Florida-Based Amazon Sellers Share Experiences as FTC Files Lawsuit
Miami, FL (Sep. 26, 2023): The Connected Commerce Council, an organization representing digitally empowered small businesses, hosted a press conference with two Florida-based Amazon sellers who shared their experiences selling on Amazon in anticipation of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) lawsuit intended to disrupt the popular online marketplace, which was filed today.
“My skincare company uses Amazon because it provides the best value national reach and helps me compete against much larger companies with massive marketing budgets,” said Alexander Fedorowicz, co-founder and CEO of QRxLabs in Miami, FL. “Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) makes it easy to qualify for Amazon Prime, which is incredibly valuable while saving me time and money on storing and shipping orders and handling returns. If the FTC disrupts Amazon’s services, it will make it harder to qualify for Prime and more expensive to find success on the marketplace.”
The FTC’s case alleges that by integrating Prime, Amazon’s paid subscription service, with FBA, Amazon’s shipping and handling service, Amazon requires sellers to use FBA and limits competition. However, Amazon doesn’t require using FBA to sell on the platform or qualify for Prime. Instead, sellers who choose to use FBA do so because it is often the easiest and most affordable way for them to qualify for and gain the benefits of Prime – chiefly its free, fast shipping. The FTC’s proposed solution – to force Amazon to change how the marketplace operates – would jeopardize Prime for third-party sellers.
Jason Cipolla, principal of My Personal Memories in Coral Springs, FL, says Amazon and its features are important to his online personalized gift business. “We fulfill orders both on our own and using FBA, and we’ve never had difficulties selling on Amazon,” said Cipolla. “The idea that Amazon’s operations could get disrupted because DC insiders don’t understand how the marketplace works is very frustrating. Amazon is a critical part of our business model thanks to its myriad cost-effective and valuable services, and we’d like to keep it that way.”
The FTC’s lawsuit comes at a time of robust competition in e-commerce. A 2021 study showed that 87% of Amazon sellers also sell on at least one other marketplace, with 54% reporting selling on Walmart and 50% selling on eBay. In addition, Chinese online marketplaces Shein and Temu are becoming more popular daily, wooing U.S.-based sellers to their new marketplaces.
