7 Types of Amazon Seller Central Accounts You Should Know
Amazon is the largest online marketplace in the world, with over 300 million active customers and more than 12 million products. If you want to sell on Amazon, you need to create an account on Amazon Seller Central, the platform that allows you to manage your listings, orders, inventory, payments, and more.
But did you know that there are different types of Amazon Seller Central accounts? Depending on your business model, goals, and budget, you may want to choose one of the following options:
1. Individual Seller Account
This is the simplest and cheapest option for sellers who only plan to sell a few items per month. You don’t have to pay a monthly subscription fee, but you do have to pay $0.99 per item sold, plus other fees such as referral fees and variable closing fees. You also have limited access to some features and tools, such as reports, advertising, and fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
2. Professional Seller Account
This is the most popular option for sellers who want to sell more than 40 items per month. You have to pay a monthly subscription fee of $39.99, but you don’t have to pay the $0.99 per item fee. You also have access to more features and tools, such as reports, advertising, FBA, bulk listing, and more.
3. Brand Registry
This is a program that allows sellers who own a registered trademark to protect their brand identity and reputation on Amazon. You can enroll in Brand Registry for free if you have a professional seller account and a trademark registered in one of the eligible countries. By enrolling in Brand Registry, you can access benefits such as enhanced brand content, sponsored brands ads, brand analytics, brand storefronts, and more.
4. Amazon Handmade
This is a marketplace within Amazon that showcases handmade products from artisans around the world. You can apply to sell on Amazon Handmade for free if you have a professional seller account and your products meet the handmade criteria. You can also enjoy lower fees than other categories, such as a 15% referral fee instead of the usual 20%.
5. Amazon Custom
This is a feature that allows sellers to offer personalized products to customers, such as engraved jewelry, monogrammed towels, or custom prints. You can enable Amazon Custom for free if you have a professional seller account and your products are eligible for customization. You can also use the customization platform to create templates, options, and preview images for your products.
6. Amazon Business
This is a marketplace within Amazon that caters to business customers, such as corporations, governments, schools, and nonprofits. You can register as an Amazon Business seller for free if you have a professional seller account and your products are suitable for business buyers. You can also access benefits such as business pricing, quantity discounts, tax exemption, business reports, and more.
7. Global Selling
This is a program that allows sellers to expand their reach and sell their products in other countries and regions. You can sign up for Global Selling for free if you have a professional seller account and your products comply with the local laws and regulations of the target markets. You can also use tools such as FBA Export, Build International Listings, Currency Converter for Sellers, and more.
As you can see, there are different types of Amazon Seller Central accounts that suit different needs and preferences. By choosing the right one for your business, you can optimize your sales performance and customer satisfaction on Amazon.
Types of Amazon Seller Central and Their Global Demand
Amazon Seller Central is the portal for accessing your Amazon seller account and managing your online business. There are different types of sellers on Amazon, depending on their fulfillment options, business models, and selling programs. In this blog post, we will briefly introduce the main types of Amazon Seller Central and discuss their global demand trends.
Professional Seller vs Individual Seller
The first distinction among Amazon sellers is whether they are professional or individual. Professional sellers pay a monthly subscription fee of $39.99 and have access to more tools and benefits, such as bulk listing, inventory management, reports, advertising, and selling programs. Individual sellers pay a per-item fee of $0.99 and have access to basic listing and order management tools. They can create listings one at a time by matching existing products or adding new ones to the catalog.
According to Amazon internal data, more than half of the products sold in Amazon’s store worldwide are from third-party sellers, most of whom are professional sellers. The number of SMBs that surpassed $1 million in sales in Amazon’s stores worldwide grew by more than 20% in 2020. This shows that there is a high and growing demand for professional sellers on Amazon.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) vs Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)
Another distinction among Amazon sellers is whether they use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM). FBA sellers send their products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, where Amazon handles the storage, packing, shipping, and customer service. FBM sellers handle these aspects themselves or use a third-party service provider. FBA sellers benefit from Prime eligibility, fast delivery, and reduced shipping costs. FBM sellers have more control over their inventory and can avoid FBA fees.
According to a report by Jungle Scout, 66% of the top 10,000 Amazon sellers use FBA, 34% use FBM, and less than 1% use a hybrid model. The report also found that FBA sellers have higher average sales and reviews than FBM sellers. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the FBA program, causing delays, restrictions, and increased fees. This has led some sellers to switch to FBM or diversify their fulfillment options.
Amazon Vendors vs Amazon Sellers
The final distinction among Amazon sellers is whether they are vendors or sellers. Vendors sell their products directly to Amazon at wholesale prices, and Amazon becomes the full-time distributor of their products. Sellers sell their products directly to customers on Amazon’s marketplace at retail prices, and they are responsible for their own pricing and marketing strategies. Vendors use Vendor Central, a separate portal from Seller Central, to manage their orders, invoices, and reports. Sellers use Seller Central to manage their listings, orders, payments, and reports.
According to eMarketer, Amazon’s net sales from its first-party business (vendors) grew by 38% in 2020, reaching $197 billion. However, its net sales from its third-party business (sellers) grew by 54%, reaching $189 billion. This means that the third-party business is catching up with the first-party business and may soon surpass it. This shows that there is a strong and growing demand for sellers on Amazon.
References:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/259782/third-party-seller-share-of-amazon-platform/
http://fortune.com/2017/01/04/amazon-marketplace-sales/
https://sell.amazon.com/tools/seller-central
https://www.junglescout.com/blog/amazon-fba-statistics/
https://www.emarketer.com/content/amazon-advertising-2020
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/200336920
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