Is Amazon Prime Saving Delivery Charges? Amazon Seller Comments with inside details.
Disclaimer: Amazon is used as a reference only, the issue of delivery charges is omnipresent in the ecommerce world. Treat the below article as an education material only.
On Amazon marketplace, the delivery charges or logistics charges are unavoidable because the amazon products are to be delivered to the customer by Amazon itself.
Amazon charges for the delivery directly and indirectly
Amazon marketplace makes money from both sides.
- Money from Customers who buy on Amazon
- Money from Sellers who sell on Amazon
This is when things turn awry for me. As a seller I pay delivery charges based on multiple factors like location of the seller and how far the location is relative to the seller location. As a seller I have no visibility on if the customer is a prime member or not. Neither any discounts on prime are shown to me. As a seller, I have to factor in the delivery charges in the MRP or collect separate delivery fees. As a amazon prime member if I buy the product, I am already paying for the delivery charge which is factored into the pricing by the seller.
If a non amazon prime member does the purchase below the threshold, then the amazon customer has to pay delivery charges twice because the seller has already factored in, the delivery charges along with the cost price and profit.
But Amazon prime members are not really given any "Free Delivery" as promised, its just a waive off of an platform charge associated with Amazon. The 1499 per year is not a discount voucher for delivery charges. In fact, you might have noticed that some products are less than 50 INR in physical stores like pens but on Amazon they are 150Rs etc because of the delivery charges.
Overall the delivery charges are unavoidable on any ecommerce platform and diminishes the value of the sales if the shopper is not careful. To be careful, the shopper need to be aware of the prices in the real world.
Summary
- Both Amazon Prime and Non Prime members bear the shipping charges directly and indirectly
- As a online shopper, think of the value of the shopping transaction before you close the purchase along with myriad other quality and other concerns.
Price is what you pay, value is what you get.