This article gives a brief overview on what Amazon Vendor and Amazon Seller actually is, who can make use of it and which advantages and disadvantages there are.
Antonia Klatt
Last Updated on 27 February 2022
Amazon Seller (Central): Overview
Being an Amazon Seller and selling from the amazonsellercentral is the standard marketplace solution from Amazon. The seller gets himself an Amazon account and is responsible for the listing, the pricing, selling, shipping and support.
Thats why many Amazon sellers use FBA, fulfilment by Amazon, which means that Amazon takes care of some of these steps.
When it comes to storing and shipping for example, and you want Amazon to do that for you, there are different fba types to choose from: the European-Fulfilment-Network (EFN), Pan-European FBA (PAN-EU), Multi-Country Inventory (MCI) and the Central Europe Programme (CE).
Goods that are sold using FBA are labeld with „fulfilment by Amazon“ directly on the website.
Who is it for?
Actually everybody who wants to sell on Amazon can become an Amazon seller, any third-party-seller with a good product or a good idea.
Note: Without FBA you need to take care of everything yourself!
Amazon Seller: Pros and Cons
| Advantages | Disadvantages | |
| More flexibility | Less sales potential | |
| Independent pricing | Less trust (if not using FBA) | |
| Less fees | Less marketing possibilities | |
| Support by Amazon | You have to take care of returns |
Amazon Vendor (Central): Overview
Amazon Vendors are mostly manufacturers that are selling on Amazon. Products sold using Amazon Vendor are labeled as “ships from and sold by Amazon“.
As soon as Amazon has the products, it’s their job to take care of everything.
Who is it for?
In contrast to the Amazon Seller central, the Amazon Vendor program is exclusively for first-party-sellers who are manufacturers with an invitation. With Amazon Vendor you can benefit from similar features like FBA sellers can and if done right, Amazon Vendor can bring manufacturers to the next level.
Amazon Vendor: Pros and Cons
| Advantages | Disadvantages | |
| Higher sales potential | Amazon determines selling price | |
| Higher trust (fulfilment by Amazon) | Much power on the side of Amazon | |
| Access to exclusive Amazon programms (e.g. Amazon Vine) | Amazon only pay manufacturer’s purchase price | |
| Support and returns taken care of by Amazon |
