In a remarkable push to go beyond its own user base, Amazon.com is expanding its shipment program, called “Fulfillment by Amazon“, to allow independent sellers (including sellers selling on eBay, Yahoo auctions and Google base) to use its network of distribution centers to store and ship their products.
Participants in the program can sign up on Amazon.com and print out stickers that they put on their goods. They then send their products to Amazon, which stores the items mixed with its own. As a result, sellers will be paying twice to ship their goods. But the program is aimed at small online retailers who do not want to invest in their own warehouses and prefer to manage these costs in a different way.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos commented: “We have this beautiful, elegant, high-I.Q. part of our business that we have been working hard on for many years. We’ve gotten good at it. Why not make money off it another way?”
It remains to be seen whether this a smart move for Amazon or the independent retailer opting for this solution.
Filed under: General
