Sellers, you’re Amazon’s headline act. 🎤
Amazon rolled out the red carpet at Accelerate, with CEO Andy Jassy as hype man-in-chief—calling the seller partnership “the most compelling collaboration in the history of retail” (yes, history).
- Enjoy zero fee FBA exits through year end 🪂
- TikTok still untouchable in the US 🛡️
- USPS raises holiday rates again 💸
- Your next Amazon market awaits 🌍
- Your quick weekly update on news and resources for Amazon sellers!
HOT TOPIC
TikTok has been dangling on Washington’s chopping block for nearly a year, and just when it looked like the curtain might finally fall, surprise, it’s still alive.
Reuters reported that the U.S. and China have reached a new agreement to keep TikTok operating in America until at least December 16.
🇺🇸 The "American" TikTok
The deal’s bones look a lot like previous proposals: TikTok spun into a U.S.-based entity, American investors in control, but ByteDance still clinging to just under 20%.
- Ownership shuffle: Oracle, KKR, General Atlantic, and Andreessen Horowitz to join ByteDance’s backers.
- Golden share: The U.S. government secures one board seat as a national security safeguard.
- Congress in play: Republican-led Congress could still block or reshape the deal under the 2024 TikTok law.
- Oracle’s cloud stays: TikTok’s data and algorithms stay on Oracle servers for continuity and reassurance.
📜 Scrolling between the lines
For sellers, this isn’t just about dance trends and ring lights. TikTok is a heavyweight ad channel, one that keeps Amazon and Meta on their toes.
Whether the deal sticks or unravels, the platform is too big (and too influential) for brands to ignore.
BITES OF THE WEEK
- Ad Allegations: The FTC is investigating Amazon and Google regarding terms and pricing for ads on their websites.
- October Prime: Prime Big Deal Days 2025 is coming back this October 7–8. Prep your deals now!
- Guaranteed Rates: No more estimates. Amazon Seller Wallet's displayed exchange rates are guaranteed... for 2 minutes.
- Brands and Queries: Same prompt queries, but different recommendations; AI platforms disagree on brand recommendations.
ECOMMERCE NEWS
USPS adds +5% holiday shipping surcharge
According to EcommerceBytes, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has approved USPS’s holiday rate hike.
Yep, you’ll be paying more to ship just as customers demand faster, cheaper delivery.
🎄 It’s just a “temporary” gift
Starting October 5, USPS will tack on surcharges across its competitive services, running straight through peak returns season:
- Priority Mail Commercial: Rates will climb by 5.2%.
- USPS Ground Advantage Commercial. Expect a 5.3% increase.
- Other services hit. Priority Mail Express and Parcel Select are also included.
The ‘temporary’ holiday rates end January 18, 2026, but historically, higher base rates follow soon after. 🥲
📬 Return to sender?
The impact goes beyond pennies on a label:
- Compounded costs: 5%+ stings at scale.
- Customer pushback: Higher delivery costs risk more abandoned carts.
- Rival advantage: Amazon and UPS look cheaper.
- Carrier strategy check: Time to redo the math, does USPS still work?
The surcharge covers returns too, so sellers pay extra on both holiday orders and the January flood of returns. USPS says it’s about revenue stability; critics say cut costs first.
Either way, sellers foot the bill. 💲
SELLER REFRESHER
Which Amazon market should you sell in next?
Expanding into new Amazon marketplaces used to feel like throwing darts blindfolded.
Now, Amazon is giving sellers data-driven tools to help predict demand, costs, and growth potential.
- Sell Globally Dashboard. Will your products have the same demand in Japan as they do in Mexico? 🌎
- From Seller Central → Inventory → Sell Globally, you’ll unlock three key features:
- New Stores to Launch: Sales potential, incentives, and setup costs by region.
- Global Sales in Active Stores: Track current market performance.
- Amazon Stores Worldwide: Browse all marketplaces and link accounts.
- From Seller Central → Inventory → Sell Globally, you’ll unlock three key features:
- Expansion Research. A cheat sheet for deciding where to jump in first. 🕵️
- Launch incentives and promos
- Sales vs. setup cost projections
- Top ASINs at home and abroad
- Trends, reviews, cost breakdowns
- Marketplace Product Guidance. Amazon’s ML engine crunches 600+ product attributes to show:
- Sales projections, pricing, ads/returns insights
- Weekly updated recommendations
💡 Why it matters
Cross-border expansion is risky (and expensive) when done blindly. With these tools, sellers can spot the right markets, products, and timing without torching budgets on trial and error.
