Amazon Seller Central: Complete Guide 2023

Selling on Amazon has become an increasingly popular way for entrepreneurs and small business owners to reach a global audience. If you made up your mind to open a business on Amazon, your first question would be how to start selling. Are there basic steps to follow? What exactly do you need to do?

In fact, you can get much help from Amazon itself in your Amazon Seller Central account. Amazon Seller Central allows sellers to add inventory, manage orders, and improve selling skills. This post will explore Amazon Seller Central basics, what you can do with it, and how to use it.

Related: How to Sell on Amazon for Beginners - Complete Guide

What Is Amazon Seller Central?

Amazon Seller Central is a web-based dashboard enabling sellers to manage their Amazon business. The platform offers sellers a range of tools and services, including inventory management, order fulfillment, payment processing, and customer service. With Amazon Seller Central, you can sell your products on Amazon's marketplace and reach millions of customers worldwide.

How to Create an Account in Seller Central?

When you start selling on Amazon, you must register as a seller. To do so, you need to create an Amazon seller account. On Amazon, this account is called Seller Central account. 

Creating an account in Amazon Seller Central step by step

• Step 1. Prepare your business and personal details
• Step 2. Open the ‘Start selling with Amazon’ sign-in page.
• Step 3. Enter your e-mail address and password.
• Step 4. Add your business location and business type.
• Step 5. Enter your personal and business details.
• Step 6. Enter your payment method.
• Step 7. Submit your Amazon store’s name.
• Step 8. Verify your identity.
• Step 9. Wait until Amazon approves your account.

Related: How to Create an Amazon Seller Central Account

How To Select a Selling Plan in Seller Central?

To start selling on Amazon, you must choose a selling plan in Amazon Seller Central. There are two types of selling plans: Individual and Professional. 

An Individual plan is suitable for you if you plan to sell single products occasionally. Under the Individual plan, there is no monthly payment. However, you will be charged $0.99 for every unit you sell. This plan is viable for you if you’re going to sell less than 40 products per month.

A Professional plan is a perfect opportunity if you sell many products monthly. With a Professional plan, you’ll pay $39.99 per month. A Professional account will save you money if you plan to sell more than 40 products monthly. In addition, the Professional plan gives you access to many marketing and reporting tools. You can qualify for the Buy Box, enroll in different seller programs, and more.

To select a selling plan, go to the Amazon Seller Central homepage and click the "Sign up" button. Follow the prompts to create an account and choose your selling plan.

How to Add Products on Seller Central?

There are two types of products on Amazon — those that already exist in the Amazon catalog and those that don’t exist on Amazon. You must list these types of products in different ways.

How to list existing Amazon products?

Existing products are added to the listings already created on Amazon. If you resell other brands through online arbitrage, retail arbitrage, wholesale, or dropshipping, your products likely already exist on Amazon. According to Amazon rules, you can’t create duplicate listings of the same product. Your offer must be added to the same listing alongside other sellers’ offers.

Listing existing products step by step

• Step 1. Go to your Seller Central account. In the menu, select ‘Inventory’ > ‘Add A Product.’ 

• Step 2. In the search bar under ‘Find your products in Amazon’s catalog,’ find your product by name or ID. 

• Step 3: Choose your product condition and click ‘Sell this product.’
• Step 4: Create your offer: add your selling price (Standard Price), product condition (Offering Condition Type), and fulfillment channel (Fulfillment by Merchant — FBM or Fulfillment by Amazon — FBA). 

• Step 5. Click ‘Save and finish.’

How to list new products on Amazon?

If you’re going to sell a product that doesn’t exist on Amazon, you have to create a brand-new listing. Majorly, new products are private label.

Listing new products on Amazon step by step

• Step 1. Go to your Seller Central account. In the menu, select ‘Inventory’ > ‘Add A Product,’ and click ‘I’m adding a product not sold on Amazon.’

• Step 2: Select the primary category and specify other categories or sub-categories for your product.

• Step 3. Go to ‘Advanced View’ and fill in your product information in all the fields under every tab — ‘Vital Info,’ ‘Variations,’ ‘Offer,’ ‘Images,’ ‘Description,’ ‘Keywords,’ ‘More Details.’ Check that all necessary fields are filled in and upload the template.

• Step 4. Click ‘Save and finish.’

‍Related: Amazon Business Models: How to Choose the Right One in 2023?

How to Manage FBM Orders in Seller Central?

FBM, or Fulfillment by Merchant, is when you, as the seller, handle the packing and shipping of orders yourself. Staying on top of your FBM orders and shipping them out as soon as possible to avoid delays or negative customer feedback is essential.

Managing FBM orders steps by step

• Step 1. Click ‘Orders’ in the top navigation menu and select ‘Manage Orders.’
• Step 2. Here, you'll see a list of your orders' current status (pending, shipped, canceled, etc.).
• Step 3. To fulfill an order, click the ‘Buy Shipping’ button next to the order.
• Step 4. Select the shipping carrier and shipping service you want to use, and enter the package details.
• Step 5. Purchase the shipping label and print it out.
• Step 6. Pack and ship the order, then mark it as shipped in Seller Central.

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Related: FBA vs FBM: Which is Better for Amazon Sellers in 2023?

How to Manage FBA Orders in Seller Central?

FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, is when you send your inventory to Amazon's warehouses, and the platform handles the picking, packing, and shipping of orders for you. With FBA, Amazon handles your logistics, saving you time and hassle. However, keeping track of your inventory levels and ensuring you're sending enough stock to Amazon's warehouses to meet demand is still important. 

Managing FBA orders steps by step

• Step 1. Click ‘Fulfillment’ in the top navigation menu and select ‘Manage FBA Inventory.’
• Step 2. Here, you'll see a list of your FBA inventory along with its current status (in stock, reserved, inbound, etc.).
• Step 3. To view your FBA orders, click ‘Fulfillment’ in the top navigation menu and select ‘Manage Orders.’
• Step 4. Here, you'll see a list of your FBA orders with their current status (pending, shipped, canceled, etc.).
• Step 5. If an FBA order needs to be canceled or refunded, you can do so from this page.

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Related: How Does Amazon FBA Work. Is Amazon FBA worth it in 2023?

How to Create Discounts in Seller Central?

Discounts can be a great way to attract customers and boost sales. However, you must remember that discounts should be used strategically and not too frequently, as you want to avoid training your customers to only buy from you when there's a sale.

Creating discounts step by step

• Step 1. Click ‘Advertising’ in the top navigation menu and select ‘Promotions.’
• Step 2. Here, you'll see a list of your current promotions and can create a new one by clicking ‘Create a promotion.’
• Step 3. Choose the type of promotion you want to create (money off, percentage off, buy one get one, etc.) and set the details (discount amount, minimum purchase amount, start and end dates, etc.).
• Step 4. Preview the promotion and then submit it for review.
• Step 5. Once approved, your promotion will be visible to customers on your product detail page.

How to Manage Brand Registry in Seller Central

Managing your Brand Registry in Amazon Seller Central is an essential aspect of protecting your brand and ensuring that your products are appropriately represented on the Amazon platform. 

Managing a brand in Amazon Seller Central involves registering and verifying your brand, enrolling in Amazon’s Brand Registry, monitoring your brand, and taking action against any violations of your intellectual property rights. Following these steps, you can protect your brand and ensure your products are appropriately represented on the Amazon platform. 

Brand-registered sellers can manage their brands in the Brand Dashboard. From there, you can handle negative customer reviews, create A/B tests, monitor your brand health, and more. 

To access the Brand Dashboard, select ‘Brand Dashboard in the ‘Brands’ tab.

How to Access Advertising in Seller Central?

Advertising is a great tool to promote your products and grow sales. On Amazon, you can create Sponsored Products ads. The brand-registered sellers can also create Sponsored Brands ads and Sponsored Display ads. 

Creating advertising step by step

• Step 1. In the ‘Advertising’ tab of your Seller Central, go to ‘Campaign Manager.’
• Step 2. Select ‘Create Campaign’ and specify your campaign type (Sponsored Products, Brands, or Sponsored Display ads).
• Step 3. Choose a campaign name and add a daily budget.

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How to Give a Child Access to Amazon Seller Central?

Giving a child access to your Amazon Seller Central account can be helpful if you want to provide third parties access to your Seller Central account. That may be needed if you use an agency, a virtual assistant, or your employees, referred to as “children,” to help with your sales. You can set permissions for the child, such as viewing or managing orders, accessing reports, or editing product listings. You can also impose limits on their access by choosing which features they can or cannot access.

Giving a child access to Amazon Seller Central step by step

• Step 1. Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
• Step 2. Click the ‘Settings’ tab in the screen's top right corner. From the drop-down menu, select ‘User Permissions.’
• Step 3. Click the ‘Add a New User’ button on the User Permissions page. Enter the email address of the child you want to give access to and select the user type as ‘Other.’ Click the ‘Send Invitation’ button.
• Step 4. Amazon will email the child with instructions on how to access the account. The child must accept the invitation and create a new Amazon account if they don't have one already.
• Step 5. Once the child accepts the invitation, they can access your Amazon Seller Central account with the permissions you have granted them.
• Step 6. To manage the child's access to your account, you can go to the User Permissions page and make changes as needed.

‍Note: It's essential to give access only to the individuals you trust and to limit their permissions to ensure the security of your Amazon account.

How to Use Business Reports in Seller Central?

Business reports can provide valuable insights into your sales, inventory, and customer behavior. Amazon Seller Central offers a variety of business reports to help sellers track their performance and identify trends. 

Valuable Seller Central reports include:

Sales Dashboard: This report overviews your sales performance, including total orders, units sold, and revenue. You can view this data by day, week, or month and filter by product or marketplace.

Inventory Health: This report helps you track your inventory levels, identify potential stockouts or overstocking, and monitor your restock recommendations.

Customer Reviews: This report shows your product reviews and ratings, allowing you to monitor customer feedback and identify opportunities for improvement.

Advertising Reports: These reports provide data on your advertising campaigns, including impressions, clicks, and conversions. You can use this data to optimize your ad spend and improve your return on investment (ROI).

Accessing Seller Central reports step by step

• Step 1. Log in to your Seller Central account.
• Step 2. Click the ‘Advertising’ tab and select ‘Business Reports.’
• Step 3. Choose the report you want to view from the drop-down menu. 

How to Check Account Health on Seller Central?

Account health is Amazon’s policy that helps sellers measure and improve the customer experience. It is measured by a set of metrics in the Account Health Dashboard in your Seller Central. Amazon Account Health Dashboard displays your service performance, Amazon policy compliance, and shipping performance. These metrics show merchants whether they are compliant with Amazon's selling policies. To maintain a healthy account, Amazon encourages sellers to monitor the account health dashboard regularly, review the guidelines and targets, and do their best to achieve them.

Accessing the Account Health Dashboard step by step

• Step 1. Sign in to your Amazon Seller Central account. 
• Step 2. In the menu, select ‘Performance,’ then click ‘Account health.’ You will get to the Account Health Dashboard.

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Related: What is Amazon Seller Account Health Rating?

Amazon Account Health – A Guide for FBA Sellers in 2023

How to Contact Amazon Seller Support?

Sellers needing help with their account can contact Amazon Seller Support by opening a support ticket. Seller Support will assist you and provide links to help pages on the matter. 

To contact Amazon Seller Support, in the top right-hand corner of the Seller Central homepage, click the ‘Help’ button. That will allow you to open a support ticket and view your open cases. 

How to Access Amazon Seller University?

Amazon offers sellers numerous options to enhance their sales knowledge through participating in its seller training videos and webinars. The training is called Seller University. You can access this dedicated page from the Seller Central homepage by visiting  ‘Tutorials, and Training’ >  ‘Visit Seller University’ or clicking the following link.

Final Thoughts

Amazon Seller Central is a powerful tool for sellers looking to reach millions of Amazon’s customers worldwide. As an Amazon seller, knowing how to navigate and effectively use Amazon Seller Central is essential. That helps manage your orders, inventory, and business performance. 

Another great tool for Amazon sellers is Seller Assistant Аpp. This all-in-one extension incorporates all features vital for product research. Seller Assistant App helps you immediately see if a product has any sales restrictions or has previously triggered problems with account health. It is an all-in-one extension incorporating features vital for product research. It combines an FBM&FBA profit calculator, Quick View, Stock Checker, and Restrictions Checker in one tool.