FedEx Ground nixed as shipping option for Amazon’s Prime sellers

Effective Wednesday at 2 PM EST, third-party sellers fulfilling Amazon Prime orders will no longer be able to ship Prime orders through FedEx Ground or FedEx Home, according to a copy of the seller communications from Amazon reviewed by Air Cargo World.

Earlier this year, FedEx severed ties with Amazon from both its Express unit and on the ground-delivery side, so for months, the express giant has not been involved in delivering packages fulfilled by Amazon. However, until now, third-party sellers were still able to ship Prime packages with FedEx within the Buy Shipping component of the seller platform. Buy Shipping considers the shipper location, promised delivery date and information about available shipping methods to provide sellers with only those shipping methods that Amazon considers acceptable to reliably protect its customer experience.

The change was prompted by concerns over delivery performance at FedEx Ground, as reported originally on Monday by the Wall Street Journal. In advance of next week’s delivery cutoff for Christmas, Amazon said it wants to ensure customers receive their packages on time. However, FedEx Express is still an available option in Buy Shipping for Prime Shipments, and standard shipments can still be shipped via FedEx Ground and FedEx Home.

It is unclear whether third-party sellers will be able to resume Prime shipping via FedEx Ground following this year’s peak season. The message to sellers noted the change will be effective until the delivery performance of the services improves.