Amazon Makes It Harder for Sellers to Avoid Shipping Service
- New delivery rule could prompt merchants to raise their prices
- Seller services generated $18.2 billion during second quarter
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
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Amazon.com Inc. plans to make it harder for merchants to ship products themselves, meaning they’ll be more likely to pay the company to handle the task.
New shipping performance requirements, announced in an email to merchants Tuesday, will require third-party sellers to make deliveries on Saturdays and meet new one- and two-day delivery pledges starting in February. If the merchants fail to meet the targets, they risk losing a coveted Prime fast-shipping badge that influences which products shoppers buy.