Around 46% of Amazon sellers can achieve an average success rate of 11-25%, with 64% likely to become profitable within 12 months, making Amazon a viable opportunity for those looking to sell on the platform.
Not only that, In 2023, Amazon had over 575 U.S. billion dollars in net sales revenue worldwide.
This simply means that selling on Amazon is profitable. Having said that, you don’t have to invest huge amounts of fees to become an Amazon seller. If you’re just starting out or are a small company looking for a cost-effective program, Amazon Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) is the one. Amazon offers sellers two methods of fulfilling their orders: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM).
This blog post will discuss all key aspects of Amazon FBM, including product listing, shipping, customer service, and more.
Let’s start!
Table of Contents
Understanding Amazon FBM
Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) is an Amazon order fulfillment program that allows you to store, ship, and process orders received on Amazon and other sales channels such as Shopify, eBay, and others. You can also choose reliable shipping options to ensure fast and secure delivery.
Amazon offers various services through FBM, such as Shipping Settings Automation, Amazon Buy Shipping, Multi-Location Inventory, and Veeqo.
| Shipping Settings Automation is a feature that allows you to calculate delivery dates accurately based on the seller and customer’s location. The Amazon Buy Shipping feature allows users to purchase and print labels in one place. It also lets users get lower rates for FedEx, USPS, UPS, and Amazon Shipping. Multi-Location Inventory: You can sync inventories across locations in real time and provide faster shipping. Veeqo is multi-channel shipping software that offers lower shipping rates and can be used to manage inventory and orders. |
Amazon FBM is sometimes called Amazon MFN (Merchant Fulfilled Network).
In a nutshell, Amazon FBM is your listing venue. It requires you to store your stock, pack, and ship orders, and deal with all customer service inquiries yourself or through another third-party service.
How Does Amazon FBM Work?
The merchant needs to fulfill the orders made on Amazon or from other e-commerce platforms. This includes storing, managing inventory, processing orders, shipping, and delivering orders to customers. These merchants can choose a third-party fulfillment service or opt for self-fulfillment.
Amazon FBM is the only fulfillment service available for new merchants, as Amazon FBA requires merchants to adhere to its product restrictions and inventory requirements before choosing FBA.
When To Choose Amazon FBM?
- You’re a small company with low-profit products and a few sales.
- You sell handmade or fragile items.
- You already have a third-party fulfillment app (that costs less than Amazon FBA)
Amazon FBM Fees
In comparison to Amazon FBA, FBM is cost-effective.
Amazon FBM has three types of fees:
Monthly Subscription Fees
The professional plan costs $39.99/month, and the individual selling plan is free.
Per Item Selling Fee
- The professional plan has no fees.
- Individual plan costs $0.99 per item sold.
Referral Fees: Amazon charges referral fees, which depend on the type of products you sell. They vary between 6% and 45%. You can check out the referral fee table given below.
The table below shows the percentage of referral fees charged by Amazon FBM depending on the category of products.
| Category | Referral fee percentages | Applicable minimum referral fee (applied on a per-unit basis unless otherwise noted) |
| Amazon Device Accessories | 45% | $0.30 |
| Amazon Explore | 30% for Experiences | $2.00 |
| Automotive & Powersports | 12% | $0.30 |
| Baby Products | 8% for products with a total sales price of $10 or less and 15% for products with a total sales price greater than $10. | $0.30 |
| Backpacks, Handbags, and Luggage | 15% | $0.30 |
| Base Equipment Power Tools | 12% | $0.30 |
| Beauty, Health and Personal Care | 8% for products with a total sales price of $10 or less and 15% for items with a total sales price greater than $10. | $0.30 |
| Business, Industrial, and Scientific Supplies | 12% | $0.30 |
| Clothing and Accessories | 17% | $0.30 |
| Compact Appliances | 15% for the total sales price up to $300, and 8% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $300. | $0.30 |
| Computers | 8% | $0.30 |
| Consumer Electronics | 8% | $0.30 |
| Electronics Accessories | 15% for the total sales price up to $100, and 8% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $100. | $0.30 |
| Everything Else | 15% | $0.30 |
| Eyewear | 15% | $0.30 |
| Fine Art | 20% for the portion of the total sales price up to $100, 15% for the portion of the total sales price greater than $100 up to $1,000, 10% for the portion of the total sales price greater than $1,000 up to $5,000, and 5% for the portion of the total sales price greater than $5,000. | – |
| Footwear | 15% | $0.30 |
| Full-Size Appliances | 8% | $0.30 |
| Furniture | 15% for the portion of the total sales price up to $200, and 10% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $200 | $0.30 |
| Gift Cards | 20% | – |
| Grocery and Gourmet | 8% for products with a total sales price of $15 or less and 15% for products with a total sales price greater than $15 | – |
| Home & Kitchen | 15% | $0.30 |
| Jewelry | 15% for products with a total sales price of up to $500. 8% for products with a total sales price greater than $500 | $0.30 |
| Lawn and Garden | 15% | $0.30 |
| Lawn Mowers and Snow Throwers | 15% for products with a total sales price of up to $500, 8% for products with a total sales price greater than $500. | $0.30 |
| Mattresses | 15% | $0.30 |
| Media – Books, DVD, Music, Software, Video | 15% | – |
| Musical Instruments and AV | 15% | $0.30 |
| Office Products | 15% | $0.30 |
| Pet Products | 15%, except 22% for veterinary diets | $0.30 |
| Sports and Outdoors | 15% | $0.30 |
| Tires | 10% | $0.30 |
| Tools and Home Improvement | 15% | $0.30 |
| Toys and Games | 15% | $0.30 |
| Video Game Consoles | 8% | – |
| Video Games and Accessories | 15% | – |
| Watches | 16% for the total sales price up to $1,500, and 3% for any portion of the total sales price greater than $1,500. | $0.30 |
Pros & Cons Of Amazon FBM
In this section, we will get into the benefits and drawbacks of choosing Amazon FBM.
Pros
More Control over Your Business
Amazon FBM offers you complete control over your operations, whether you’re just starting out with new products or have an existing product line. It provides you with a suite of tools and features that help you manage inventory, order processing, and shipping. This helps you have clear visibility over your business and enables you to make better decisions.
Multi-Channel Fulfillment
Amazon FBM sellers can ship orders to customers who buy from various channels, such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart, or the Shopify store.
Flexibility
Through Amazon FBM, you gain better control over stock levels. Unlike FBA, you can increase your stock without worrying about the extra storage and shipping costs.
Interact with Customers
When you become an Amazon FBM seller, you will handle customer service. This will allow you to interact with customers and receive feedback. Whether good or bad, this feedback will eventually help you build a brand.
Save on Storage Fees
Unlike Amazon FBA, you don’t have to store low-selling products for a longer duration. Hence, the costs are minimal when compared to Amazon FBA.
Cons
Time-Consuming
Picking, packing, and shipping products takes up much of your valuable time and requires you to dedicate certain hours weekly to your business.
Higher Shipping Costs
Shipping costs depend on your chosen third-party app or service. If your carrier charges you heftily, you might incur higher costs included in shipping.
Not Eligible for Amazon Prime
Amazon FBM sellers are not eligible for the Amazon Prime badge. Amazon Prime helps you get higher organic rankings, which could be a drawback for FBM sellers.
However, there’s another similar program called Seller Fulfilled Prime. To join Seller Fulfilled Prime, a seller must fill out an application. Currently, Amazon is not accepting applications, so FBM sellers interested in the program must add their names to a waiting list.
Sellers who sell Prime reach more customers and have a better chance of winning the Buy Box.
| What is the Buy Box? The Buy Box feature contains the “buy” and “add to cart” buttons on product pages. It is located in the upper right-hand corner of the page, and most Amazon sales happen through these buttons. When you win the buy box, you are the preferred product seller. When a buyer clicks the “Buy” or “Add to cart” button, they purchase the product from you, not another seller. Additionally, you must win the Buy Box to run sponsored product ads. Pricing and fulfillment strategies play significant roles in winning a Buy Box. |
So far, we have discussed what is Amazon FBM. Now, let’s also look at Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
Amazon FBA is another fulfillment method that companies can choose. Let’s examine Amazon FBA and compare it with Amazon FBM. This comparison will provide you with enough information to help you decide between Amazon FBA and Amazon FBM.
Amazon FBM Vs. FBA
Amazon FBA is a popular program. 89% of sellers use the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, and just 32% also use the Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) program.
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is Amazon’s all-in-one fulfillment solution. With Amazon FBA, sellers send products to Amazon fulfillment centers, and Amazon takes care of the rest: storing products, packing orders, shipping them, and delivering them to customers. In addition to all these, Amazon FBA sellers also get a prime badge, which means the orders are eligible for same-day or next-day delivery.
Amazon FBA allows you to store products in their warehouse, helping you increase sales through faster fulfillment. When you receive an order, the Amazon team packs, ships, and delivers it to customers. They also provide customer service and handle returns.
With Amazon FBA,
- You can improve customer satisfaction as Amazon provides excellent customer service.
- You can scale your business without investing in additional storage or shipping services.
- Amazon takes care of everything for you while you can focus on your business.
When to choose FBA?
- You have a large volume of sales.
- You are looking for a reliable service to store your products, ship, and fulfill orders.
- You don’t have the bandwidth to provide customer support.
Here’s the comparison between Amazon FBA and FBM.
| Amazon FBA | Amazon FBM |
| Amazon FBA sellers send inventory to Amazon fulfillment centers, and Amazon stores the products, packs, ships, and delivers orders to customers. | Amazon FBM sellers handle everything related to fulfilling orders, including storing, packing, shipping, and delivering them. |
| Suitable for businesses with significant turnover and a massive volume of sales. | Suitable for small companies and heavy-weight products. |
| Sellers must bear the costs of storage, fulfillment, and referral fees. | Amazon FBM sellers pay only the referral fee for Amazon and the shipping fee for third-party services(if any). |
| Automatically eligible for Amazon Prime. | Sellers are not eligible for Prime but can choose Seller Fulfilled Prime. |
| Amazon is responsible for Returns, Refunds, and Customer Service. | Amazon FBM sellers are responsible for Returns, Refunds, and Customer Service. |
Let’s move on to the process of becoming an Amazon FBM Seller.
Getting Started with Amazon FBM
The process involves a few steps and is easy to follow. Just follow the instructions, and you’re done.
Prerequisites:
You will need an Amazon Seller Account: To create an Amazon Seller account, you will need the following details:
- Business information (your business name, address, and contact information)
- Email address
- Credit card
- Phone number
- Tax ID (Federal and State)
Go to Amazon Seller, click ‘Sign up, ‘ and enter your details.
Amazon recommends that you choose a professional plan to enjoy all the benefits.
2. Select Marketplace
The US Marketplace is the largest of the Amazon marketplaces. If you’re in the US or anywhere else, the best marketplace for you is the US, not just because it’s the largest but also because it is easy to get started there. The EU Marketplace comes next. It includes markets like the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands.
Amazon has 20 global marketplaces; they are:
- Australia
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- India
- Italy
- Japan
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Spain
- Sweden
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
3. Select Business Model: Choose your business model from the following
- Private Label
- Wholesale
- Reselling (also known as Retail Arbitrage on Amazon)
- Amazon Dropshipping
- Handmade
Let’s dive into the process now.
STEP 1: Amazon Seller Account
Here’s how to register as an Amazon Seller.
Go to Amazon Seller and click ‘Sign up. ‘You can Create a new account or use an existing one. Enter your email and password.
You’ll see this screen. Click ‘Begin.’
In the next step, you must enter your country and business type. Fill in the details and click ‘Agree and Continue.’
The next screen will show the steps to complete. These steps include Business Information, Seller Information, Billing, Store details, and the Verification process.
Complete all these steps, and you’ll be registered as an Amazon seller.
After the registration, log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
STEP 2: Listing Products
There are three ways to create FBM Listings.
1. Adding a new product and setting it to the FBM listing. To do this:
- Log into Seller Central
- Click Inventory → Add a product
- Click ‘I’m adding a product not sold on Amazon.’
- Enter the details for the product.
2. You already have an FBA listing and wish to change it to FBM (this option is ideal if you don’t want to continue FBA. However, you can switch to FBA in the future)
To do this, go to the existing listing and click the ‘Sell on Amazon’ button.
Add the information below for your offer:
- Price
- Condition (new or used)
- Quantity (if you have more than one)
- Fulfillment channel (FBM)
Source – Jungle Scout
3. The third way is to create a new offer and add FBA and FBM listings. This will be helpful when you run out of FBA inventory, as you can always rely on FBM.
To do this, you can go to Amazon Seller Center –> Inventory –> Manage Inventory –> Locate your product –>In the dropdown menu, select –> Add another condition.
You can enter SKU and quantity and select merchant fulfillment to change from FBA to FBM.
You have now listed your products. The process will take some time to reflect your product in the catalog.
| NOTE: Amazon offers additional selling tools and protection benefits if you own a brand. So, before listing your products, enroll your brand on Amazon to unlock all these features. |
STEP 3: Shipping Template
In this step, you must set the shipping template and return settings to define your handling time, transit time, and capacity limit, matching your operations.
To do this, login to your Amazon Seller Central account and go to Settings → Shipping Settings.
Source – Channelunity
You can automate this process using Amazon’s Shipping Settings Automation feature and an automated handling time to optimize the delivery dates that appear to customers.
Check your return settings and make adjustments if necessary. You can create additional return policies for your business that match or exceed Amazon’s policy.
NOTE: We will be discussing shipping requirements further down the blog.
STEP 4: Manage Inventory and Fulfill Orders
Update product information using the ‘Manage Inventory’ option. To sync inventory stored in multiple places, choose ‘Multi-Location Inventory.’
When you receive a customer order, you can review it, confirm shipping, and provide tracking information using ‘Manage Orders.’
| NOTE: Ensure that you confirm the shipment within your stated handling time. |
Speaking of inventory, you can sync inventory between Amazon and Shopify to sell from both platforms.
STEP 5: Handling Returns & Cancellations
Ensure to check regularly for buyer-requested cancellations using Manage Orders.
| NOTE: Amazon enrolls sellers in its prepaid returns label program for US sales and authorizes all return requests that meet the Amazon Policy. Return requests that do not meet Amazon’s policy will be sent to the store owners for review. Store owners must respond to these requests within 24 hours, and they can authorize, close, or complete a return using ‘Manage Returns.’ Amazon offers buyer-seller messaging, which allows them to communicate with buyers to complete orders or respond to customer service inquiries. |
STEP 6: Monitor your Shipping Performance
Using the Fulfillment Insights Dashboard in your Amazon Seller Central account, you can compare the promised and actual delivery times to analyze gaps and improve performance.
We will look into each key performance metric in the coming sections.
That’s it. You are now an Amazon FBM Seller.
We hope this section helped you understand the different ways to list your products for Amazon FBM listing. Listing products, configuring settings, managing inventory and orders, and creating shipping templates are crucial to ensure a seamless fulfillment process.
Let’s see more about managing inventory and shipping in the following section.
Managing Inventory and Orders
Here, we will discuss how Amazon FBM sellers can manage stock levels and process orders.
Inventory Management
Amazon FBM sellers must have their inventory facilities. They must monitor stock levels and restock products when needed.
Order Placement
When sellers receive orders, they will be displayed to the FBM sellers in their Amazon Seller Central account. An order widget shows the order status as ‘pending’ when the order has been placed. And moves to ‘Seller-fulfilled Unshipped’ status after Amazon confirms Amazon confirms the order.
Source – Jungle Scout
Additionally, you will receive a notification on Amazon Seller mobile app when an order is placed.
Order Processing
After FBM sellers receive orders, they must process them. This involves picking the ordered items from inventory, packaging them, generating shipping labels, and shipping them to the delivery address.
Shipping and Delivery
After Amazon notifies you that the order is ready to ship, you have 24 hours to confirm that the order is shipped.
Amazon FBM sellers can arrange for the shipment of the orders through their preferred shipping carriers or methods.
They are responsible for choosing carriers, selecting shipping speeds, and managing the shipping process. Amazon FBM sellers can offer various shipping options to customers, such as standard shipping, expedited shipping, or international shipping.
If you’re looking for third-party fulfillment centers, here are a few options to choose from:
2. ShipBob
3. Shipmonk
Shipping Requirements
Consider the points below as a checklist for setting up shipping requirements for your business.
Set Shipping Template on Amazon Seller Central: To create a shipping template, you must enter the details about products, their weight, dimensions, and the handling time to process orders.
You can do this by logging in to Amazon Seller Central. Go to settings → Shipping Settings. Select the Shipping Templates tab and click “edit” at the top right-hand corner.
Estimate Handling Time: A delay in handling time might disappoint customers. To avoid this, define the right handling time, analyze your history of orders’ processing time, and come up with an average handling time based on the history.
Set the order Handling Service: Here, you will choose FBM, as you are responsible for handling all aspects of fulfillment.
Choose the Packaging: To deliver products as is, selecting the suitable packaging is vital. Ensure the package is appropriate for the product and easy for your customers to unbox.
Shipping Services: Choose a service based on the following criteria:
- Shipping time.
- The budget needed for shipping.
- The service must provide tracking information.
- Cover Insurance in case of lost or damaged goods.
Here’s how to calculate shipping fees:
- Measure Product dimensions and weight
- Choose a shipping carrier such as USPS, FedEx, or UPS.
- Visit the chosen carrier’s website and enter information such as source, destination, zip code, package size details, etc.
- Select the shipping service—for example:- normal or express delivery.
- If you charge a handling fee, you may add it to the shipping costs.
- Follow the same process for any other destinations.
Shipping Supplies
If you are shipping orders on your own, here is a list of shipping supplies you will need:
- Boxes, envelopes.
- Packing material
- Peel & stick mailing labels
- Printer
- Packing tape and Scotch tape
You can buy these supplies from Amazon.
| BONUS: Offer Prime and Premium Shipping After meeting Amazon’s performance requirements, you can enroll in their Premium Shipping or Seller Fulfilled Prime. These programs enable you to offer one-day and two-day deliveries. With Seller Fulfilled Prime, you can get the Prime badge on your offers. |
Customer Service and Communication
We all know that Amazon provides excellent customer service. However, in the case of Amazon FBM, the sellers must provide customer support, which creates another opportunity for FBM sellers. Providing customer service is one of the best ways to build trust and acquire loyal customers.
Let’s see how Amazon FBM sellers can go about providing customer support.
Handling Customer Inquiries
Amazon FBM sellers are responsible for providing customer service. This includes handling customer inquiries, returns, and order issues.
Managing Returns and Refunds
Sellers must have their own return policies and procedures. When customers request returns, FBM sellers process the returns, inspect returned items, and provide refunds or replacements as necessary.
Building Customer Loyalty
For Amazon FBM sellers, monitoring and improving their performance is essential. Hence, sellers must collect customer feedback and reviews to improve the customer experience.
Compliance and Legal Considerations
Sellers must follow Amazon’s Terms Of Service, Policies, and Guidelines. Failure to do so might result in:
- Amazon bans your business and products.
- Amazon can hold your payments.
- Amazon may suspend your Amazon seller account.
- Removal of reviews from a specific product (which failed to fulfill the ToS).
- Delisting your product from Amazon.
- Legal action against the seller or more.
Amazon redirects the prohibited activities page to Seller policies and code of conduct.
You can also look at Amazon Policies for specific products.
Amazon Advertising
Amazon PPC is the best choice if you’re just starting. You don’t have to pay for the impressions recorded; you will only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
Here’s how an Amazon Ad looks when you search for a Handbag on Amazon.
As you can see, when you search for ‘handbag’ in Amazon’s search box, the ads that appear on the top are ‘Amazon sponsored products ads.’ These ads are PPC ads; let’s see how to create them.
Follow the process below to create an Amazon ad campaign:-
You can create a campaign within the Amazon Seller account.
STEP 1: Go to the Advertising tab –> Click on New Campaign –> At the bottom, click ‘New Campaign.’
You can choose from three types of campaign types:
- Sponsored Products: This is suitable if you’re looking to promote your products to shoppers searching for keywords similar to your products.
- Sponsored Brands: Amazon prioritizes this type of campaign by showing ads at the top of the search results on Amazon.
- Sponsored Display (Beta): These ads appear on the right side of the screen to shoppers viewing a similar product.
Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display campaign types are for brands listed on Amazon.
| Learn more about the different types of Amazon ads and its costs through our blog on Amazon advertising costs. |
STEP 2: Sponsored Products
We are showing you how to set up Sponsored Products.
Enter your campaign details, such as product name, start date, and end date, and set your daily budget. (The budget must be more than a dollar.)
| TIP: You can use 10% of your sales as a daily budget. For Example, if you’re making $20 in sales for a product, you can use $2 as your daily budget. |
STEP 3: Manual or Automatic Targeting
Next, you will see manual or automatic targeting options.
You can choose automatic or manual targeting. If you have no experience in this area, choose automatic targeting.
After filling in these details, scroll down and create an ad group.
STEP 4: Create an Ad Group
To create an ad group, group similar products, or you can choose a single product.
The next step is choosing your product and setting bids.
You can also pick some negative keywords unrelated to your products.
STEP 5: Click on ‘Launch Campaign.’
That’s all. You have created an ad campaign. You will see the campaign when you go back to the dashboard, and you can edit the values there.
Apart from creating a PPC ad campaign, you can also promote your products in other ways:-
- You can create coupons that appear on the Amazon Coupons page, in search results, and on the product detail pages.
- Offer percentage-off and buy-one-get-one promotions that are displayed as part of a Featured Offer.
- Create lighting and 7-day Deals that are shown on the Amazon Deals page. This is a popular option, especially for shopping events like Prime Day.
| Bonus: You can also use Amazon marketing tools to promote your products. |
It’s time to move on to understanding the numbers.
Performance Metrics
As an Amazon seller, you must know that performance metrics are critical to your rankings and growth.
Hence, it is essential to observe key metrics and optimize your efforts. Let’s look at the most critical metrics.
Order Defect Rate (ODR)
Order Defect Rate (ODR) is the number of people who have had a negative experience with you.
According to Amazon, an order is defective if:
- An A-to-Z Guarantee claim is made.
- A customer makes a chargeback.
- A negative review is left (1 or 2 stars).
Negative reviews, returns, or chargebacks adversely affect your brand reputation, meaning only a few customers trust you. To retain customers, it’s essential to maintain a low ODR (Amazon recommends having less than 1% ODR).
| Delivering exceptional customer service and timely delivery can result in less ODR. |
Late-Shipment Rate (LSR)
Amazon allows you to have a less than 4% Late Shipment Rate. Late shipping means dissatisfied customers and negative reviews. Ensure you provide an accurate estimated delivery date to maintain less than 4% LSR.
Unit Session Percentage Rate
Simply means Conversion Rates. Higher conversion rates mean your product is doing exceptionally well. You retain the high page ranking and make more sales with higher conversions.
Sales Revenue
Every strategy boils down to sales. It’s crucial to track sales regularly. Sales revenue can tell you whether your business is going well or not. You must look for steady sales or fluctuations. It is equally important to understand where these fluctuations are coming from to optimize for better results in the future.
Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)
This metric gives insights into which campaigns work for you and which do not. Based on the ROAS generated, you can invest more in the campaigns with higher conversions and discard the campaigns or ads that don’t yield good results.
Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate
This metric measures the percentage of you canceling an order after a customer places it. It’s calculated by the number of cancellations divided by the number of orders in the same period and must stay below 2.5%.
| Be aware of your stock levels, especially during the holiday season, like Black Friday. Enable real-time notifications to stay informed and restock your inventory to avoid pre-fulfillment cancellations. |
Account Health Rating
Amazon provides sellers an overview of their compliance with crucial Amazon selling policies, including Amazon’s intellectual property, authenticity, listing, and restricted-product policies. To maintain a ‘Good’ rating, you must address any policy violations listed on your Account Health dashboard. If your rating is ‘At Risk’ or ‘Critical,’ your account may be deactivated by Amazon.
| You might also like to read: How to Buy UPC Codes for Amazon: A Complete Guide with Tips 40+ Key Amazon Seller Metrics Every Seller Should Monitor What is Amazon Launchpad? A Guide for Emerging Brands |
Conclusion
There you have it. This blog covered everything you need about Amazon FBM, from listing your products to providing customer service. If you’re starting and want to start small, Amazon FBM can be the right choice.
FAQs
What is Amazon FBM?
Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) is a fulfillment program by Amazon. As a seller, you can list your products on Amazon and take charge of fulfillment yourself or using a third-party service. Fulfillment includes storing, packing, shipping, and delivering products to customers.
How much does Amazon FBM cost?
The cost varies depending on the product type. Regarding the monthly subscription fees, Amazon’s individual plan costs $0.99 per item sold, whereas Amazon’s professional plan costs $39.99 per month and does not charge per item sold.
Is it better to choose FBA or FBM?
Amazon wholly handles FBA, so you don’t have to worry about shipping, storing, delivering products, or providing customer service. This option is suitable if you make large sales volumes and wish to outsource everything to Amazon.
On the other hand, FBM is suitable for businesses keen on handling everything and ready to invest their time in order fulfillment.
The choice entirely depends on your requirements. However, FBA is a popular choice among many, and you can see fruitful results for Amazon FBA sellers.
Who pays for shipping Amazon FBM?
Amazon FBM sellers pay for shipping. They can choose Veeqo or other third-party shipping carriers.
Can I sell on both FBA and FBM?
Yes, you can add both FBA and FBM listings to your Amazon Seller Central account and take advantage of the other if either one runs out of stock.
How do I get started with Amazon FBM?
You must have an Amazon Seller Central account. There are a few steps to becoming an Amazon FBM seller. First, create an Amazon seller account, add a product listing, and configure shipping settings and a shipping template. Then, you’re ready to go.
Do FBM sellers qualify for Amazon Prime?
No, they don’t. However, they have another alternative called Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), similar to Amazon Prime. Amazon is not accepting applications for SFP; there is a waitlist for joining the program.
How can I manage shipping and handling for FBM?
Amazon FBM sellers do not get any support from Amazon to fulfill orders. They can choose to ship orders by themselves or use third-party fulfillment centers.
Can I use third-party logistics (3PL) providers with FBM?
Yes, you can use third-party logistics providers as an Amazon FBM seller.
What tools are available to help with FBM order fulfillment?
You can use tools like ShipBob, a2b fulfillment, Shipmonk, and Red Stag fulfillment.
