Just as regular buyers need an Amazon account, sellers who want to sell through the online platform also need access to offer their goods on the marketplace: Amazon Seller Central. Anyone can set up such an account. However, a credit card is required, as Amazon requires one for Seller Central. Without a credit card, not all functions are available.
What is Amazon Seller Central?
Essentially, it is a tool through which the respective seller can manage their seller account after logging in. Additionally, Amazon Seller Central provides a good overview of the seller’s ongoing offers and sales through reports and statistics. Furthermore, Amazon also provides important tax documents for the tax office in Seller Central, which can be found under “Reports.”
To sell through Seller Central, sellers must already have a Marketplace account. But what is the difference between Marketplace and Seller Central? According to Amazon, the differences mainly lie in an above-average fast payment and always up-to-date overviews of important components such as ongoing offers and pricing. Additionally, margins and revenues are said to be greater for Seller Central sellers. Consequently, a simple Marketplace account is a disadvantage.
What are the main features of Amazon Seller Central?
The most central function is found under the “Catalog” menu item. Here, sellers have the opportunity to add new SKUs to their inventory and create a new offer. This can be done individually or with multiple products at once. Additionally, different versions of the same product can be created using the variation assistant, and large product catalogs can also be uploaded via inventory file. Furthermore, the activation of products for restricted product categories is possible here.
In addition, general settings can be made in Amazon Seller Central. For example, shipping costs are not specified directly on the product but are set in the shipping settings under the “Settings” menu item (unless FBA is used). Here, sellers have the option to specify different shipping models, such as free shipping, flat fees, or weight-based calculations. Through “Manage Case Log” and “Open Cases,” sellers can directly contact seller support within Amazon Seller Central.
Another very important function of Amazon Seller Central can be accessed through the “Inventory” menu item. Here, sellers receive a comprehensive overview of their goods – both in their own warehouse and in Amazon’s warehouse, as well as at the PAN EU level. This interface also provides the opportunity to optimize listings regarding keywords, product descriptions, or images. Particularly helpful for FBA sellers is the inventory planning feature, which offers a forecast based on past sales, indicating how many days the stock will last and how old it is. Under “Manage Shipments to Amazon,” delivery plans can also be viewed if sellers are shipping via FBA.
The “Orders” menu item also contains important Amazon Seller Central functions: first, an overview of all incoming orders; second, the respective order reports; and third, the management of all returns. Various filtering and sorting functions assist the seller in optimizing their listings, such as regarding sales through Amazon Seller Central in Germany, Europe, or specific marketplaces like Amazon Spain or the UK.
The “Advertising” menu item also holds significant importance in Amazon Seller Central for sellers. Here, new PPC campaigns can be created, their performance analyzed, and A+ Content can be added to ongoing listings. Additionally, there is the option to set up time-limited discounts and coupons for specific products.
Often underestimated, but also a useful function: the “Customer Satisfaction” menu item. Here, sellers in Amazon Seller Central can find all relevant information to assess customer satisfaction and, in turn, their own seller performance, which has a decisive influence on the winning of the Buy Box and the ranking in search results. Additionally, customer feedback can be managed here.
What is the difference between Amazon Vendor and Seller Central?
There are three different seller types on the online platform: Amazon itself, Sellers, and Vendors. The first two are visible to customers, while the third type – the Vendor – does not appear directly. Unlike the “regular” Seller, who sells directly to the end customer on the marketplace, the Vendor sells to Amazon itself. The e-commerce giant then sells the items to the end customer. Vendors are often manufacturers or sales representatives with high sales volumes.
Therefore, Amazon Seller Central and Vendor Central are two different things: the former is the account management for Sellers, while the latter is for Vendors. If a seller is both a Seller and a Vendor, they will have two separate accesses.
Does Amazon Seller Central incur costs?
Anyone who wants to sell through Seller Central on Amazon Germany or any other marketplace will incur fees. In any case, there are additional percentage sales fees per order, which depend on the respective product category. However, Amazon offers a basic and a professional account with different pricing structures – which one a seller needs depends not on revenues or profits, but on the expected number of orders.
If a seller sells fewer than 40 items per month, they can use the Seller Central Basic Account for free. They then pay 0.99 euros per sold item plus the percentage sales fee to Amazon.
However, if the seller sells more than 40 items per month, they will need a professional account. In this case, Amazon charges a flat fee of 39 euros plus the respective percentage sales fee – but the 0.99 euro fee per item is waived.
Accordingly, the Basic Account would already be slightly more expensive at 40 orders and thus at a disadvantage compared to the Professional Account.
Image credits in the order of the images: © bakhtiarzein – stock.adobe.com
