Starting a company on Amazon can be a fun and thrilling time, however it may not be easy if you do not know what to expect. If you’re thinking of starting an Amazon business, this guide will show you how to activate your account. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be ready to start listing and selling your products.
Follow our 8-step process to activate your amazon seller account.
Refer to our other guides; these will serve as an in-depth supplement to this guide.
- How-To Guide: Change Your Amazon Store Name Amazon store name
- How to Start Amazon FBA With Little Money Now
- 9 Things to know when choosing an Amazon Seller Name
Step 1: Sign up on Amazon!
You have to register a new seller central account on Amazon. To begin the first step, go to the Amazon Seller Central page. Below the Sign up button, you will see a cost of monthly registration based on your account kind. There are two choices – individual plan and professional plan.
There are pros and cons of each account if you are starting a new Amazon account. If you want to start small, the individual seller plan will be financially less demanding to start with.
However, we recommend that you start with the professional plan for your new account, simply because:
- If you sell more than 40 items a month, it would be cheaper than the individual plan cost of $0.99 fee per unit sold
- You’ll have access to use the bulk listing tool
- You can customize shipping rates for your items
- You’ll be able to launch special promotions for Amazon prime day or for the 4th quarter holiday sales
- Have your products gift-wrapped and shipped out by Amazon
- Get placed at the top of product detail pages using advertisements
Step 2: Understand Amazon FBA Sellers Fees
The first thing to note is that it is not free to sell on Amazon! Amazon charges several fees for your business venture, including:
Amazon Referral Fees
Amazon charges a fee whenever you sell a product using its referral program. The fee comes in a range of values from 8 to 15 for most product categories, but it can oscillate a great deal based upon product class. For products such as computers, the fee can go as low as 6%, whereas in another category such as Amazon device accessories the fee can be quite high up to 40%.
Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) Fees
If you want Amazon to pack and deliver on your behalf, this service will cost you a fulfillment fee. As stated by Amazon, FBA fees change every year depending on the costs for Amazon to ship, transport and deliver your products. This fee is also dependent on product category, product size/weight, and additional category guidelines. To learn more about FBA fees and how they will impact your profitability, head to Amazon Seller Central Support.
Other Amazon seller fees
Other costs associated with your Amazon business include:
- Inventory storage fees
- Promotional fees (when you use an Amazon sale mechanism like “Lightning Deals”)
- Returns
You’ll need to understand the overall cost structure, including overhead costs.
So that you avoid major shocks on your balance sheet. Too many Amazon professional seller account don’t know their profitability until the end of the year when their accountant announces the final numbers, hopefully your accounts won’t be in the red!
Step 3: Complete Your Amazon Account on Seller Central
A. Business Information – Prepare your legal business name, address and contact information
B. Email Address – Choose an email address where Amazon can send you important notifications. You can use your personal email account, or create a free email account via Gmail, Outlook, iCloud etc.
C. Phone Number – Key in a phone number where you can be reached during this registration process. Amazon may choose to contact you via a phone call during the verification phase.
D. Tax ID – Use your actual tax identity information, including your Social Security number or your company’s Federal Tax ID number. This is a check to ensure that you are a real person selling on Amazon! Amazon has strict practices to protect their buyers, so don’t try to cheat or use fake information! Depending on where you’re located at, and even which US state you reside in, there will be different taxes. Since 2018, the US Supreme Court states that all ecommerce sellers have to remit sales tax for online purchases.
Step 4: Choose which is your preferred online Amazon Marketplace
After you register your account, you can select which are the regional marketplaces you’ll want to list your products in the Amazon network. The Amazon Marketplace is where Amazon third-party retailers like you can list and sell your items.
Do note that the target audience in each region differs, including spending capabilities, culture, needs, seasonality, etc. You’ll need to source for third part warehouses in each of the amazon marketplace you choose to sell in. Also, Amazon charges fees differently based on the region (see Step 2). We recommend just selecting North America or whatever business location or region you are living in and moving to the next step.
Step 5: Enter Your Financial Information
Prepare a Credit Card, including a valid bank statement showing your valid billing address. This is to verify your personal information and credentials. If the credit card number isn’t valid, Amazon will cancel your registration – this is one of amazon’s policies to prevent fraudulent activities. Each seller that Amazon signs on has to have a legitimate business reason.
If you choose the professional plan, you will be charged $39.99 a month. This fee will be automatically deducted so ensure that you are ready to sell when you register for your Amazon account. Once you start making sales over $40 a month, Amazon will subtract the monthly fee from your store’s profits instead of charging your card.
You’ll also need to key in your debit bank account information. This may be a separate bank account from your personal bank account. If you choose to withdraw your profits, Amazon will directly deposit the sum into your bank account every two weeks.
Step 6: Choose An Appropriate Amazon Store Name and Build Your Personal brand
Follow our guide on 9 Things to know when choosing an Amazon Seller Name.
You’ll need to select an all-encompassing company name. Your store name should be short and easy to pronounce by potential customers. It should also strike the right chord with your target audience. If you are selling products online, it is important that you use the correct store name for your products.
A good business name takes time to think through. Even if you use an online tool (such as the amazon business name generator), you’ll need to ask yourself important questions to finally decide if that is a good amazon store name for your business venture.
Step 7: Amazon Verification and Become An Amazon Seller
Examine your information to make sure your details are correct and then upload a photo of your identification (eg your passport information or driver’s license information). You can either scan it in color or use your camera to take a color photo. You must also submit a credit card statement or a depository statement. Activate Amazon Seller Account is just this one step away!
This is because Amazon prevents Sellers from running multiple businesses under the same account. This is a direct violation to Amazon’s policies! Amazon will proceed with account suspension because they want to create an overall positive customer experience.
Once you provide these documents, do a review: be consistent with all of your business address and information. Click “submit” as the last step.
Step 8: Your Selling Account is Now Under Review
You should receive confirmation within 24-48 hours. Amazon will then approve you or If there is an issue with any of the information you entered they’ll reach out to you so you can change it. Expect to receive phone calls if there are additional verification required.
Once your account is approved you’ll be able to login to seller central, where you have access to add products and start creating your listings.
How Long Does it Take to Activate Amazon Seller Account?
In most cases, your account will be approved within 24 hours. This is not a long time. However, if some of your information is incorrect or if you intended to input more or different information, this may lengthen the process of selling the item. So, check and only accept the information that you properly entered, and refrain from including invalid information. Once the item has been finalized, you will have to wait longer to be able to sell it.
Conclusion
Setting up an Amazon seller account is simple. If you follow the easy steps above and provide all the necessary information, you will be set up to sell your product in just a few days. Understand amazon’s policy to prevent amazon account suspension.