How To Become An Amazon Prime Seller

Are you looking for an opportunity to expand your business, reach more customers, and increase your potential profits? Becoming an Amazon Prime Seller is a great way to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality and start your own business. It can open up a world of opportunities and give you access to a broad customer base, but getting started can be a complex process.

It's important to understand what is required and have a plan. With the right strategy and preparation, you can become an Amazon Prime Seller and start taking advantage of all the benefits it has to offer!

Why Sell on Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime has become one of the most powerful ecommerce platforms in the world, offering its customers a wide range of products and services. Amazon boasts more than 180 million users in the United States, a number that is growing higher every year. 

Amazon Prime offers several benefits to sellers, such as:

• Increased brand and product visibility
• A higher chance of positive reviews
• Better and faster shipment
• Access to Prime customers
• Access to streaming content

Moreover, Amazon Prime sellers also benefit from Amazon’s helpful tools and services. You can use Amazon’s fulfillment service to help you manage your orders, and reach new customers with Amazon’s promotional tools.

For all these reasons, selling on Amazon Prime is an excellent way to grow your business and maximize your profits. As an Amazon Prime Seller, you will have access to millions of customers, exclusive tools, and advertising services all designed to help you succeed. 

Ultimately, selling on Amazon Prime can be a great way to increase your sales and profits for your business.

How Much Does it Cost to be an Amazon Prime Seller?

While there are many benefits of being an Amazon Prime Seller, it does come with costs that all business owners need to be aware of. Before you can take advantage of the Amazon Prime platform, you need to understand the costs associated with becoming an Amazon Prime seller.

The particular price will depend on the strategy you will choose to join Amazon Prime (Amazon FBA, Seller-Fulfilled Prime, or Amazon Vendor Central) and your seller plan. Here are the two options:

• Individual: $0.99/ item sold (without additional fees);
• Professional: $39.99/ month (without additional fees).

How to Become Prime Eligible 

The first step to becoming an Amazon Prime Seller is to sign up for an Amazon Seller Account. This will give you access to Amazon's selling tools. Once enrolled in the program, you will be able to set up your online Amazon storefront, and create product listings. 

After you become a Prime Seller, you will need to choose which of the following options work best on your Prime journey. 

Amazon FBA

Fulfilled by Amazon or FBA, is the service in which you ship all your products to the Amazon warehouse and they will handle processing orders placed through the platform. 

This service allows you to store your products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and have them shipped directly to customers. This is a great way to improve your efficiency, and provide a great customer experience. One of the best perks with FBA is that Amazon will handle all of the shipping for you, so you won’t have to worry about meeting the Prime shipping standards to customers across the country. 

What Amazon does: 

• Proper product storage
• Instant shipment from Amazon Fulfillment Center
• Fast delivery
• Handle customer service

Downsides:

• You don’t have control over your packaging and shipping
• Complex Amazon Fulfillment fees
• The more inventory, the higher the fees

Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime

Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime is a program that allows Amazon sellers to ship orders to Prime customers directly. It’s an ideal option for sellers who want t take advantage of the Amazon Prime badge, but don't have the resources to join the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program.

To become an Amazon Prime Seller and access the Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime program, you must meet certain criteria. Once you've met these requirements, your listings will receive the Prime label. 

Amazon Requirements for SFP Sellers: 

• Two-day delivery commitment
• National delivery coverage
• 99% on-time delivery record
• Use Amazon Buy Shipping on 99% of your orders
• Rely on SFP-approved carriers
• Handle weekend pickups and shipping
• Let Amazon handle customer service
• Comply with the Amazon Returns Policy

From: Amazon.com

Note: Before enrolling in Seller Fulfilled Prime, you must complete a trial period (5 to 90 days with a minimum of 200 orders) to show that you capable of meeting the requirements. During the trial period, the Prime badge won’t be displayed. 

Main Features:

• Direct delivery to domestic Prime customers from your own warehouse
• Two-day delivery (no additional charge)
• Increased chances of becoming the featured offer and winning the buy box
• Low storage and shipping costs

Downsides:

• It can be difficult to be approved for SFP
• You’ll need to manage shipping, fulfill orders and pay all costs
• Staying current with SFP requirements
• Those who fall below the SFP standards won’t be able to join this program a second time

Amazon Vendor Central

Amazon Vendor Central allows vendors to sell directly to Amazon as wholesales, after which  Amazon itself sells and delivers the product to the consumers. 

In addition to access to Amazon Prime services, Amazon Vendor Central offers exclusive deals and discounts on products and services. Sellers can take advantage of Amazon Prime – exclusive deals to increase their profitability and reach more customers. 

This option also helps vendors earn a Prime badge.

To get invited to this program, you need to: 

• Request an invite from Amazon
• Move up your status into the “top” brands on Amazon
• Receive high ratings on your product listings

What Amazon Does: 

• Handles all the business-to-consumer sales
• Takes care of most legwork 
• Qualifies your inventory with “Ship from and sold by Amazon”
• Guarantees a steady income

Downsides:

• Access to the program is invitation only
• Amazon decides which products it’ll stock from you;
• Amazon has complete control over your products.

Get Started Selling 

Becoming an Amazon Prime Seller starts with having a business plan that outlines your core operations, customer strategy, and plans for growth. The more specific and detailed your plan is, the better your chances of succeeding are. 

Once you’ve stepped on the Amazon Prime journey, all you need to do is take the time to analyze your business’s current situation and set a goal for where you want it to be in the future. 

This way, you’ll have a clear idea of what it will take to get there and how to make every step along the way effective.