NEW YORK (VNnews/Sandy Eller) – A policy change that requires participants in a select Amazon program to provide two day shipping six days a week has left Orthodox Jewish vendors in the lurch.
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Late last summer Amazon announced that, as of February 1st, members of its Seller Fulfillment Prime program, which allows vendors to fill Prime orders directly from their own warehouses, would have to ship products on Saturdays. Amazon told VIN News that after receiving complaints from members of the SLP program, it agreed to allow Sunday deliveries as well, but even that posed problems, according to the Washington Free Beacon (https://bit.ly/3uhw3i8), which reported that major shipping carriers don’t offer Sunday pickups and smaller services that do cannot guarantee the two day turnaround required by Amazon Prime.
An Amazon spokesperson contacted VIN News to dispute that claim, saying that some sellers have been able to make special arrangements for Sunday pickups, albeit for an additional charge.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, attempts by Jewish sellers to discuss the problem with Amazon have yielded no further results, with the company insisting that sellers had sufficient time to prepare for the new policy, which would provide customers with faster delivery from sellers who warehouse their own merchandise. While a company spokesperson said that Amazon had created a dedicated support team to help sellers adjust to the change, multiple sellers told Washington Free Beacon that email requests for assistance had gone unanswered.
A February 1st letter written to Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky by StandWithUs, a nonprofit Israeli education organization, noted that Orthodox Jews comprise approximately 15 percent of Amazon marketplace sellers and that it was impossible for those enrolled in the Seller Fulfilled Prime program to comply with the new regulations. StandWithUs asked Amazon to allow Sabbath observant participants in Seller Fulfillment Prime to turn off their Prime membership badge over Shabbos, something that the company allows in case of inclement weather, but Amazon has reportedly insisted that the program’s regulations will stand as is and that those who toggle off their Prime status on a weekly basis will lose their status as Seller Fulfilled Prime members.
Amazon sellers do have the option of using the company’s fulfillment and storage services which would exempt them from weekend shipping, but they would have to pay for the service, with costs varying by package size and shipping seasons. The company also offers a Merchant Fulfillment Network which does not require weekend shipping and allows sellers to warehouse their own goods, but isn’t compatible with Prime status.
One Jewish Amazon jewelry seller who asked only to be identified as Herman said that not being able to ship from his company’s warehouse would likely force him to downsize his business because of the higher cost of using Amazon’s fulfillment services.
“We are just looking for a little understanding on something that is so important for us and so pointless for them to refuse,” said Herman.
While Seller Fulfilled Prime members in the United Kingdom had been concerned about the policy change, their fears proved to be unfounded. A December 22nd Facebook post by Jewish Telegraph quoted an Amazon spokesperson who said that sellers in the United Kingdom would not be required to offer Saturday or Sunday pickups.
There needs to be better alternatives to Amazon.
Amazon is known by getting away with everything.
Sellers are making a good living by selling on Amazon and at the same time they could close an account “for no good reason” and put that person/company into bankruptcy.
Its high time that some big politician or big mouth with access to the national media to go head to head with Amazon exposing them for all their crooked policies.
We thought that Cuomo is untouchable. We see now that he is.
Same with Amazon.
I’m sorry but this is hypocrisy on the part of Amazon because over the past year and a half two day delivery has become almost impossible, even with Amazon prime!
Perhaps David Schoen can get thru to them?
So here goes:
Amazon can be taken to court and sued for suspending Prime Seller Status when sellers disable their Prime status over Shabbos, no matter what their policy of exceptions are, for they are legally bound to accommodate religious needs wherever possible, and revoking prime status is effectively penalizing sellers for attempting to accommodate the service policy of the company in light of a religious obligation, and constitutes nothing besides for illegal prejudice against a person exclusively as a result of a religious context.
On the contrary, Amazon can be required by a court to make a feature available that automatically disables prime service on Shabbos and Yom Tov days to accommodate these sellers’ religious observance. And all Observant sellers should join together to seek this accommodation in court.
Hatzlacha Rabboh.
Boycott Amazon !
I think as a community we need to ask ourselves the following, is Amazon a safe parnasa or is there too many risks and we need to tell people to slow down lest it come crashing down one day on us ? I get it , it’s easy with no college required . Everyone loves to get in on it . And some made it rich . Not everyone is meant to go to college , yet this seems to help people earn a decent living . I only question if it’s become too much and if it’s risky . Is it too good to be true or am I the only loser not in the Amazon band wagon and suffering thru an old fashion educated career ?
The USPS will accept packages at the Farley Post Office 7 days a week. They won’t come pick up but for businesses in the NYC area this is an option.
Since Amazon stopped offering next day delivery for Prime members, it has gone down hill and keeps taking advantage of its customers, and now taking advantage of its sellers too. Weekend pickup & delivery was never a standard. They should not be forcing sellers to comply with something that they themselves dont comply with.
Amazon is not the be all and end all. That’s why I ordered hand made round shmurah matzo from Walmart this year. $15.93 per box including free shipping.
I just wonder what the graduates of the faith based education are going to sell on Amazon when the Chinese factories are already buying warehouses here in USA and cutting you middleman guys out ?
Hm? Closing down the GSP by Frumme Jews under a Trump Flag going to a Trump Rally (Stop the Steal) against the USA Constitution wasn’t so smart after all. Most major corporations (Amazon is just one of them) took notice and retaliating by their choice. ATT,Citibank and many many others stoped giving money to Republicans etc.I am quit sure their attorneys know what is legal or not.
This is all in a series of anti Semitic attacks on frum Jews by Jeff bezos