Important Updates to Seller Fulfilled Prime (UK)
What do you all make of this then???
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Hello,
We are always listening to customers, and Prime members consistently tell us they want free and fast shipping. That is why Amazon is making significant investments in our fulfilment and transportation capabilities to make Prime faster. As we continue to make Amazon Prime better for customers, we want to continue improving Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) as well.
We know that as a seller enroled in SFP, you work hard every day to provide customers with a delightful shopping experience. Despite these good intentions, even before COVID-19 impacted deliveries, a large part of SFP offers did not meet the two-day or faster delivery promise that our customers expect, in part because of order cut-off times. To improve customer experience, we are making the following changes to this programme:
• Starting June 30, 2021, the required cut-off time to maintain eligibility for SFP will be later. The minimum carrier pickup time on weekdays will be 16:30, which will set your order cut-off time to 16:00. A later order cut-off means more customers shopping on the store will see your offers with faster delivery available. You can set your cut-off time in Order Fulfilment Settings under “Fulfilment Settings for Shipping Region Automation” (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/sbr/order-fulfillment/)
• Starting June 30, 2021, you will also be required to use ship methods that support pickups on at least one weekend day (Saturday or Sunday) to maintain eligibility for SFP. Shipping on weekends provides customers with a more consistent delivery experience throughout the week. You can set a different order cut-off time on weekends vs on weekdays. You can set your weekend shipping preferences in Order Fulfilment Settings (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/sbr/order-fulfillment/)
• While you set your order cut-off time in Seller Central, you must work with your SFP carrier(s) to ensure they will arrive for parcel pickup at an appropriate time after you process your orders. You can find instructions on how to contact your SFP carrier here : (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/G38JK8T9E3EMCSPP)
• To help you provide faster delivery promises and increase your Prime coverage, we have also launched multi-warehouse functionality. This feature allows you to select up to 10 ship-from addresses in your Prime shipping template to ensure the delivery promise customers see reflects your warehouse locations (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/202188870)
We recognise these changes are meaningful. We want to make sure you have time to determine how these changes affect your business and to make any adjustments you may need in conjunction with your carrier, which is why these new requirements will not take effect before June. If you already meet these requirements, nothing changes. If you choose not to meet these new program requirements, you are welcome to continue offering your products through our Merchant Fulfilled Network or Fulfilment by Amazon.
You and SFP are important to Amazon and our customers, and we will continue innovating with tools and offerings that help deliver a more compelling experience. To help you navigate these changes, we have also launched a guide in Seller Central < https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/G38JK8T9E3EMCSPP > with details, examples and answers to your questions, and set up a dedicated support team, which you can contact at < uk-sfp-feedback@amazon.com >.
The Seller Fulfilled Prime team
Seller_JemplaY7Dzuol
I don’t do SFP but really feel for all those sellers that do, No more Royal Mail, No more time off and plenty more stress
Seller_wF4eeUMzknFNM
Just had the email over here . I think they are ending SFP in a backward manner .
Seller_KKcTTZzy6Jd6Q
Well you can tell how excited people are about this email… I came here to post about it and there’s already multiple threads up…
Starting June 30, 2021, you will also be required to use ship methods that support pickups on at least one weekend day (Saturday or Sunday) to maintain eligibility for SFP.
Starting June 30th we can’t continue to use SFP then… since we can’t work at weekends due to religious reasons.
Even without the weekend requirements… Our loading bay is operated by a 3rd party, it closes at 4:50pm sharp with absolutely no exceptions.
Our current 2:30pm pickup quite often turns up between 3 and 4pm…
they would need to be able to turn up exactly on time every single day, load all our stuff (and there are other companies in the same building which use SFP and often have the same driver picking up) and then leave within 20 minutes.
In the past at peak times it has taken them an hour to load all the parcels…
Seller_7rsIxdbOS2HE2
Our collection from RM is 4.40pm. We could possibly continue if this was the only change.
The requirement to send SFP orders out on a weekend is a deal breaker for us.
My stress levels go through the roof whenever we get an email from Amazon now!
Seller_xDtaDZ1Iek9Fq
most time than not, we cannot even buy Track24 for SFP and our RM collection time is 1550! oh well, I don’t think Hermes been approved for next day just non-next day ones…
Seller_ciCPlj8jygtdi
Disgraceful! We work bloody hard and I haven’t had a holiday for years and now I have to sacrifice my weekend as well? I’m already exhausted half the time, trying to keep up with all Amazon’s draconian rules. Plus, obviously this is just a less than subtle ploy to push everyone towards FBA, but I do not only sell on Amazon. If I sent all my items to FBA, then I would lose my free Royal Mail collections, as my other channels would not be enough to qualify for them. And I agree with CameronALG, my heart sinks every time I see a new Amazon email.
Seller_tRuvBEHDedp4q
Luckily my collection from RM is usually just after 5pm. I currently download orders just after 2pm and pack ready for pickup. However, to say I will now have to download any extra orders at 4pm to get them ready for 5pm as well as offer a weekend pickup is just ridiculous. My contract with RM is for weekday pickups only and I also want to be able to do things for myself at the weekend.
Bye bye SFP for me then.
Seller_ciCPlj8jygtdi
This shouldn’t be legal. Amazon are ruining people’s lives, turning them into cogs in the Amazon money making machine - keep the customers happy at any cost, but don’t care that half of the sellers are beside ourselves with stress and worry.
Seller_fs5qFPnrSWFYg
The weekend pick up totally kills it for us. I cant understand why they can’t just account for sellers working hours and despatch times when displaying items to buyers. Ebay seem to have done it ok and dont have any problems setting delivery estimates.
Seller_sFEUMUfeW5484
I think it’s very clear here that the aim is to reduce SFP offers. Of course Amazon would know that by insisting you ship on the weekend, many SFP offers would be removed.
