Hello Seller Community,

I recently wrapped up a support case with Amazon Seller Support (Mods: Case #17417182711) about my FBM shipping rates, and while we got it resolved, it left me with some lingering concerns about the lack of flexibility in our shipping templates. I want to share my experience, get everyone’s thoughts, and maybe spark a conversation that could push for some much-needed changes.

The Issue

A few weeks ago, I noticed some of my shipping options under my Freight Template were suppressed for certain SKUs. Amazon flagged them as having “excessive shipping rates” under their Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy. The affected regions ranged from Florida to Maine, Vermont, New York, and beyond – basically a huge chunk of the U.S. The email I got said:

“To protect the customer experience, we may suppress shipping options when we believe the shipping rates to customers are excessive. The ship options listed above are no longer being shown to customers for affected SKUs... These ship options appear to have excessive shipping rates for these SKUs and are in violation of Amazon’s Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy.”

They pointed me to the policy (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/5TUVJKZHUVMN77V) and suggested I update my rates in Shipping Settings or provide evidence if I thought it was an error. Fair enough. I submitted my actual shipping rates and an explanation showing how they align with carrier costs and reasonable handling fees.

The Resolution (Sort Of)

After about a week, Seller Support responded:

“We have completed our investigation... The high ship rate restrictions do not apply to the freight template used by you. However, we noticed that your shipping prices are quite high. Therefore, we advise you to please review and update your shipping fees to avoid potential future suppression of offers.”

Good news: my shipping options were reinstated…Or were never really suppressed?

Less good news: the vague “your prices are quite high” comment and the warning about “potential future suppression” leaves me uneasy. Understandably, I’m worried this could happen again, and I suspect others might be dealing with similar headaches.

My Other Concern: Shipping Template Flexibility

The current shipping template system for FBM is way too rigid. Right now, I’m stuck charging a blanket shipping fee across the U.S. and for heavier items (like the ones in my Freight Template), because I can’t dial in a competitive shipping costs based on multiple regions in the template.

I’d love for Amazon to enhance the shipping templates so we can:

1. Set region-specific rates (e.g., Northeast vs. Southeast vs. West Coast) to better reflect actual shipping costs.

2. Customize handling fees by category or weight class – freight shipping isn’t getting any cheaper, and a one-size-fits-all rate doesn’t cut it.

3. Get clearer guidance on what “excessive” means upfront, so we’re not guessing and waiting a week for reinstatement. (Wishful thinking, I know I know).

I care about giving customers accurate, fair shipping costs – it’s better for them and builds trust in us as sellers. But the tools we have now make that harder than it should be, if not near impossible.

What Do You Think?

Have any of you hit similar snags with FBM shipping rates? How do you handle regional cost differences? I’m guessing I’m not alone in wanting more control over our templates. I’d also love to hear from the mods – any insight on how shipping template updates get prioritized or escalated? I know you’re busy, so thanks in advance for even skimming through this novel I have here.

A Little Extra Context

From what I’ve seen, Amazon’s system seems built more for standard parcel shipping (USPS, UPS, FedEx) than freight, where rates depend on distance, weight, and carrier contracts. Other platforms (like eBay) let sellers define zones or use calculated shipping more easily. I’m not saying Amazon should copy them, but a little more granularity could go a long way for FBM sellers to provide customers the value and experience they deserve.

Mods, thanks again for your time. Looking forward to everyone’s feedback.

Happy Selling,

CPD_123