How to start selling on Amazon

Amazon puts your products in front of more buyers than any other marketplace - but fees and competition punish sellers who wing it. Here is the sensible path in.

Pick your plan

The Individual plan costs 99 cents per item sold and suits testing the waters. The Professional plan costs 39.99 dollars per month, unlocks the Buy Box, advertising, and bulk tools, and wins once you sell more than about 40 items a month.

Understand the fees before you price

Amazon takes a referral fee on every sale - mostly between 8 and 15 percent depending on category. If you use FBA, fulfillment and storage fees come on top. Run your numbers through the revenue calculator in Seller Central before committing inventory - margin mistakes are the number one beginner killer.

FBA or ship it yourself

With FBA you send inventory to Amazon warehouses - they store, pack, ship, handle returns, and your listings get the Prime badge that buyers filter for. Shipping yourself (FBM) keeps control and suits oversized, slow-moving, or handmade items. Many sellers run both and let the math decide per product.

Win the listing game

Search on Amazon runs on keywords in titles and backend search terms, photos that pass the zoom test, and reviews. Study the top three listings in your niche before writing yours. Use Seller University - the free official courses cover listing quality, ads, and account health.

Getting paid

Amazon pays out to your bank account on a rolling basis, typically every two weeks, after holding a reserve against returns. New sellers should expect the first payout to take a little longer while the account builds history.