The Complete Guide to Setting Up Your Amazon Seller Account
So you're ready to start selling on Amazon, the world's largest online retail marketplace with over 300 million active customer accounts globally. Smart move - Amazon provides an enormous opportunity for businesses of all sizes to reach an incredibly wide audience.
However, the actual process of setting up your new Amazon seller account and getting everything configured correctly can feel daunting if you've never done it before. There are multiple paths to choose from, prerequisites to satisfy, settings to nail down, and so many areas where making the wrong moves early on can hamper your future success.
Don't worry, this complete guide will walk you through exactly how to set up your Amazon seller account the right way while avoiding potential pitfalls. Let's dive in!
Step 1: Select Your Amazon Seller Account Type
The very first decision you need to make is which seller account plan is the best fit for your current business needs and future goals.
Amazon offers two options:
- Individual Seller Account: Best for those just starting out and planning to sell fewer than 40 units per month. This account type is free, but you pay $0.99 per unit sold plus additional selling fees like referral and variable closing costs.
- Professional Seller Account: Recommended for serious sellers who plan to sell over 40 units per month. For $39.99 per month (no matter how many units you sell), you get access to advanced selling tools like advertising and account management reports. You still pay the per-item selling fees.
Step 2: Gather All Required Information
Once you've chosen the appropriate account type, Amazon will require you to provide some information to verify your identity and business. Be sure to have the following documents and details on hand:
- Business name, address and contact information
- Internationally chargeable credit card (for purchase fees and subscription if applicable)
- Phone number (for account holder verification)
- Tax information (social security number for individuals or EIN for businesses)
- State tax registration details (for products requiring collection)
- Internationally recognized identity documents like passport or articles of incorporation
Having all of these items prepared upfront makes for a smoother registration experience.
Step 3: Create Your Amazon Seller Account
With your chosen account type and required information ready, visit sell.amazon.com to actually create your account. Click "Sign up" and follow the guided prompts to:
- Enter personal/business details
- Provide identity verification
- Provide tax information
- Review and accept Amazon policies
- Enter billing information
Amazon will automatically enable Two-Step Verification to protect your account security, so be prepared to enter a verification code sent to your phone.
Step 4: List Your First Product
Congratulations - your seller account is now active! The next step is listing your first product to sell on Amazon. From your account homepage, click "Add A Product" and you'll be prompted with four options:
- Scan a product barcode and Amazon will automatically populate the listing fields
- Search for an existing product listing in Amazon's catalog matching yours
- Upload a file to list multiple products at once
- Create an entirely new product listing from scratch if it doesn't exist yet
For brand new products, you'll need to enter complete product data like:
- Product title
- Brand name
- Pricing
- Product ID (UPC, EAN, etc.)
- Key product features
- Descriptive content (text and images)
- Browse node/categories
Amazon has very specific requirements for product listing quality, so be meticulous! Fully optimized listings will be key for product discoverability and conversions.
Step 5: Configure Amazon Shipping/Fulfillment
Next up, you need to decide if you want to handle all shipping orders and logistics yourself as a "Merchant Fulfilled" seller, or enroll in Amazon's "Fulfilled By Amazon" (FBA) program where they store your inventory, pack orders and ship on your behalf.
FBA products automatically qualify for Prime 2-day shipping which can increase conversions, but requires additional fees and strict performance requirements.
You can mix-and-match both self-fulfilled and FBA products in the same account if desired. Just specify preferences at the individual listing level.
Step 6: Enable Amazon Pay & Tax Settings
To actually start collecting revenues on your product sales, you'll need to configure Amazon Pay to link your desired disbursement method for receiving funds.
You'll also want to review and enable any required tax collection based on your location and product categories in Amazon's Tax Settings area. These include Product Tax Codes, Origin/Jurisdiction Codes and tax rates for shipments.
Lastly, complete any other regional prerequisite settings like your Service Level Agreement and failure notifications.
Step 7: Set Up Amazon Advertising & Reporting
If you opted for the Professional seller account, be sure to explore Amazon's powerful suite of advertising solutions:
- Sponsored Products - Keyword-targeted campaigns promoting individual listings
- Sponsored Brands - Multi-product brand portfolio campaigns, perfect for product launches
- Sponsored Display - Audience-targeted self-service ads appearing across Amazon
- Amazon DSP (Demand Side Platform) - Programmatic display, mobile & video ads
Even though advertising is optional, strategic investment in Amazon PPC Management and a well-crafted Amazon PPC Strategy is highly recommended for driving external visibility and sales velocity. Don't miss out on these incremental revenue opportunities!
The Professional account also unlocks Advertising Reports and Campaign Manager to closely monitor and optimize the performance of your paid advertising initiatives.
You'll also want to set up all your desired sales analytics and performance reports along with integration tools like inventory & shipping APIs.
Step 8: Learn Through Amazon Seller Academy
As a final step before starting to sell, enrolling in Amazon Seller Academy to complete all required certifications and courses is invaluable. Their self-paced curriculum covers absolutely everything you need to know about topics like:
- Listing optimization best practices
- Sponsored ads management
- Inventory management
- Selling policies and requirements
- Brand building programs like EBC Services
- Marketing and merchandising services
- And so much more!
This learning process will ensure you set your account up for long-term success while avoiding any costly missteps.
Bonus: Consider Hiring an Amazon Agency
While this guide covers all the key components of setting up your new Amazon Seller Account Management yourself, for brands seeking a true competitive advantage, partnering with an experienced Amazon agency can prove invaluable.
Companies like Channel Supply Experts provide comprehensive services that span every aspect of strategic account management, product listing creation, enhanced Amazon branding, advertising campaigns, content optimization, and more.
Their certified Amazon e-commerce experts can handle all the heavy lifting on your behalf while providing ongoing consulting and training to ensure your internal teams operate at maximum efficiency.
From creating high-converting product listings and on-brand enhanced content to full-funnel advertising campaign development and profitability-focused account optimization backed by advanced automation - their full-service solutions accelerate growth.
No matter if you decide to tackle setting up your Amazon presence solo or bring on skilled professionals, the most important factor is laying the proper groundwork right from the start. Following the above guide gets your exciting new Amazon seller journey pointed in the right direction towards long-term success!
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