E662: Amazon Panicking? Could fee DECREASES be coming?

Eugene Khayman, co-founder of Million Dollar Sellers (MDS), who leads the "Gimme Five" campaign aimed at pushing Amazon to give sellers some fee relief after years of rising costs.
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With changes to DD+7, Subscribe and Save, and the additional seller fees tacked on this year, third-party sellers on Amazon are quickly discovering that it might be more profitable to take their products elsewhere. And Amazon has noticed.
Eugene also talks about what he's noticed after years of being in MDS, like the shifts toward DTC and Tiktok Shop and how smaller operators have been the most creative in growing their business.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
00:58 - Eugene Kaiman and the MDS seller community
06:34 - Eugene's 15-year e-commerce path from sneakers to brands
09:39 - Why MDS became a seller advocacy hub
10:09 - What the Gimme Five campaign is asking Amazon to do
11:31 - How SOS campaigns formed in response to fee pressure and policy changes
13:28 - Survey data: 52 cents of every dollar goes to Amazon fees
14:42 - Does Amazon actually have room to give some margin back?
16:16 - When fees make sense versus when they feel punitive
18:25 - Why higher fees can also hurt customer value and price competitiveness
20:25 - Which fee changes could realistically help sellers
22:43 - The Subscribe and Save top-up change and why it matters
23:32 - Return fees, removals, and launch risk
24:02 - MDS data: launches needed for growth have doubled
25:48 - Fees are only acceptable if growth is keeping pace
27:23 - Rising risk from competitor attacks, faster cloning, and shorter product life cycle
30:54 - Why many sellers are rethinking Amazon as their top channel
33:00 - The problem of not knowing the true cost to sell on Amazon
34:51 - Two asks for Amazon: centralized communication and a centralized fee committee
36:12 - DD plus 7, account reserves, and the hidden bookkeeping cost
38:59 - What MDS is, how big it has become, and where it's headed
42:57 - Why smaller operators often spot the best new growth ideas
43:27 - The rise of authority affiliates and in-person selling networks
46:37 - TikTok's promise, limits, and how DTC is becoming more predictable
48:19 - MDS, Millie, and the community's newest tools
Eugene, thanks for coming on the podcast. If you'd like to support Eugene and the Gimme Five campaign, here's a link to the X post.
If you'd like to find out more about MDS, you can book a free call here!
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, leave a comment down below if you're interested.
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Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling!