Amazon drops intended merchants fee as an FTC lawsuit approaches

Amazon is scrapping a plan to charge merchants who do not use its shipping services an additional fee.

According to the media reports, this was stated regarding the merchants fee by the spokesperson of Amazon. He signaled that the Amazon was taking a cautious approach to operations amid mounting antitrust scrutiny.

According to media reports in August, Amazon planned to levy a new 2% tax on every transaction by third-party sellers that ship their own products beginning October 1, with the fee meant to protect the corporation from increasing costs.

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The spokesperson said while talking to a news agency, “We have decided not to impose this program fee after careful analysis in order to ensure that vendor sentiment over the fee does not hinder program participation.”

The change in Amazon’s intentions comes as the corporation faces a possible lawsuit from the US Federal Trade Commission. According to the article, the price would have extended to thousands of merchants who ship items through Seller Fulfilled Prime – Amazon’s program that ensures quick product delivery – even though the corporation does not handle the shipping directly.

The FTC is preparing to sue Amazon later this month after the corporation refused to make concessions to settle antitrust accusations. During the Trump administration, the FTC began investigating the corporation, as it did other large tech companies. Amazon has been chastised for reportedly prioritizing its own products over those of third-party retailers on its site.