Sell
How to start
selling on Amazon
Whether you’ve already got an established ecommerce business, a great idea for a new product, or you just have a passion for selling, here’s how to take that next step with Amazon.
Before you start
Choose a selling plan
With the Individual plan, you’ll pay $0.99 every time you sell an item. The Professional plan costs $39.99 per month, no matter how many items you sell. For both plans, Amazon also collects a referral fee on each sale, which is a percentage of the total transaction and varies by product category. Visit our pricing page for a summary of selling fees.
Consider your selling strategy
Resellers find popular products that already exist and offer them in Amazon's stores.
Brand owners manufacture their own products—or source goods to sell under a private label—to offer shoppers unique selection.
Lots of sellers do both. You can choose whichever method works for your goals. If you plan to sell your own brand on Amazon, we have lots of resources and tools to help.
Brand owners manufacture their own products—or source goods to sell under a private label—to offer shoppers unique selection.
Lots of sellers do both. You can choose whichever method works for your goals. If you plan to sell your own brand on Amazon, we have lots of resources and tools to help.
Perfect Launch: five steps for your first 90 days
For new Amazon sellers, the first 90 days are especially critical for establishing the right practices to accelerate performance beyond launch. Perfect Launch is what Amazon data scientists call the use of five selling programs—Brand Registry, A+ Content, Fulfillment by Amazon, Automated Pricing, and Advertising—within those first 90 days. New sellers taking these five steps within that critical timeframe can generate sales more quickly, and many of the most successful sellers already have.
Create an Amazon seller account
You can use your customer account to start selling, or you can create a new Amazon seller account with your business email. Residents of these countries are eligible.
Before you sign up, make sure you’re ready with the following:
Before you sign up, make sure you’re ready with the following:
- Business email address or Amazon customer account
- Internationally chargeable credit card
- Government ID (identity verification protects sellers and customers)
- Tax information
- Phone number
- A bank account where Amazon can send you proceeds from your sales
Amazon jargon:
Seller Central
Seller Central is the website where sellers log in to monitor their Amazon sales activity. You can manage inventory, update pricing, communicate with buyers, review account health, contact selling partner support, and add new products.
Go mobile
Use the Amazon Seller app to track sales, fulfill orders, find products to sell, respond to customer questions, capture and edit professional-quality product photos, and create listings—all from your phone.
Adding your products
What can you sell on Amazon? It depends on the product, the category, and the brand.
Some categories are open to all sellers, some require a Professional seller account, some require approval to sell, and some include products that cannot be sold by third-party sellers.
The table below provides an overview of Amazon product categories, but visit Seller Central Help to learn more about restrictions, and how to request approval. If you ship orders with Fulfillment By Amazon, be sure to review the specific list of FBA product restrictions.
Some categories are open to all sellers, some require a Professional seller account, some require approval to sell, and some include products that cannot be sold by third-party sellers.
The table below provides an overview of Amazon product categories, but visit Seller Central Help to learn more about restrictions, and how to request approval. If you ship orders with Fulfillment By Amazon, be sure to review the specific list of FBA product restrictions.
Product categories
Product category
Example products
Conditions allowed
Categories with restrictions
Automotive & Powersports
New, Used, Collectible
Baby Products
Topicals, food, feeding products, diapers, strollers, carriers, toys
New
Beauty Topicals
Cosmetics, fragrance, skincare, makeup, hair care, bath & shower, topicals
New
Certified Refurbished
Laptops & computers, smartphones, tablets, kitchen appliances, office equipment
See Amazon Renewed
Collectible Coins
Graded collectible coins minted by governments, US Mint packaged product, gold coins, silver coins, platinum coins, palladium coins
Collectible
Entertainment Collectibles
Celebrity signed photos, original movie posters, limited-edition figures and busts, animation cels
Collectible
Health & Personal Care
First aid, nutrition, feminine hygiene, dietary supplements
New
Historical & Advertising Collectibles
Vintage collectibles related to historical people, places, or events and promotional materials related to consumer brands.
Collectible
Industrial & Scientific
Lab equipment & supplies, industrial materials, power transmission, electronic components, sanitation, janitorial
New
Music
CDs, cassettes, vinyl, and other sound recordings
New, Used, Collectible
Plants, Plant Products, & Seeds
New
Sports Collectibles
Trading cards, game-used and autographed items
Collectible
Watches
All watches
New
Warranties, Services Plans, Contracts, & Guarantees
N/A
Product listing details
To start selling a product on Amazon, you’ll create a product listing in Seller Central (or via API). A product listing includes:
- A product identifier, such as GTIN, UPC, ISBN, or EAN to specify the exact item you’re selling. You can get a UPC code directly from GS1, or request an exemption.
- A SKU, which is a product ID you create to track your own inventory
- Offer details, including price, product condition, available quantity, and shipping options
- Product details like name, brand, category, description, and images
- Keywords and search terms to help buyers find your product
If another seller already offers the same product, you’ll match an existing listing (which means some details will already be in place, like the product identifier). If you’re the first seller to offer a product, you’ll create a new listing.
Amazon jargon:
ASIN
Every product offered for sale on Amazon gets an automatically generated ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number), which is different from a GTIN or SKU. Multiple sellers may offer the same ASIN.
The product detail page
Your offer details will be displayed on a “product detail page.” If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon.com, you’ve seen one. Product detail pages are where customers find all of the relevant information about a particular item.
When multiple sellers offer the same product, Amazon combines data from those various offers on a single detail page. Sellers who offers the product can contribute detail page information—or request detail page reviews if the information displayed is incorrect.
If you sell your products under a registered trademark, consider enrolling in Amazon Brand Registry, a free service that gives you increased control over product detail pages that use your brand name.
When multiple sellers offer the same product, Amazon combines data from those various offers on a single detail page. Sellers who offers the product can contribute detail page information—or request detail page reviews if the information displayed is incorrect.
If you sell your products under a registered trademark, consider enrolling in Amazon Brand Registry, a free service that gives you increased control over product detail pages that use your brand name.
1.
Title
200 characters max, capitalize the first letter of every word
2.
Images
500 x 500 or 1,000 x 1,000 pixels to increase listing quality
3.
Variations
Such as different colors, scents, or sizes
4.
Bullet points
Short, descriptive sentences highlighting key features and benefits
5.
Featured offer ("Buy Box")
The featured offer on a detail page. Customers can add to their cart or “Buy Now”
6.
Other offers
The same product sold by multiple sellers offering a different price, shipping options, etc.
7.
Description
Keywords improve the chances that people will find your listing
Amazon jargon:
Featured Offer ("Buy Box")
If more than one seller offers a product, they may compete for the Featured Offer (“Buy Box”), the most visible offers on the product detail page. Sellers must meet performance-based requirements to be eligible for Featured Offer placement.
Attracting customers
Once your products go live in Amazon's stores, there are a number of things you can do to attract customers. The Amazon Flywheel describes our method for driving growth.
Below are some ways to consider using “Amazon Flywheel” principles to generate momentum for your business.
Below are some ways to consider using “Amazon Flywheel” principles to generate momentum for your business.
Provide fast shipping
Customers often shop products with the Amazon Prime badge, which you can get by using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to ship products from one of our fulfillment centers.
Advertise your offers
Help improve visibility of individual products and boost brand awareness by advertising in search results and on product pages. Running a deal or a coupon is another way to promote your products.
Set competitive prices
Many customers shop for the best price. Seller Central tools like automated repricing and bulk pricing for Amazon Business customers can help you stay competitive.
After your first sale
The moment you’re selling on Amazon is the moment you can start growing. We have tools in place to help you take things to the next level and then some.
Get customer reviews
Customer product reviews benefit customers and sellers. Make sure you’re familiar with the right and wrong ways to get more product reviews and avoid policy violations.
Grow your business
Selling in Amazon stores enables you to build a worldwide company from your laptop. Advertising, promotions, and global selling are just a few ways to expand.
Stay successful
We set a high bar for Amazon sellers because we want to provide a seamless, trustworthy, delightful shopping experience for customers.
Start selling today
Put your products in front of the millions of customers who search Amazon.com every day.
$39.99 a month + selling fees
Just have a few items to sell?
