Amazon Seller Central is the interface that is used by merchants to sell their products directly to customers.
An Amazon Seller Central account is considered a marketplace or third-party Amazon seller.
The Amazon seller is responsible for setting up and maintaining their seller account. This includes:
Product listing creation and maintenance.
Customer service for all orders on the account.
Shipping of orders, returns and refunds (if applicable).
Order processing and tracking.
There are two types of Amazon Seller Central accounts: individual and professional. The major difference between these two types of accounts is the monthly subscription fee required for the professional account. While it costs $0 to sign up for an individual account, professional sellers will be charged a flat $39.99 monthly fee at the time of this writing in addition to other fees (more on those later).
Two factors that should be considered when deciding which type of Amazon Seller Central account you want are how many items you plan to sell each month and what type of analytics and marketing tools you need to run your business effectively.
Benefits of Amazon Seller Central
Open to anyone
You don’t need permission from Amazon to sell on Seller Central. It’s open to anyone with a social security number, bank account and credit card in their name.
Control of the seller account
The Seller Central account is completely controlled by the brand. This allows you to keep tight control over your inventory, pricing, customer service and product listings. You can also choose when to stop selling and when to start selling again in the future. With Vendor Central, Amazon has the right to terminate a vendor at any time with no notice.
Sell directly to Amazon’s customers
When you sell through Seller Central, your products are sold directly to Amazon’s customers. This means that they are displayed on Amazon’s website and are included in search results within the site. As a result, when someone searches for your product on Amazon, it is more likely that they will find it.
Flexible logistical options
You have two options for how you deliver your products to Amazon: Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) or Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). With FBM the seller sends the products directly to the customer and handles all logistics such as shipping and returns.
How to sell on amazon vendor central
Amazon Vendor Central is a platform that allows companies to sell products to Amazon.com in bulk quantities.
Amazon Vendor Central is most often used by direct manufacturers and distributors who want to offer their products on Amazon.
If you sell through Vendor Central you are considered a first-party seller, as you are selling your products directly to Amazon in bulk.
Registering for the Amazon Vendor Central program is strictly by invitation only, so contact your Amazon representative if you are interested in selling your product through this program.
Many sellers start with Seller Central and generate demand for their products to entice Amazon to buy their product in bulk through the Vendor Central program.
If a company is selling through Vendor Central the phrase “ships from and sold by Amazon” appears on the order page.