Amazon India introduces ₹5 marketplace fee on all orders
What's the story
Amazon India has introduced a new flat marketplace fee of ₹5 on every customer order.
The charge, which is inclusive of all taxes, is aimed at covering the platform's operational costs while continuing to offer a wide variety of products from millions of sellers.
"This flat fee—applicable to all customers—supports Amazon's commitment to provide a seamless and valuable shopping experience," said the company in a blog post.
Change in strategy
Fee is similar to what Zomato, Swiggy charge
The introduction of this new fee marks a major change in Amazon's pricing structure for Indian customers, including Prime members.
The move is similar to what food delivery apps Zomato and Swiggy have been doing for some time now.
The marketplace fee will be applied on every order placed on Amazon.in and will be shown as a separate line item during checkout to ensure transparency for customers.
Fee exceptions
Exemptions to the new charge
Not every transaction will be subject to this new fee. Exemptions include gift card purchases (physical and digital), orders via Amazon Business, Bazaar, Amazon Now, and Amazon Fresh.
Digital services such as recharges, bill payments, ticket bookings and subscriptions are also exempt from the charge.
The fee won't be visible on Pay on Delivery orders unless future policy updates say otherwise.
Uniform charge
Fee applicable to all users, including Prime members
The marketplace fee is applicable to all users, including Prime members.
This means that even those who have paid for a Prime membership will have to pay this new charge on their orders.
The company's decision to apply the fee uniformly across all customers has drawn mixed reactions from users, especially those who are paid subscribers.
Refund guidelines
Fee refund policy explained
Amazon has also detailed its refund policy around the new marketplace fee.
If an order is fully canceled before shipping, the fee will be fully refunded. In case of a partial cancelation before shipping, the fee will be refunded proportionally.
However, if a return is made after delivery, no refund of the fee will be given even for full returns.