Amazon Seller Central is the interface that is used by merchants to sell their products directly to customers through Amazon.com and other websites owned or operated by Amazon. Customers who purchase products through Amazon.com will see those products are being sold by the merchant using ‘Amazon Seller Central’ instead of Amazon directly.
An Amazon Seller Central account is considered a marketplace or third-party Amazon seller. These sellers handle their own shipping, customer service, and returns related to their orders. They also have an agreement with Amazon allowing them to list and sell their products on the Amazon.com website and other sites owned by Amazon.
The Amazon seller is responsible for setting up and maintaining their seller account and uploading all product listings, descriptions, photos, pricing, and content related to the products they wish to sell on the site. They are also responsible for paying any fees associated with selling their products through the site.
There are two types of accounts available for sellers on this platform: Individual Accounts and Professional Accounts. The professional seller accounts require a monthly subscription fee but provide more features, analytics tools, and marketing options that allow you to better manage your business’s products and brand on the platform. Most businesses will opt for the professional seller accounts as it offers analytics & marketing tools that can help you scale your amazon fba business.
Benefits of Amazon Seller Central
Now that Amazon has launched Seller Central, the benefits of having an Amazon seller account have never been greater. With Seller Central, you get the following:
Benefits to Sellers
Open to anyone
Amazon Seller Central is available to any seller who has a U.S. shipping address and a U.S. bank account. It’s available to anyone with a U.S. business tax ID number, so if you want to sell internationally, you can use a different address for your business tax ID.
Control of the Seller Account
As an Amazon seller, you get full control over your brand and inventory across multiple channels, which lets you manage all of your listings from a single place (and from one user ID). You can also assign roles to other people in your company or organization so they can manage their own listings on Amazon directly from the same user ID.
Flexible Logistical Options
Because Amazon’s fulfillment centers are strategically located throughout the world, you can choose where to ship your products and how to pick up and drop off shipments safely and securely.* This makes it much easier for you to scale your business and offers faster delivery times than traditional shipping carriers.*
Quick Payment Terms
Amazon offers payment terms up to 120 days for most categories of items sold
What is Amazon Vendor Central?
Amazon Vendor Central is most often used by direct manufacturers and distributors, but anyone can become an Amazon Vendor if you have a product that fits Amazon’s criteria.
If you sell through Vendor Central you are considered a first-party seller, which means your products are sold directly by Amazon. Your company is acting as the supplier to amazon, in other words you are selling your products directly to Amazon in bulk.
Registration on Vendor Central is strictly by invitation only. If you want to become an Amazon Vendor, Amazon advises that 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.
That being said, if a company is selling through Vendor Central the phrase “ships from and sold by Amazon” appears on the order page.
What’s more suitable amazon seller vs vendor central