Amazon Sellers Scale Back Prime Day Plans Due to Trump-Era Tariffs
Amazon’s annual Prime Day, traditionally one of the year’s biggest shopping events, is seeing declining enthusiasm from a key segment—third-party sellers who rely on Chinese manufacturing.
With hefty U.S. tariffs now in place, many of these merchants are rethinking their participation.
Sellers who once viewed Prime Day as an opportunity to boost sales are scaling back their involvement, citing rising costs caused by the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.
The tariffs, enacted by President Donald Trump, have forced merchants to re-evaluate their pricing strategies, especially on goods sourced from China. According to sellers and consultants, skipping or downsizing their Prime Day offers is a way to cushion profit losses.
Steve Green, who sells imported skateboards and bicycles, said he’s sitting out this year for the first time since 2020.
“The China tariffs, which stand at 145%, will more than double his costs of goods on newly imported merchandise, making it ‘unaffordable,’” Green explained. He’s chosen to hold inventory and sell it later at standard prices.
Kim Vaccarella of Bogg Bag is making similar moves—ceasing production in China and preparing to shift manufacturing to Vietnam and Cambodia. In the meantime, she’s focusing on offloading her current U.S. stock through retail partners rather than Amazon’s Prime Day.
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Prime Day Participation No Longer a Clear Win
Even high-performing sellers like Rick Sliter of MedCline are having second thoughts. Although last year’s event was a major success, Sliter said, “If tariffs continue, discounting gets thrown out the window.”
Sellers typically operate on slim margins, earning just 15% to 20% of the sale price after Amazon’s fees, which include advertising and promotions.
Consultants like Adam Wilkens note that many sellers are still negotiating how to adjust for tariff-related price hikes and are unsure how to proceed. “Some of my clients can’t even think about Prime Day yet,” he said.
Despite these setbacks, Amazon maintains it is seeing “a strong response from selling partners to Prime Day 2025.” Still, analysts warn that a weaker third-party presence could lead to fewer discounted items and reduced advertising profits for Amazon.
As merchants hold off or hike prices to cope with increased costs, the event’s appeal may begin to wane. Michael Slate of KitchenEdge summed it up best: “I can’t offer a 20% discount when I don’t know what my product cost is going to be in the future.”
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