What are Amazon add-on items? Pattern Amazon fulfillment partners explain how they work and their effect on sellers on Amazon.
Have you recently received a new ‘add-on item tag on one of your products? Maybe you’re wondering what exactly this means for your business? Amazon add-on items are the types of small items that are cost-prohibitive to ship by themselves. In fact, these items can only be purchased if customers add them onto an existing item, bringing their total order to $25 or more.
These types of products are often office supplies, snacks, and hygiene items. Amazon quickly realized that the shipping costs it was paying on these items were higher than the fees it was receiving. Since Amazon isn’t in the business of losing money, it introduced the add-on program- causing controversy amongst both sellers and customers.
This program has many sellers of low-cost items annoyed and worried. And it’s easy to see why. If a customer is running out of toothpaste, they can’t order that specific item unless they purchase more items to get their total to $25. This makes little sense to many people, and they’ll often just switch to other online retailers or walk to the corner store. As usual, Amazon is tight-lipped about how it determines which products will become add-on items. It’s likely to do with the weight and price of these items, but the criteria is still a secret.
If you’ve woken up to discover that one of your products is now an add-on item, there are a few things you can do.
Want to learn more about how you can increase your profits as an Amazon seller? Our Amazon Fulfillment Experts will help you grow your brand. Get in touch today.