The Monthly Roundup: FBA seller news

Every month, while you focus on running and growing your business, we stay on top of the news and issues important to FBA sellers. (And we don’t limit our coverage to all things sales tax, although we’ve got you covered there, too.)

In our monthly roundup, you’ll find news you can use — from popular topics in the Amazon forums to studies and reports. Read on for some of the stories and developments we found interesting in recent weeks.

Amazon reports huge earnings
On July 26, Amazon revealed that Q2 earnings per share were $5.07 — more than double what analysts were expecting the company to post, according to U.S. News & World Report. Total revenue for the quarter was nearly $53 billion, a jump of almost 40 percent from Q2 2017. Third-party sellers played a big part in that figure, with Amazon booking almost $10 billion in revenue from those services. Finally, Amazon Prime membership has grown to more than 100 million.

What would ecommerce look like without Amazon?
A lot different, says Marketplace Pulse, which points out that while ecommerce in the U.S. is up by 16 percent, that figure would shrink to just 5.6 percent without the online giant’s growth included. By 2019, sales on Amazon will make up more than half of U.S. ecommerce sales, the story notes, with Amazon driving 80 percent of the sector’s growth this year.

eBay offering seller fulfillment
After news in April that eBay was considering a fulfillment option for sellers, the company has moved ahead with a solution — in Australia. The company struck a deal with Australia Post and a third-party vendor that controls warehouses in several major cities, promising increased visibility for sellers. Could this mean fulfillment services are on the way for U.S. sellers? There has been no indication, but it’s a development worth watching.

Building a business “based on tax avoidance”?
Is Amazon shirking its responsibility to collect sales tax — or at least help its sellers do so? Capital & Main published a provocative piece on Amazon’s “scofflaw history” when it comes to sales tax. “Sellers have been the foot soldiers for Amazon in avoiding sales taxes for years,” the story states. “Now Amazon has abandoned them to fend for themselves against aggressive state governments.”

States racing to create sales tax laws after Wayfair decision
Economic nexus laws are popping up all over after the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding online sales tax — Kentucky, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Utah are among the states with new laws taking effect in the coming months; and other states are considering their options. You can check out a list of these laws by state here; the way things seem to be moving across the country, it’s a great time to think about automating your tax filing and payments with Avalara TrustFile.

Be sure to check back each month for a fresh, new roundup, and email us at trustfile@avalara.com
if there’s something you think we should include.