American Express, Amazon offer fee break to sell online
Credit cards, the most common means of buying things online, now are being used to lure merchants to sell online. American Express Co. and Amazon Services Inc. are offering merchants that accept American Express cards a three-month run selling over Amazon.com free of the usual subscription fee. For American Express, which charges merchants higher payment transaction fees than other card companies, the deal also offers a way to attract more merchants to accept its cards.
The offer waives temporarily the monthly $39.99 fee Amazon charges to participate in the Amazon Services Pro Merchant program, but merchants pay a commission on each transaction as soon as they begin selling on Amazon. Amazon manages the sales process for participating retailers from the order-taking through payment processing. Merchants handle their own fulfillment.
Amazon deposits the net proceeds to retailers directly into merchants’ bank accounts every two weeks.
Amazon provides a web interface that allows retailers to list products on Amazon one at a time or in bulk. Eligible retail categories include consumer electronics, apparel and accessories, sporting goods and home-and-garden products.
Fred Waters of SmoothFitness, which sells as a Pro Merchant through Amazon’s Sports & Outdoors Store, says selling through Amazon has attracted new customers and increased brand recognition.
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