Seller Central (Third-Party / 3P):
- You create an Amazon seller account and list your products
- You set your own prices and manage inventory
- You ship via FBA (to Amazon warehouses) or FBM (directly to customers)
- Amazon charges referral fees (8–15%) + fulfilment fees if using FBA
- Product pages show "Sold by [Your Brand]" or "Shipped by Amazon" (FBA)
- You own the customer relationship and have access to buyer data
Vendor Central (First-Party / 1P):
- Amazon invites you to become a Vendor (it's not self-apply)
- Amazon issues purchase orders — they buy your products wholesale
- Amazon stores and fulfils all Vendor Central products
- Product pages show "Sold by Amazon" — Amazon is the retailer
- Amazon sets the retail price (they can discount below your desired price)
- You lose visibility into who's buying your products
Seller Central margin example:
- Retail price: $50 (you set this)
- Amazon referral fee (15%): -$7.50
- FBA fulfilment fee (standard size): -$4.00
- Your COGS: -$15.00
- Net margin: $23.50 (47% of revenue)
Vendor Central margin example:
- Amazon's retail price: $50 (Amazon sets this)
- Amazon's wholesale price to you: $25–30 (50–60% of retail)
- Your COGS: -$15.00
- Net margin: $10–15 (20–30% of retail price)
The wholesale discount Amazon demands as a Vendor cuts margin by roughly half compared to a 3P Seller Central strategy at equivalent pricing. This is the most significant drawback of Vendor Central.
Seller Central pricing control: You set your price. You can adjust prices daily, run promotions, and respond to competitive pricing changes. Amazon may suppress your buy box if you violate their lowest-price guarantee (pricing lower on your own site), but within Amazon's rules, pricing is yours to control.
Vendor Central pricing control: You have none. Amazon sets the retail price and can discount your products below your desired price at any time — including below your costs. Amazon discounts products to win the Buy Box or compete with third-party sellers. Brands frequently lose money on specific units when Amazon discounts aggressively.
Content control: Both models allow Brand Registry-enrolled brands to control product page content through A+ Content and Amazon Stores. However, Vendor Central historically had access to Premium A+ Content earlier; Seller Central access has now expanded to most Brand Registry enrollees.
Seller Central pros:
- Higher margins
- Full price control
- Access to customer email (post-order for FBM; otherwise anonymous)
- Faster onboarding (self-serve)
- More data access (Brand Analytics for Brand Registry)
Seller Central cons:
- More operational complexity if not using FBA
- "Sold by [Brand]" may slightly reduce trust vs "Sold by Amazon"
Vendor Central pros:
- "Sold by Amazon" trust signal
- Simpler relationship if you have dedicated wholesale operations
- Some legacy advertising features (A9 content)
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Try Sellable free →Vendor Central cons:
- 40–50% wholesale margin hit
- No retail price control
- No customer data access
- Amazon can order unpredictable quantities (and return unsold stock)
- Chargeback system (Amazon fines for logistics violations)
Seller Central for most brands in 2026. The margin advantage, price control, and data access outweigh Vendor Central's "Sold by Amazon" trust signal for the vast majority of brands. The industry has largely moved toward 3P as the preferred model.
Vendor Central if you're invited and have wholesale/distribution operations that make the relationship operationally simpler, or if the "Sold by Amazon" trust signal is specifically important in your category. A hybrid (3P and 1P simultaneously) is also common for brands managing both channels.
Yes. This hybrid approach (sometimes called "1P+3P") is common for large brands. They maintain a Vendor Central relationship for Amazon's wholesale orders while also listing on Seller Central to maintain price control and fill gaps where Amazon's PO volumes are insufficient. Managing both requires careful coordination to avoid Amazon-to-Amazon competition on the same ASIN.
Primarily because of operational simplicity at scale. Large manufacturers with existing wholesale/distribution operations find the Vendor Central model familiar — Amazon becomes a wholesale customer like any other retailer. The "Sold by Amazon" trust signal and some Amazon-exclusive advertising formats were also historically significant. For brands new to Amazon, however, Seller Central is almost universally recommended.
Yes, and many brands have done this over the past several years. The migration requires careful planning: ensuring existing ASIN ownership, coordinating the timing of the switch, and managing the price transition. Amazon's Brand Registry is essential for a smooth transition. Some brands use Vendor Express (a limited Vendor relationship) during transition periods.
Yes. Amazon Vine (Amazon's review seeding programme for new products) has historically been available to Vendor Central brands. Amazon Vine is also available to Seller Central sellers enrolled in Brand Registry — so this advantage has largely equalized. Both platforms can now access Vine for generating initial product reviews on new ASINs.
Amazon chargebacks are fines Amazon issues to Vendors for logistics violations: late shipments, incorrect packaging, ASN (advance shipment notice) errors, and similar fulfilment issues. Chargebacks are a significant cost centre for many Vendors and can be difficult to dispute. Seller Central FBA has no comparable chargeback system — Amazon handles fulfilment, so fulfilment violations are Amazon's problem, not yours.
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