How Amazon Seller Central helps you manage your online business
Whether you run an existing business or are an entrepreneur looking to start something new, having the right tools and resources is necessary for management and growth. Amazon Seller Central can help you keep on top of online sales.
What is Seller Central?
Seller Central is the portal for accessing your Amazon seller account. It's a one-stop shop for effectively managing sales, and your go-to resource for selling in Amazon’s store..
Amazon Seller Central helps you navigate your seller account and grow your business on Amazon with helpful tools and content, all from one convenient dashboard. You can log in to monitor your Amazon sales activity and so much more.
Amazon Seller Central helps you navigate your seller account and grow your business on Amazon with helpful tools and content, all from one convenient dashboard. You can log in to monitor your Amazon sales activity and so much more.
Seller Central tools and benefits
Seller Central has many features and benefits. Here is a sampling of a few tools at your fingertips:
- List new products and add or update product information.
- Keep track of daily sales for all the products you sell in Amazon’s store.
- Keep track of inventory and update listings.
- Track and manage payments, returns, and refunds.
- Download custom business reports and bookmark templates you use often.
- Use customer metrics to monitor store performance.
- Contact Selling Partner Support and open help tickets.
- Access growth tools to increase sales.
- Manage shipping with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
- Manage selling programs such as B2B, Handmade, and Amazon Custom.
- Manage advertising campaigns and monitor performance.
- Monitor customer feedback and reviews.
- Sell internationally with Amazon Global Selling.
Did you know?
Selling online with Amazon can fuel your business growth
A recent survey of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) found:
- SMBs that sell in Amazon’s stores are 2.5 times more likely to have seen revenue growth of 25% in 2020 than those that don’t.
- 94% of SMBs selling in Amazon’s stores said they'd seen some growth in the past year.
- SMBs selling in Amazon’s stores are more than twice as likely to see 25% to more than 50% hiring growth compared to SMBs that are not.
How do I access Amazon Seller Central?
Amazon Seller Central is available to all Amazon sellers. Once you register, you’ll gain access to your Seller Central account. Here, you’ll be able to take care of your day-to-day business and access tools to help boost sales all in one place. You can also manage your online store on the go through the free Amazon Seller app.
The first step to accessing Seller Central is to choose a selling plan that fits your business goals.
The first step to accessing Seller Central is to choose a selling plan that fits your business goals.
- The Individual selling plan is a pay-as-you-go plan that provides access to basic listing and order management tools. You can create listings one at a time, either by matching offers to existing products or adding new products to the Amazon catalog. You don't pay fees to Amazon unless an item sells, so it’s a good starting point for entrepreneurs new to online selling.
- The Professional selling plan gives you access to advanced selling tools for a monthly subscription fee. You pay a monthly fee regardless of whether you list or sell anything; however, you don't pay a per-item fee when an item sells (for both plans, Amazon 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). This option gives you access to inventory tools to upload batch files and manage orders through feeds and reports. These tools are especially beneficial to medium and large businesses.
Why sell online with Amazon? Here are three good reasons:
1.
Amazon offers online businesses access to millions of customers every day
More than 1.7 million small- and medium-sized businesses around the world sell in Amazon’s store, and third-party sellers now account for more than 50% of all units sold in Amazon stores.
2.
Entrepreneurs are earning sales and growing their businesses
In 2019, nearly 225,000 entrepreneurs worldwide eclipsed $100,000 in sales in Amazon’s store, and 15,000 U.S. businesses broke $1 million.
Ecommerce is thriving, and trends show continued growth year over year. For aspiring entrepreneurs and growing businesses, ecommerce can be a profitable model to adapt either as the sole focus of your business or as an additional selling channel.
Ecommerce is thriving, and trends show continued growth year over year. For aspiring entrepreneurs and growing businesses, ecommerce can be a profitable model to adapt either as the sole focus of your business or as an additional selling channel.
3.
Amazon supports online sellers and entrepreneurs with resources and tools
In 2019, Amazon invested $15 billion and launched 225 new tools and services to help third-party sellers grow and thrive. Seller University and Amazon Small Business Academy is where you can explore webinars, register for monthly small business workshops, and discover more tools to empower small business owners.
Launch your business and join entrepreneurs like Sandra
Sandra Manay is finding success in her dream to connect Latin American artisans with customers around the globe through her store, Luna Sundara.
“I decided to launch on Amazon and things skyrocketed. I saw so many sales, so many people getting the products. I’m very happy to get the opportunity to share my culture with the world.”
Sandra Manay
Co-Founder, Luna Sundara
Learn more about how Amazon can help brands of all types and sizes build, grow, and protect their business.
How does Amazon Seller Central work?
With Amazon Seller Central, you’ll be on your way to effectively streamlining your online business management. Here’s an overview of how to get started and what your main navigation may look like.
Create an Amazon seller account
- You will automatically gain access to Seller Central once you create an Amazon seller account.
- If you already have an Amazon seller account, simply sign in with your registered email and password.
Customize your dashboard
- Add the widgets you’ll use most often.
- Use the settings drop-down menu to access your account information.
Manage inventory and fulfillment
Inventory management is how you track, source, store, and process products to get them ready for sale. Fulfillment is the process involving inventory storage (warehousing), packing and shipping orders, and processing any returns or exchanges.
- Add products individually or via bulk upload
- Upload and manage videos
- List products and manage inventory
- Manage fulfillment
- Merchant (in-house) fulfillment (MFN--sometimes referred to as FBM)
- Third-party fulfillment service
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA
When you choose to use FBA, you automatically gain access to Amazon’s machine learning-based inventory management system. This system uses Amazon data to forecast customer demand and set optimum inventory levels.
Pro Tip
Not sure what type of fulfillment is right for you? Check out the ecommerce fulfillment guide to grow your business.
Set and automate pricing from the pricing dashboard
- Manage pricing and automate with the automate pricing tool
- Keep an eye on pricing health
- Set fix price alerts and check on discounts
Manage orders and returns
- Manage orders and download order reports
- Upload order files
- Manage returns and claims
Tackle advertising and campaigns
- Access the Campaign Manager
- Create high-powered product listings with the A+ Content Manager
- Offer special deals, coupons, and promotions
- Manage Amazon Vine and Prime Exclusive Discounts
Generate reports
- Download payment, business, and tax reports
- Access the Amazon Selling Coach, which offers personalized recommendations plus notifications on new selling opportunities
- Create other custom reports
Stay on top of performance
- Get an overview of your Account Health
- View dashboard overviews of sales and store performance, including customer metrics
- Check feedback and any pending claims
- Quick access to the Seller University full library
Provide customer service
- Check reviews and easily communicate with customers using the Messages tab
- Gather customer feedback and address product issues
- Refund orders
Manage advertising, merchandising, and brand tools
- Manage pay-per-click ad campaigns
- Manage promotions, deals, coupons, and Prime-exclusive discounts
- Create or edit an Amazon store with a self-service store builder
- Manage rich detail page content (A+ Content)
- Manage Vine customer reviews
Get access to seller resources
- Use apps to automate your daily tasks and explore additional services
- Access business reports and templates
- Contact Selling Partner Support
- Engage with Amazon Seller Central Forums
- Discover and enroll in recommended programs
GO MOBILE
Use the free Amazon Seller app
The Amazon Seller app is packed with features to help you manage and grow your ecommerce business wherever you are. It gives you the freedom to take care of business details right from your phone or tablet.
Pro Tip
Amazon Seller Central offers help and tutorials for Amazon sellers through help pages, seller forums, and Seller University videos.
Beyond Seller Central
Use applications and services to automate, manage, and grow your Amazon business
The Seller Central Partner Network features services and applications from Amazon and approved third-party software providers to help you start and scale your ecommerce business.
- Customize and expand the functionality of Seller Central to increase selling efficiency, automate pricing, build reports, conduct product research, improve customer response time, and more.
- Ecommerce solution connectors integrate your ecommerce site with Amazon for quicker listing, improved order management, cross-channel inventory sync, and more.
- A directory of vetted, third-party service partners across the globe to help with tasks from shooting great product images to improving your chances of increasing sales on Amazon.
Learn the lingo:
Application program interface
An application program interface (API) allows software programs to communicate to achieve greater functionality for a product.
FAQ
How do I get to Amazon Seller Central?
Once you register as an Amazon seller, you’ll gain access to your Seller Central account. The first step is to choose a selling plan that fits your business goals. You can either pay per sale (Individual selling plan) or pay a flat monthly fee (Professional selling plan). Consult the Beginner’s Guide to Selling on Amazon for help with launching your business.
Is Amazon Seller Central free?
Yes, it’s free for registered Amazon sellers. To get started, choose a selling plan, register, and then you’ll have access to Seller Central as part of your seller account. Your selling costs will depend on what plan you choose among other variables. Visit our pricing page for a summary of selling fees.
You can also use the free Amazon Seller app to manage your online business from your mobile device.
You can also use the free Amazon Seller app to manage your online business from your mobile device.
How much does it cost to sell in Amazon’s Store using Seller Central?
The cost to sell in Amazon’s store depends on your selling plan, product category, fulfillment strategy, and other variables. The options are flexible, so you can find the right combo for your business and selling goals.
What is an Amazon seller account?
An Amazon seller account is what allows you to sell in the Amazon store. Once you register as an Amazon seller and choose a selling plan, you’ll have access to Seller Central as part of your business account.
Seller Central helps you navigate and grow your Amazon business with helpful tools and resources at your fingertips.
Seller Central helps you navigate and grow your Amazon business with helpful tools and resources at your fingertips.
What is Amazon Pay Seller Central?
Amazon Pay Seller Central is a version of Seller Central for Amazon Payments merchants. It’s a portal with tools to help Amazon Pay merchants manage their accounts.
What is the difference between Amazon Seller Central and Amazon Vendor Central?
One is open to any aspiring or existing business owner, and the other is invite-only. Here’s how to tell which is which:
- Amazon Seller Central business owners are considered third-party sellers, selling directly to consumers. Aspiring entrepreneurs or existing business owners can register to sell on Amazon.com.
- Amazon Vendor Central is by invitation only from Amazon. It’s a first-party vendor relationship. Instead of selling directly to customers, you sell in bulk (wholesale) to Amazon. Amazon then provides distribution of a brand or manufacturer’s product.
What can I sell in Amazon’s store as a new seller?
What you can or can’t sell depends on your business, the product category, and your selling account. Some categories are open to all sellers without restrictions; others require a selling plan. Still other products are restricted or prohibited from sale. Here’s a list of product categories open to sellers (and a handy guide to help you launch an online store).
The barriers to starting an online business have never been lower, and the growth of online retail sales in recent years shows no signs of slowing down. Instead, they're projected to grow to the tune of $6.54 trillion in 2022—good news for those considering ecommerce. If you’re new to the world of ecommerce, check out this guide to starting an ecommerce business.
What will your next big idea be? Spark your creativity with this list of 38 online business ideas.
The barriers to starting an online business have never been lower, and the growth of online retail sales in recent years shows no signs of slowing down. Instead, they're projected to grow to the tune of $6.54 trillion in 2022—good news for those considering ecommerce. If you’re new to the world of ecommerce, check out this guide to starting an ecommerce business.
What will your next big idea be? Spark your creativity with this list of 38 online business ideas.
