Shipping via Amazon MCF (Multi-Channel Fulfillment) is often used for convenience to send products stored in Amazon FBA to other sales channels as well. Overall, however, it is widely considered problematic and is frequently discussed within the relevant communities.
There are four main points of criticism:
A. Costs
Amazon charges per unit rather than per order. For an order with a single item in the cart, costs are still roughly comparable to other providers. However, from the second item onwards, it becomes significantly more expensive. Shopping carts with multiple items (which should ideally be the goal) are therefore highly unprofitable.
B. Speed
Amazon is extremely fast when it comes to Prime and FBA—at the expense of MCF/MCV speed. In this case, it can take several days before a package is even shipped.
C. Packaging
Amazon labels every package leaving its warehouse with its own branded tape.
So what do customers think when they purchase through another channel but receive a package from Amazon?
“Ah… next time I’ll just buy directly from Amazon!”
Customers from platforms like eBay may even feel slightly irritated.
D. Inserts
In some cases, packages may contain inserts. In the worst-case scenario, from whom? That’s right: your competitors—or Amazon itself, promoting its own product range.
Conclusion
Amazon’s costs for multi-channel fulfillment can be viewed here: https://services.amazon.de/programme/versand-durch….
Amazon’s own examples show base fees starting at €1.60 per unit (Servantful Fulfillment, for comparison, charges only €1.30). In return, Amazon is better positioned in terms of packaging and postage. However, the example calculation for shipping “non-media items” up to 2 kg shows a sample price of €4.80.
This price can also be matched by other providers. As mentioned, this applies to shipping a single item. As soon as a second item is added to the cart, shipping via Amazon becomes completely unprofitable. For oversized items, the calculation is even more straightforward.
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