Amazon Temporarily Restricts Marketplace Sellers from Using FedEx Ground
Amazon notified SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime) Marketplace sellers that starting this week they will no longer be able to use FedEx Ground services to process shipments.
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Some sellers on its seller forum claim they were already being blocked, but Amazon sent out a revised email clarifying that FedEx Ground and FedEx Home service will become unavailable on Wednesday.
“Due to the delivery performance of FedEx Home and Ground ship methods, these ship methods will be unavailable in Buy Shipping for Prime shipments effective Wednesday 12/18 2PM EST (not Monday 12/16 2PM EST as communicated earlier). All orders taken until 12/18 at 2PM EST can continue to use FedEx Home and FedEx Ground ship methods.”
Amazon and FedEx in Rocky Relationship?
Earlier this year FedEx ditched Amazon by not extending its ground delivery contract, while still preserving some FedEx Express business.
There is no obvious tie between these two situations. However, it is curious that Amazon would single out FedEx in this manner when other courier services such as UPS modify their on-time delivery guarantees during this time and have had similar issues in prior years.
In a statement to CNBC, FedEx confirmed that some of its customers may be impacted by this Amazon block:
“While this decision affects a very small number of shippers, it limits the options for those small businesses on some of the highest demand shipping days in history, and may compromise their ability to meet customer demands and manage their businesses. FedEx Ground stands ready to support our customers and will continue to deliver record-breaking volume this holiday season.”
FedEx Express services are not impacted by this Amazon block. Presumably, after the holiday season is over, Amazon SFP sellers will be able to offer FedEx ground services again.
This situation highlights the importance of Amazon SFP sellers to maintain relationships with all courier companies as issues out of their control could impact sales during a busy shopping season.
READ MORE: Amazon Logistics Could Overtake Large Courier Companies
What do you think about Amazon blocking FedEx ground services?
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Richard Meldner
Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.
To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.