Amazon postage not enough

travelodger

I sell books on Amazon's "sell yours here" and they always give me exactly £2.80 for postage (they charge the buyer then pass it on to me). Trouble is, all the books I send are slightly too thick to be counted as "large letter" and need to go as a small parcel. The cheapest 2nd class postage is £3.50. So I lose 70p every time (as well as the percentage commission Amazon takes from me).

Do I have to put up with this or will Amazon budge if I pursue it with them? 

On-the-coast

No. Surely you just put up your prices by 70p?

Exodi

travelodger said:

Do I have to put up with this or will Amazon budge if I pursue it with them? 

As someone that sells significant volumes of goods on both Vendor Central and Seller Central in a commercial capacity, I'd suggest that Amazon will not budge.

You will not 'pursue it with them', you'll be sent in circles by different case handlers until you become frustrated and give up. They will not change their terms for you and while I'd usually suggest making a thread on the seller forums, it's probably a waste of time as this issue has been raised ad nauseum.

If you are not making an acceptable level of profit, just increase the selling price. Presumably your competition faces the same dilemma, so at least the playing field is level.

On-the-coast said:

No. Surely you just put up your prices by 70p?

Amazon charges some fees (e.g. referral fee) based on the selling price so it would be a bit more than 70p as fees would increase, but I agree with your general point.

soolin

I used to sell books on Amazon, many years ago- this was a known issue even then. As others have said you need to account for all the Amazon fees and postage in your listing price. As a small seller that means a lot of books are just not competitive to sell against the big mega sellers. 

travelodger

Thanks everyone, I will go and put my prices up by 70p. 

Special thanks to Exodi for saving me hours by letting me know the result of any potential complaint.

soolin

travelodger said:

Thanks everyone, I will go and put my prices up by 70p. 

Special thanks to Exodi for saving me hours by letting me know the result of any potential complaint.

Have you also accounted for all the fees as if you are a low seller and don't pay the monthly subscription the fees can be quite high.

I believe this is still current

Amazon FBA Calculator | Check Fees & Profits for UK Sellers