Tariffs are reshaping how sellers think about inventory, costs, and where they keep their stock. This week, two stories that speak directly to that pressure.
- Here’s how you can sell better 🥇
- Amazon’s new China warehouse is a big deal for your margins 🏗️
- Fees keep rising—and sellers can’t afford to leave 🤑
AMAZON NEWS
Amazon just launched a bulk storage facility in Shenzhen—and if you manufacture in China, it could seriously cut your costs.
The new Global Warehousing and Distribution location lets sellers store U.S.-bound inventory right at the source, then replenish Amazon's U.S. fulfillment centers only when demand calls for it. Cross-border shipping runs through Amazon Global Logistics.
💝 Here's what's in it for you:
- Storage costs up to 45% lower than Amazon Warehousing and Distribution, Amazon's U.S.-based bulk storage service
- Inventory can reach U.S. fulfillment centers up to 7 days faster
- Less capital tied up in goods sitting in transit or in domestic storage before they sell
Amazon's head of FBA, Sunny Jain, put it plainly: "It's about cash flow, flexibility, and the ability to test new regions without excessive risk." He says sellers were booking shipments within two days of the announcement.
🖼️ The bigger picture
This isn't just a cost play — it's Amazon positioning itself as a full end-to-end supply chain for sellers, from factory floor to front door. The Shenzhen hub is the first move in what Jain describes as an ambition to help merchants sell "globally from day one."
More locations are coming. Jain confirmed Amazon is expanding to additional sites in China and building connections to fulfillment networks worldwide. The South China Morning Post reports the Yangtze River Delta region is next, with Europe and Japan to follow.
It's worth noting the competitive angle too: Walmart has been scaling its own international logistics program for marketplace sellers, and Amazon is clearly not going to cede that ground.
🖊️ What to do
If you manufacture in China, head to Seller Central and create a delivery request for the Shenzhen facility. It's already live.
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BITES OF THE WEEK
- EU–US Trade Deal Moves Forward (With Conditions): EU lawmakers approved a major trade deal cutting tariffs on US industrial goods, but added safeguards—including expiry clauses and enforcement conditions—amid concerns over imbalance and future US policy risks.
- Shopify Launches “Tinker” AI App: Shopify introduced Tinker, a free mobile app bundling 100+ AI tools for product images, videos, and branding—lowering the barrier for merchants to create and iterate faster.
TRENDING TOPIC
Amazon fees keep rising—and sellers can’t afford to leave
Fees are the number one margin concern for Amazon sellers. Nearly half (49%) cite marketplace fees as their primary pressure point, with advertising spend close behind at 46%. Both are costs Amazon controls. Both keep climbing.
And yet, sellers aren't leaving. Among those most frustrated with fees, only 24% are reducing their reliance on Amazon. Meanwhile, 42% are growing it. That's not irrational — it's a trap. Amazon owns 36% of U.S. e-commerce and 70% of marketplace commerce. There's nowhere else that comes close.
Three policy changes broke something
Earlier this year, Amazon rolled out the following:
- 3.5% fuel surcharge
- automatic ad cost deductions from proceeds
- DD+7 disbursement terms pushing payments seven days post-delivery.
Together, they wiped out the financial float that thin-margin sellers depend on. Nearly half (47%) reported year-over-year margin decline.
Some sellers organized an advertising boycott for April 15. Amazon reversed the ad payment change the day before—but the math tells the real story. Even 1,000 high-volume boycotters would have cost Amazon roughly $3 million against a $70 billion ad business. The rollback was about FTC antitrust optics and seller sentiment, not lost dollars.
📉 The seller base is shrinking and concentrating
Active sellers on Amazon.com dropped from 584,000 in January 2025 to 500,000 in March 2026. Fewer than 8,000 sellers now generate half of Amazon's estimated $300 billion in U.S. third-party GMV — a threshold that took 15,000 sellers to reach just three years ago.
Third-party sellers account for 62% of units sold and roughly 69% of total GMV, while fees and advertising from those same sellers make up around a third of Amazon's total revenue. Both sides are locked in. Continued fee increases push more sellers out, tightening a mutual dependence that's becoming more precarious by the quarter.
