Amazon now generates more than 60% of its unit sales through third-party sellers. As Amazon continues shifting more brands toward Seller Central, understanding how the 3P model works has become increasingly important for consumer brands that want more control over how they sell on the platform.
The question is no longer simply whether becoming a third-party seller on Amazon makes sense. Brands also need to know how to set up their account correctly, choose the right fulfillment model, build strong listings, and prepare for launch.
This guide walks through how to become a third-party seller on Amazon, from opening an Amazon seller account to building your first listings and preparing for your first 90 days.
Step 1: Understand What It Means to Be a Third-Party Seller
A third-party seller is a brand or business that sells products directly to customers through Amazon’s marketplace rather than selling inventory wholesale to Amazon. Your brand remains the retailer, while Amazon provides the marketplace. Depending on the fulfillment model you choose, Amazon can also handle fulfillment.
As a 3P seller, most day-to-day operations are managed through Amazon Seller Central. This is where you’ll manage product listings, pricing, inventory, advertising, orders, and overall account health.
This is different from Amazon’s 1P model, where Amazon purchases inventory from your brand through Vendor Central and sells the product itself. With 3P, your brand has more direct control over pricing and listing content, along with more responsibility for managing the account.
Step 2: Gather Everything You Need to Open an Amazon Seller Account
Having everything ready before you begin registration can make the process much smoother and help prevent unnecessary delays. Before opening your account, gather:
- A valid business email address or existing Amazon customer account.
- A chargeable credit card.
- A government-issued ID, such as a passport or national ID.
- Business registration information, including your EIN for U.S. businesses, company name, address, and business type.Â
- A U.S. bank account that can receive Amazon disbursements.
- A phone number for two-step verification.
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For brands planning to sell at scale, a professional selling account is generally the better fit. It provides access to tools and features that growing brands are likely to need, including advertising capabilities.
Step 3: Complete the Amazon Seller Central Registration
Once your information is ready, you can begin setting up your Seller Central account. Take your time during registration, especially when entering legal business information. Small inconsistencies between your application and supporting documents can slow down verification.Â
- Go to Amazon’s seller registration page and select the appropriate selling plan.Â
- Enter your legal business name, address, and business type exactly as they appear.
- Add a valid credit card and the bank account where you want to receive disbursements.Â
- Complete Amazon’s identity verification process using the requested government-issued identification and any additional verification steps.Â
- Set up two-step verification to secure the account.
- Once approved, you can access Seller Central and begin setting up your catalog.Â
Avoid creating another seller account simply because an application is still being reviewed. Duplicate accounts can create additional account and verification issues.Â
Step 4: Choose Your Fulfillment Model Before You List Anything
How you plan to fulfill orders should be decided before your first listing goes live. Your fulfillment model affects everything from your operational workload and storage costs to delivery expectations and Prime eligibility.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
With fulfillment by Amazon, you send inventory to Amazon’s fulfillment network, and Amazon handles picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns for eligible orders.Â
FBA is often a practical choice for consumer brands because it reduces the day-to-day fulfillment work required from the brand and can make it easier to provide the delivery experience Amazon customers expect. Brands should still account for fulfillment, storage, and other applicable FBA fees when evaluating margins.
Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)
With fulfillment by Merchant, your brand stores inventory and fulfills customer orders directly. This gives you more control over fulfillment but also means your team is responsible for meeting Amazon’s shipping and customer service requirements.Â
FBM can make sense for oversized products, products with margins that make FBA fees less practical, or as a backup option when FBA inventory runs low.Â
Fulfillment Model Comparison
| Â | FBA | FBM/SFP |
Prime Badge | Available on eligible FBA offers | SFP only, subject to Amazon requirements |
Fulfillment Work | Amazon handles fulfillment | Brand handles fulfillment |
Storage Fees | Yes | No Amazon FBA storage fees |
Buy Box Advantage | Strong when other eligibility factors are met | Depends on fulfillment performance and other factors |
Best For | Many consumer brands | Oversized, low-margin, or operationally specialized SKUs |
Step 5: Build Your First Product Listing the Right Way
Your product listing is one of the most important parts of your launch. A listing that is incomplete, unclear, or poorly optimized can make it harder to convert traffic once shoppers begin reaching the detail page.Â
Every Amazon listing is built around an ASIN. If your product already exists in Amazon’s catalog, you’ll typically contribute your offer and eligible content to the existing ASIN rather than creating a duplicate. If the product is new to Amazon, you’ll create a new product detail page.Â
Key listing elements include:
- Title: Clearly identify the product while naturally incorporating relevant search terms. Prioritize readability and follow the title requirements for your product category.
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- Main image: Use a clear, high-quality product image that follows Amazon’s category-specific image requirements.Â
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- Bullet points: Use the bullets to answer the questions shoppers are most likely to have. Focus on the product’s important features, benefits, uses, and differentiators rather than simply repeating the title.Â
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- A+ Content: Brand Registry-eligible sellers can use A+ Content to expand the detail page with branded imagery, additional product information, comparison modules, and other content.Â
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- Backend search terms: Add relevant search terms that aren’t already covered naturally in the customer-facing copy. Avoid unnecessary repetition.Â
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- Launch price: Establish a competitive pricing strategy before launch while keeping your broader channel strategy and margins in mind.Â
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The goal isn’t to fit as many keywords as possible into the listing. Strong Amazon content should align the language customers are searching with clear, useful information that helps them decide whether the product is right for them.Â
Step 6: Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry Before You Launch
For brands that qualify, Amazon Brand Registry provides access to tools that can make it easier to manage and protect your presence on Amazon. Enrollment generally requires an eligible trademark and gives brands access to additional brand-building and protection capabilities.Â
Depending on eligibility and marketplace availability, Brand Registry can provide access to tools such as:Â
- A+ Content and Brand Stores
- Sponsored Brands advertising
- Brand Analytics
- Brand protection and infringement-reporting tools
- Additional tools for building presence on Amazon
If Brand Registry is part of your Amazon strategy, start the trademark and enrollment process early. Getting these pieces in place before a major product launch can give your team access to more of Amazon’s brand tools from the beginning.
Step 7: Send Your First FBA Shipment
If you’re using FBA, your inventory needs to be received and checked into Amazon’s fulfillment network before Amazon can fulfill orders from that inventory.Â
Start by preparing your products according to Amazon’s current FBA packaging, labeling, and prep requirements. Depending on the product, this may include specific packaging or labeling requirements.Â
Next, create your inbound shipment through Seller Central. Amazon will provide the appropriate shipment destinations based on its current inventory placement process.Â
Once the shipment is ready, send it using an eligible partnered carrier or another carrier that meets your needs. Receiving times can vary, so build extra time into your launch schedule rather than assuming inventory will become available immediately after delivery.Â
Most importantly, don’t plan your launch around inventory that hasn’t been received and made available for sale yet. Account for your supplier lead time, shipping time, and Amazon’s receiving process when determining your replenishment schedule.Â
Step 8: Set Your Pricing Strategy and MAP Policy from Day One
Pricing affects both the customer experience and your ability to compete effectively on Amazon. Before going live, establish how your Amazon pricing will fit into your broader retail strategy.Â
Two areas deserve particular attention:
- Your retail price: Keep pricing consistent with your overall channel strategy and regularly monitor your offers across the web. Pricing inconsistencies can affect how competitive your Amazon offer is and may create issues for the customer experience.
- Your MAP policy: If your brand works with resellers or distributors, establish and clearly communicate your minimum advertised price policy before expanding distribution. A defined policy can help your brand manage pricing consistency across authorized sellers.Â
Amazon does not enforce your MAP policy for you, so the brand needs a clear process for monitoring its distribution network and addressing violations when appropriate.Â
Establishing these policies early is much easier than trying to regain control after your Amazon business and reseller network have already grown.
Step 9: Launch PPC on Day One, Not After You Have Waited for Organic Rank
New ASINs start without sale history, keyword rankings, or reviews, which can make it difficult to gain organic visibility right away. PPC gives your products a way to reach relevant shoppers while Amazon begins collecting performance data on the listing.Â
Start with an automatic Sponsored Products campaign to learn which searches are driving clicks and conversions. Give the campaign enough time and budget to collect meaningful data rather than making major changes after only a few days.
Once you have search term data, identify the queries that are actually converting and move the strongest terms into manual campaigns. Exact and phrase match targeting can give you more control over bids and budgets, while negative targeting can help reduce spend on irrelevant searches.Â
Brands enrolled in Brand Registry can also incorporate Sponsored Brands into their launch strategy to increase brand visibility and direct shoppers to additional products or the Brand Store.Â
As campaigns begin generating data, look beyond ACoS alone. Tracking TACoS can help show how advertising is contributing to overall sales and whether organic sales are beginning to grow alongside paid traffic.Â
Step 10: Know Your Account Health Metrics Before You Need Them
Account health should be monitored from the beginning, not only when an issue appears. Amazon tracks seller performance continuously, and falling outside its required targets can affect listings or the overall selling account.Â
Metric | Amazon’s Threshold | What Causes Problems |
Order Defect Rate (ODR) | Below 1% | Negative feedback, A-to-z Guarantee claims, Ad chargebacks |
Late Shipment Rate | Below 4% | Merchant-fulfilled orders shipped after the expected ship date |
Cancellation Rate | Below 2.5% | Seller-initiated cancellations before shipment |
Valid Tracking Rate | Above 95% | Merchant-fulfilled shipments without valid tracking information |
Policy Compliance | No violations | Listing or Policy Violations and Restricted Product Issues |
FBA can reduce some of the fulfillment-related responsibilities associated with late shipments and tracking, but it does not remove the need to monitor overall account health. Order defects, policy compliance, and other performance issues can still affect FBA sellers.Â
Make Account Health a regular part of your Seller Central routine, particularly during the first few months when you’re establishing processes and learning where issues are most likely to occur.Â
Step 11: Manage Your First 90 Days Like a Launch, Not a Wait
The first 90 days give you valuable information about how customers are finding, clicking, and purchasing your products. Rather than launching the listing and waiting for organic growth, use this period to actively improve your advertising, content, inventory planning, and overall Amazon strategy.
- Days 1 to 30: Make sure your inventory is available and your listings are functioning correctly. Launch PPC, complete Brand Registry enrollment if needed, and begin gathering initial sales and advertising data. If eligible, consider programs such as Amazon Vibe to help support early review generation.Â
- Day 31 to 60: Review your search term and advertising data to see which keywords are producing meaningful results. Move strong search terms into more targeted campaigns and evaluate listing performance to identify areas where shoppers may be dropping off.Â
- Days 61 to 90: Look at how your priority keywords are performing organically and compare your listings against key competitors. Continue refining PPC based on actual conversion data and begin using your sales history to improve inventory and replenishment planning.
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Your launch period isn’t simply about generating as many sales as possible. It’s about learning what works and using that information to build a stronger foundation for long-term growth.Â
Running a 3P Account Is a Full-Time Job. Plan for It.
Becoming a third-party seller on Amazon is only the beginning. Once the account is live, you’ll need to manage PPC, inventory, pricing, account health, brand protection, and overall performance across your catalog.
As the business grows, these responsibilities become more complex. A successful 3P strategy requires regular attention to both the individual pieces of the account and how they work together.Â
Witz Group works with consumer brands across health, beauty, and food to manage their Amazon presence, from listing optimization and PPC to inventory management, brand protection, and performance reporting. For brands that want to grow their Amazon business without building a dedicated internal team, full-service account management can provide the structure and ongoing oversight needed to scale.Â
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I become a third-party seller on Amazon?
Start by creating an Amazon Seller Central account and completing Amazon’s business and identity verification process. Once approved, choose your fulfillment method, create or connect your product listings, and prepare your inventory for launch. Brands with an eligible trademark should also consider enrolling in Amazon Brand Registry to access additional brand-building and protection tools.
What is the difference between Amazon FBA and FBM?
With FBA, inventory is sent to Amazon’s fulfillment, including picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. With FBM, the seller stores inventory and handles fulfillment directly. The right model depends on factors such as product size, margins, operational capabilities, and inventory strategy.Â
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon as a 3P seller?
Amazon selling costs depend on your selling plan, product category, fulfillment method, and other services you use. Costs can include account fees, referral fees, FBA fulfillment and storage fees, and advertising spend. Brands should calculate these costs against their product margins before deciding on a pricing and fulfillment strategy.Â
Do I need a registered trademark to sell on Amazon?
No. A registered trademark is not required simply to open an Amazon Seller Central account and begin selling. However, an eligible trademark is generally required for Amazon Brand Registry, which gives qualifying brands access to additional tools for managing, marketing, and protecting their presence on Amazon.Â
What is Amazon Seller Central?
Amazon Seller Central is the dashboard 3P sellers use to manage their entire Amazon business: listings, pricing, FBA inventory, advertising, account health, and sales data. It is separate from Vendor Central, which is used by 1P suppliers selling wholesale to Amazon. All third-party sellers operate through Seller Central.
How long does it take to start selling on Amazon?
Account approval takes one to three business days. FBA sellers then need to ship inventory and wait for Amazon’s check-in process, which adds another 3 to 10 business days. FBM sellers can go live as soon as their account is approved and listings are created. Most brands should plan for two to four weeks from registration to first live sale, with the trademark and Brand Registry process running in parallel.
