cheaper for a small package of up to 400 grams measuring 35 x 23 x 12 centimeters: Instead of the previous 3.11 euros, this will soon cost only 2.87 euros.

Voices from our retailers:

So far, the voices have been positive, many retailers are benefiting from the innovation and can reduce their prices or make more profit thanks to cheaper FBA costs.

As is almost always the case with innovations from Amazon, there will also be a disadvantage for some retailers.

If possible, retailers should switch to other packaging sizes to avoid higher fees.