Observant Jewish vendors squeezed by Amazon’s 6-day-a-week shipping requirement
A change in requirements for participating in a select Amazon delivery program is posing potentially insurmountable challenges for Orthodox sellers.
As of February 1, Amazon businesses that deliver from
non-Amazon warehouses through Amazon Prime, a subscription service that
includes free two-day delivery, must agree to fulfill orders six days a week.
The sellers may choose Saturday or Sunday delivery to
fulfill their six-day-a-week commitment, but shipping carriers like FedEx and
UPS offer limited or no pickup on Sundays. Observant Jews do not do business on
the Jewish Sabbath, from sundown Friday to nightfall Saturday.
Orthodox sellers make up a disproportionate share of
third-party sellers, according to a 2019 Buzzfeed report that explored the
connections between Amazon’s marketplace and Orthodox communities.
The Free Beacon, a politically conservative website, on Friday
reported that the new policy is driving out businesses run by observant Jews,
citing group chats it had reviewed.
Amazon told the Free Beacon that Prime sellers had more than
five months’ advance notice of the policy to come up with accommodations and that
it had dedicated staff to assist the businesses. The Free Beacon said it had
heard from Orthodox businesses that Amazon was unresponsive.
StandWithUs, a pro-Israel nonprofit, has proposed to Amazon
that it allow sellers to turn off their Amazon Prime badge during Shabbat,
meaning that shoppers would not be promised quick shipping during that time.
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