Back in April, the RVB group loudly announced: starting from May 25, uniform conditions for all Russian and foreign sellers. The FAS has been trying to achieve this since March, having recorded discrimination in the amount of commissions. The date has arrived. There are no changes.
Wildberries explained the postponement simply in a letter to its foreign partners: the company continues to discuss the issue with the authorities. Kommersant received a copy of the letter and confirmed the transfer. The WB press service confirmed: yes, we are discussing, there are no deadlines.
What was planned
The announcement suggested two key changes. First, the fees for Chinese sellers rise to the level of Russian sellers — from ~5% to 25-40%, depending on the category. Secondly, there are uniform rules for providing discounts to customers — the marketplace does not have the right to reduce the price at the expense of the seller without his consent.
According to shoppers.media, which first reported the postponement, the letter to Chinese sellers contained the direct wording: "from May 25, working conditions will remain unchanged."
Why Postponement is Bad News for Russian Sellers
The gap in fees remains. The Chinese seller sells the same product at a cost 20-35 percentage points lower in commission costs. With an equal purchase price, this means either the opportunity to dump, or to receive a significantly larger margin.
The FAS has not yet commented on the postponement. The warnings issued by WB and Ozon, which expired in April, have been formally implemented: the companies have provided adjusted practices. What happened to them next is an open question.
What sellers should do right now
Plan pricing without calculating commission equalization in the coming months. To work with differentiation in terms of quality, service and product cards — where price competition with Chinese sellers is not critical. Follow the official statements of the FAS — it depends on antimonopoly pressure when the WB decides to make a real change.
