When shopping on Amazon, you may have seen "Ship from" and "Sold by" labels in the Buy Box. This means Amazon buys inventory in bulk from the brand and resells it to customers – just like any other retailer!

Becoming an Amazon supplier is not limited to large home furnishing brands; small and medium businesses can also sell to Amazon (though it's not as easy as creating an account).

Read on to learn more about what Amazon Vendor Central is, how to sell directly to Amazon, and the difference between Vendor Central and Seller Central.

What is Amazon Supplier Center?

Amazon Vendor Central is a platform for suppliers to manage their wholesale business relationships with Amazon. Here, they add items, manage purchase orders, ship inventory, and more.

In Supplier Central, Amazon will place an order with you, you send them inventory and an invoice, and Amazon pays you. Vendors within the platform can also manage advertising , merchandising and other programs such as Amazon Vine .

The Supplier Center has a similar layout to the Seller Center, where you can easily navigate to different sections to properly manage your business. You'll see tabs for Orders, Products, Ads, Promotions, Reports, and Payments.

Can anyone sell directly to Amazon?

Becoming an Amazon supplier is not as simple as creating an Amazon seller account and becoming a third-party seller.

Unfortunately, the Supplier Center is invite-only and you cannot apply to become a supplier. Before signing up for Supplier Central, you must wait until an Amazon Brand Manager contacts you.

So your next question might be…

How to be invited to become an Amazon supplier?

The best way to be invited to the Amazon Vendor Program is to be a model third-party seller with a strong brand presence on and off Amazon.

Amazon wants to buy products that have consistent sales, high seller reviews and customer satisfaction, healthy sales metrics, and are always in stock .

If you're a brand attending a trade show, you may also find Amazon brand managers present searching for brands that Amazon hasn't launched yet.

While you should always strive to be the best seller, there is no guarantee that Amazon will contact you as a supplier.

Although that's probably not a bad thing! Third-party sellers now have many features that were once only available to suppliers, such as A+ content , Amazon Storefront , Amazon Vine, and many Amazon Advertising products – so being a supplier may not be as big of an advantage as it once was.

What are the pros and cons of selling directly to Amazon?

Everything has advantages and disadvantages. Becoming an Amazon supplier has its advantages, but also some disadvantages. Let's review!

Advantages of Selling Directly to Amazon

Sell ​​your products to Amazon at profitable wholesale prices

Your listing will appear as "Shipped and sold from"

All customer service and returns are handled by Amazon

Sales likely to rise as Amazon will take control of listings

You don't need to worry about running an Amazon business

Disadvantages of Selling Direct to Amazon

Invitation only program

Additional fees, including partnership fees, marketing fees, remittance fees, shipping subsidy fees and refunds, up to a total of up to 25%

Lower profit margins compared to selling directly to consumers through Seller Central

You have no control over your own pricing, which can be a bad thing if you have MAP (minimum advertised price) pricing agreements with other retailers

Amazon may negotiate the purchase price of your product, allowing you to make a smaller profit

You will have no control over your listings and inventory

Amazon payment terms can be 30, 60 or 90 days; this can cause cash flow problems for your business

Amazon Vendor Central vs Amazon Seller Central

As you probably know, the biggest difference between the two platforms is the way you sell your products. With Vendor Central, you sell products to Amazon at wholesale prices, while in Seller Central you sell products to consumers at retail prices.

Which is best for your business? Well, it's up to you – but if you have a Supplier Center invite, we'll give you some information to make your decision easier.

A few years ago, it might have been more beneficial to be a supplier based on the marketing and advertising tools Amazon offered only to suppliers.

However, over the past few years, Amazon has rolled out a number of features for sellers that were once only available to suppliers. Some of these features include:

Amazon store

Amazon Vine

A+ content

Advanced Advertising Tools

Offers and Coupons

Also, some features like coupons and deals within Seller Central are much easier to use. As a third-party seller, it's also easier to change your listing content (such as images or copy) and your selling price . Remember, if you are a supplier, Amazon has full control over the selling price.

Signing up for a Seller Central account is a way for anyone to start selling on Amazon. Registered Supplier Center accounts are typically reserved for high-performance brands.

Whichever way you go, they're a very viable way to sell to Amazon customers.

Will you sell directly to Amazon?

We hope this article gave you a clear understanding of selling directly to Amazon and Amazon Vendor Central. If you get an invitation, be sure to weigh the pros and cons to see if selling a third party is a better option for your business.

American local buyers show video, main picture video, more cross-border e-commerce information Public account: cross-border video cici