Amazon notified sellers they must resume making loan payments on May 1st. Sellers who have seen steep declines in sales that have not come back to pre-pandemic levels say they are worried about the end of the deferral period.
"Repayments on loans issued by Amazon Lending will resume starting May 1, 2020," Amazon told sellers in an email. "You will have the same number of remaining repayments. Any amount that was due and unpaid before the pause in repayments on March 26, 2020, will now be collected, as normal, from your next sales disbursements."
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon limited sales of many goods as it struggled to fulfill essential goods to customers, and FBA sellers were hit especially hard, severely restricting the items that sellers could send to its fulfillment centers. While Amazon has eased restrictions somewhat, it continues to focus on "highest priority products that customers need at this time," and is limiting the quantity of items sellers can send to Amazon.
In reaction to the news in a
post written by Amazon executive Dharmesh Mehta, some sellers requested more time to make their loan payments. "Please consider extending Amazon Lending payment due dates at least 1 more month. It will take some time for customers to have confidence purchasing non-emergency type items as well," one seller noted.
Amazon told sellers that those who would have difficulties making loan payments on May 1st could reach out to the company. In the FAQs section of its notice to sellers, Amazon stated: "We understand that some of our Selling Partners may not be in a position to make loan repayments at this time. Our Seller Support team is evaluating requests on a case-by-case basis to provide support, please contact amazon-lending@amazon.com."
Amazon Lending had deferred loan payments interest fee, and it noted in Friday's letter that some sellers might see that the loan accrued interest for a few days leading up to April 30: "To remedy this situation, we will reverse those charges on any account that accrues interest during the loan repayment pause. If your loan is impacted, you will see the loan interest reversal on your next statement."
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Worried Amazon Sellers Must Resume Loan Payments on Friday
by: DeathFromAbove 