How to sell on Amazon?
To become an Amazon seller you must first create an Amazon Seller account and complete the seller verification process. This will require some effort on your part in terms of having the right documentation and completing all of the required verification steps. Only by completing this process will you be able to successfully create a new seller account and start selling on the platform.
Sign up for a seller account
Go to the Amazon Seller Central website to begin the registration process. Once logged in, you'll be prompted to provide basic information about your business, including your legal name, address, and phone number.
TIP! To avoid issues during seller verification it is important that the required information is accurately entered. The information that you supply such as names and addresses should match exactly as shown on any documents that you intend to supply for verification purposes. Depending on the answers you give you might be asked for your passport, driving license, utility bill, mortgage statement, bank statement, certificate of incoporation, VAT certificate or any other legal registration document to prove who you are.
TIP! Amazon sellers are not permitted to have multiple accounts. DO NOT under any circumstances attempt to workaround this policy.
Choosing a seller plan
Amazon offers two selling plans: Individual and Professional. The Individual plan is only for selling personal second-hand items only, and is not suitable for business use. You must select the Professional plan which charges a monthly subscription fee of £30 per month.
You'll need to provide your credit card information to pay your Amazon seller fees. This will include a monthly subscription fee which will be billed immediately after you sign-up. You will also need to provide your bank account information for depositing your sales proceeds. Amazon will verify your bank account through a small test deposit.
Don't forget to complete your seller profile by providing additional information about your business, such as a display name, return address, and contact information to ensure that your profile is complete and accurate to build trust with customers.
Complete Tax Information for UK-Based Sellers
If your business is registered for VAT (Value Added Tax) in the UK, you'll need to provide your VAT registration number to Amazon. For UK-based sellers, your Tax Identification Number (TIN) is the same as your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). This number is issued by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and is used to identify you for tax purposes.
Self-Assessment Registration (if applicable)
If you're a sole trader, you will need to register for Self-Assessment with HMRC. This is required for reporting your income and expenses from your Amazon sales for income tax purposes. Depending on your business structure (e.g., sole trader, limited company), you may have different tax obligations and Amazon may require additional documentation to verify your tax information. This could include official documents from HMRC confirming your VAT registration or tax status so make sure to have these documents on hand before you start.
How to list products on Amazon?
Once your account is verified, you can start listing products and selling on Amazon.
If you're new to selling on Amazon you will need to familiarize yourself with the process of creating offers against existing products that already exist in the Amazon catalog. Unlike eBay or Etsy, Amazon sellers must share the same listing pages when selling the same products. Creating an offer simply means that you will match your product to an existing product already in the Amazon catalog.
Products already existing in the Amazon catalog
The simplest and quickest way to begin selling on Amazon is by creating an offer against an existing product in the Amazon catalog. This means that the product may already have offers from other sellers who are selling the same product. On Amazon, it is customary for products with identical characteristics (such as the same brand and product attributes) to have only one catalog entry. Therefore, multiple sellers can sell the same product by creating an "offer" against the existing ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number), which refers to the product detail page.
Create an offer for an existing product (ASIN) on Amazon
- Go to Catalogue → Add Products.
- Find an existing product in the Amazon catalog using ASIN or Product Name.
- Click Select a condition and choose New from the dropdown menu.
- Click Sell this product.
Fill out the required Offer:
- Seller SKU: your unique SKU, or leave blank to auto-generate.
- Your price: your selling price.
- Quantity: any quantity value, or leave blank if creating an FBA offer.
- Country/Region Of Origin: Great Britain or United Kingdom.
- Condition: New.
- Fulfilment Channel: Choose I will ship this item myself (Merchant Fulfilled) or Amazon will dispatch and provide customer service to indicate that the product will be Fulfilled by Amazon instead.
Click "Save and finish" to publish your offer
TIP! You will need to wait at least 15 minutes for your offer to appear in the Amazon catalog. To make any changes to your offer, simply go to Inventory → Manage All Inventory and locate your product using its SKU, ASIN or Product Name.
TIP! Don't forget to setup your Shipping Settings. Go to Settings → Shipping Settings. You can find reference to our shipping rates in our Shipping Rate Guide -- You can skip this step if you are exclusively selling via FBA.
TIP! You can convert your existing products to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) at any time from the Manage All Inventory page. To learn more and get started with our FBA Enrolment Program please check our guide for Active FBA Enrolment.
What if my product doesn't exist in the Amazon catalog?
If the product you're selling doesn't already exist in the Amazon catalog then you're allowed to create a new listing for that product.
Create a new product listing (ASIN) on Amazon
- Go to Catalogue → Add Products.
- Click I'm adding a product not sold on Amazon link.
- Provide an Item Name and Product Type, and Click Next.
If you don't have a registered brand in the Amazon brand registry
If you don't have a brand name or have a brand name but it's not yet registered in the Amazon brand registry, or you have a brand name but you don't have EAN/GTIN codes for your products, then you must enter Generic as the brand name and select I don't have a Product ID to continue. You will be granted a UPC exemption to list your product as a generically branded one.
Fill out the required fields:
- Product Identity including brand name and whether the product has variations.
- Description including bullet points for key features, and product images.
- Product Details including manufacturer and any other required fields.
- Offer including SKU, quantity, price, condition and fulfilment channel.
- Safety & Compliance: including country of origin and any other required fields.
Register your own brand name in the Amazon brand registry
We allow for our retailers to rebrand our products so that they can create new product listings on Amazon using their own brand name. The brand you create is exclusive to you which means that you control the information listed on the product page entirely, and no other seller will be allowed to create an offer against your branded product.
To get started you'll need to register your brand as a trademark with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) here in the UK at cost of around £170 per mark. It takes up to two months or more for your trademark to be registered though you can begin the Amazon brand registry process whilst your trademark has a pending status.
How to enrol your brand in Amazon Brand Registry?
Go to the Amazon brand registry page to begin registering your brand. All Amazon Brand Registry applications must be submitted by the trademark owner. All applications must have a trademark status indicating "pending" or "registered", and the trademark registration number, name, and trademark office provided with the application must match the details provided by the intellectual property office.
You will be required to prove that your brand is authentic which means that your brand name and/or logo must be visible on your products or packaging, and you will need to provide images that depict this during the application process. We can assist you with this step in that we can manufacture our products with your brand name showing on them. For more information please contact us about Amazon brand registry.
If you don't want to register your brand as a trademark
There may be reasons why you don't want to register your brand as a trademark with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). You can still list products on Amazon under your own brand name by obtaining EAN/GTIN codes for your products through an Amazon recognised provider, GS1.
Obtaining EAN/GTIN codes for your own brand products
You need to provide valid EAN/GTIN codes that can be assigned to your new products on Amazon. You can acquire EAN/GTIN codes in bulk from GS1, which is the only provider than Amazon recognises here in the UK. Prices start at £50 per year for up to 10 EAN/GTIN codes, or £119 per year for up to 1000 codes. GS1 is the only authorised source for genuine GTINs and barcode numbers. By obtaining EAN/GTIN codes from GS1, you ensure the authenticity and legitimacy of your product identification on Amazon.
Want to find out more?
Book a free call with us today and we'll help you get started. Don't like video calls? No problem. Join our Retailer Portal and we'll be happy to answer any queries via text-based-chat instead.
