Many businesses aim to become a 3rd-party seller with Amazon, but there is another way to build eCommerce success via Amazon.
Its name is Amazon Vendor Central.
Masses of small businesses aim to sell via Amazon because of the numerous benefits and extended target reach that it provides. And it IS a lucrative opportunity, despite companies struggling with Amazon Seller Central. International sales and the chance to win the Amazon Buy Box keep companies busy fighting for a profit.
But what if there was a different way?
What if you could sell directly to Amazon – and then THEY sold your products for you?
Enter Amazon Vendor Central
When was the last time you bought something via Amazon? Did you browse their products?
You probably saw a number of items written with “In Stock, Shipped and Sold by amazon.com”
This is Amazon Vendor Central.
Amazon Vendors sell their products wholesale to Amazon, and Amazon then distributes them under first-party selling. This is ideal for businesses who want a greater number of orders and engage in less hassle. After all – one bulk order compared to many separate orders can cut down on a MOUNTAIN of paperwork.
It is a business dream. Or at least it seems that way. However, in reality it does come with its own challenges as you’ll read further down…
How Do Businesses Get Into Amazon Vendor Central?
Unfortunately there is no one trick to get into Vendor Central. In fact, it is a very exclusive club – you have to be invited.
That does not mean it is impossible to get onto. Amazon actually has an entire team dedicated to searching for potential Amazon Vendors. So you need to get noticed and impress them.
You can be:
- A successful, existing Seller with your own products
- A brand with strong demand
- An exhibitor with high-potential products
In short – if the Amazon team believes that your products sell well, or will sell well, they will get in touch.
Obligations as an Amazon Vendor
Just like Amazon Seller Central, Amazon Vendor Central has its own hub. In this area, all of your business is controlled, fulfilled and monitored. So let’s take a look at your obligations…
As an Amazon Vendor you must:
- Fulfill Amazon purchase orders
- Provide up-to-date shipping information
- Maintain your product information, eg: images, prices etc.
All of these are controlled via the Amazon Vendor Central Hub. However your business must also bear in mind a few other complications at the same time.
- Fees
- Internal customer support
- Damage allowances (approximately 2%)
- Marketing Development Funds (MDF)
- To access Premium Vendor Services
- Shipping Costs / Freight Allowances
- International Shipping / Return Shipping
- Taxes and Duties
- Currency Conversions
Don’t look so worried!
When written down it can look overwhelming, but there is actually a nifty little trick for almost all of these obligations. We’ll get back to that once we’ve covered the benefits of Vendor Central first…
Benefits of Amazon Vendor Central vs. Amazon Seller Central
Better product reputation
Once you have sold your products wholesale to Amazon, your products are presented as first-party products under the Amazon brand name.
This exclusivity of an invitation-only club means that your products have a much greater chance of being sold on Amazon. Without first-party selling, all of your products on Amazon appear as provided by a Merchant fulfilled seller.
It’s small, but makes a big difference to customers.
Larger, less frequent orders
While you do need to consider various costs, conversions and fees, you will have to do them far more sporadically.
One huge order can tide over your business for a great deal of time – despite selling at a wholesale price to Amazon.
No repricing
As an Amazon Seller, you constantly worry about repricing.
You follow market trends, and use product profitability tools to calculate the optimum prices. You even draw up plans to win the Amazon Buy Box on a regular basis.
Once you have sold your products to Amazon as a Vendor – it is out of your hands. They take care of all the pricing.
Customer support handled
With Amazon Vendor Central you don’t have to worry.
While it does cost a fee, Amazon handles any counterfeit products and fraud that may appear. Amazon Sellers are forced to deal with each situation by themselves.
Make the most from Amazon Vendor Central
With the benefits on offer, it makes sense to accept an invitation to Amazon Vendor Central, right? But only if there was a tool to take care of the additional obligations that come with the territory.
Well luckily for you, there is.
With Vendor Central Connect you can do less, sell more and maintain compliance stress-free. In fact, clients with Vendor Central Connect enjoy a sustained growth of over 700%!
- Do Less
- Automation eliminates time-consuming tasks
- Focus more on your business rather than paperwork
- Sell More
- Increase sales on your existing portfolio
- Expand your portfolio
- Avoid missed sales opportunities
- Take corrective action after our lost sales analysis report
- Stay Compliant
- Automation avoids manual errors which are the leading cause of chargebacks and shortages
- Use the tools to manage your disputes and win them
In fact, we have a downloadable version of our Solution Highlights for you to browse through at your leisure. So you don’t have to take our word for it, read it for yourself!
If you are interested in more eCommerce business tools or advice, get in touch with a member of our team today. Or bookmark our resources page for the latest business guides available for all SMEs!
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