From FreeBeacon.com….
Rule changes to one of Amazon’s major programs for small sellers have driven many Orthodox Jews out of the program, confirming their fears when the rules were first announced.
The changes to Seller Fulfilled Prime—billed as improving Amazon customer experience—have made acceptable performance metrics harder to achieve. As the Washington Free Beacon reported last February, Orthodox Jewish sellers are especially hard hit by six-day shipping requirements that make it more difficult to observe the Sabbath and maintain high one-day shipping numbers. Orthodox Jews make up a disproportionate number of the small sellers on the retail platform, with one estimate suggesting they are 15 percent of all small sellers. At the time, participants warned the changes would drive them off the platform.
Months later, those fears are being validated. One informal poll in a private group of Seller Fulfilled Prime participants found only 5 percent of users understood how to meet the new metrics. Another poll found over half of a group of Orthodox Jewish participants had been suspended from the program in the past two months.
The Seller Fulfilled Prime program allows small sellers to list their own items for Amazon Prime. But in February, Amazon required that sellers list items for two-day delivery on six days of the week. Orthodox Jews cannot work on Saturday, and many sellers report local carriers will not pick up packages on Sunday.
