Amazon and other online book resellers will have to apply delivery costs set at a minimum floor price of 3 euros from October 4 to support physical bookstores.
The decree of April 4, 2023, so feared by Amazon, Fnac, Cultura and the entire gang of e-retailers with a “Books” category, will come into force this Wednesday, October 4. The major consequence: the end of free (or almost) shipping costs for books, and the implementation of prices deemed prohibitive by the platforms. Clubic explains everything to you.
New delivery fees for book orders
The online book sales sector will experience historic upheaval in the coming days. From October 4, 2023, players like Amazon will have to apply new prices regarding shipping costs for orders containing books. Here’s what you need to know:
- A book order of less than 35 euros including tax will be subject to a minimum shipping cost of 3 euros including tax;
- A book order exceeding 35 euros including tax will be subject to fees starting from 0.01 euros.
Be careful, there is a subtlety. To benefit from 1 cent delivery (if it is applied in this way by the e-retailer), the order of more than 35 euros must consist exclusively of books.
In the event that your order exceeds 35 euros, but inside, the book(s) weigh below this sum, because accompanied by other products, the shipping costs will be set at a minimum of 3 euros.
Consumers are perhaps the most harmed
Let’s understand one thing: these prices are, from a legal point of view, set at a minimum floor price. Amazon, Cultura, Fnac, Rakuten or others are therefore free to apply their own policy and additional costs. What we know is that Amazon Prime members and those of the Fnac+ program will also have to pay these delivery costs, losing in some way their historical advantage.
So, two versions intertwine or oppose each other, it all depends on how you see things. The decree, signed by the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak, was written to help physical bookstores, these good old shops which, formerly convenience stores, are now in difficulty facing the giants of the e-commerce with, in comparison, unlimited resources.
The State wants to maintain a historic sector, which is not adrift from a structural point of view. By consulting the data from the CNL (National Book Center), we see that the last few years have been rather good for the world of bookselling. 142 creations (a record!) and only 27 closures were noted in 2022. The government therefore hopes to maintain or even improve the margins of booksellers.
Then, alongside, there are consumers, those who are not lucky enough to have a bookstore within walking distance or who do not have the means of transport to reach one, particularly in remote areas. They will undoubtedly be penalized by these new delivery rates. In a period where purchasing power is not the most exceptional, some people would do without it.
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