Amazon online orders in India now come with an additional Rs 5 charge which is termed as marketplace fee by the platform. Charges like these have become common among apps like Zomato, Swiggy and more, claiming this fee helps with their operational experience. Now, Amazon seems to have the same pitch for its own fee that will be charged for both free and Prime members with the company. 

This will be a flat fee that will be added to your final amount and is inclusive of taxes for shopping online. 

Amazon Shopping Fee: Worrying Times Ahead 

Amazon has released a detailed note about the new marketplace fee and explained its reasons for bringing this for all users. “This flat fee—applicable to all customers — supports Amazon’s commitment to provide a seamless and valuable shopping experience," Amazon said in this post. 

Amazon is a global behemoth that has been running its online platform in the country for over a decade and somehow it feels the need to add a fee for running a marketplace that hosts millions of brands and products on the platform. The company says the new fee will show up as a separate line item on the product summary invoice and even the mail that you receive with the order details and the price. 

The Hidden Fee Problem 

The trend of these fees started when the likes of Zomato and Swiggy started charging for the convenience of getting the food delivered but what started as a flat Rs 2 platform fee has now gone up to Rs 11 with some of these platforms. Analysts have also estimated that adding these fees have helped the companies increase their revenue which eventually shows up in their glowing balance sheets every quarter. 

So, what is stopping Amazon from increasing the fee gradually and making the consumers pay more for their orders? More importantly, if you thought the paid Prime members will be exempt from fees like these, you are mistaken. 

Amazon says the flat Rs 5 marketplace fee is applicable to all the orders which includes for people who have the Prime membership. There are some exceptions where the company will not add the marketplace fee and you can read about it in the detailed Amazon post. 

Charges like these are under the discretion of the platforms but buyers deserve at least some form of choice. The company recently announced that Prime Video subscribers in the country will start seeing ads between their shows and movies, but they can pay an additional Rs 699 to get the same ad-free experience as before.