Blog Posts What are My Fulfillment Options for Selling on Amazon Marketplace?
Ninety million households now have Amazon Prime memberships, a recent study shows. And those customers spend twice as much as non-Prime members on the website.
Looking for a piece of the action? Until recently, if you wanted to sell products on Amazon Marketplace, your fulfillment options were limited to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN). Today, however, merchants have another option: Seller Fulfilled Prime.
Our new ebook examines the fulfillment choices available to merchants and explains the finer points of SFP. Following is an excerpt…
What is Seller Fulfilled Prime?
Previously, when independent merchants would sell items on Amazon, there were two methods for fulfillment and shipping:
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
The merchant sends merchandise directly to Amazon, allowing Amazon to own the process of selling, fulfilling, packaging and shipping the item to the end consumer.
PROS: The merchant’s items are automatically considered “Prime”, giving all the perks and benefits of Prime merchandise on the Amazon platform.
CONS: Offering the premium service of FBA to consumers also creates a premium in price for sellers. Merchants turn over ownership of the fulfillment operation to Amazon, allowing full access to consumer data. If specific items start to move rapidly, Amazon historically will purchase quick moving sku’s and resell themselves.
Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN)
The merchant (or a 3PL on their behalf) will receive consumer orders from Amazon, and will execute the Pick/Pack/Ship Process themselves.
PROS: MFN creates many opportunities for merchants to cut costs and have more control over their product and the fulfillment process, maintain data of their customers and security of their own data.
CONS: Previously, merchant fulfilled items were not eligible for Prime, cutting out a large portion of buyers who seek Prime items only.
Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP)
A new option offered by Amazon that is in many ways the best of both worlds, SFP allows merchants to fulfill their own merchandise (or have a 3PL fulfill on their behalf), but enables them to participate in the Prime program. Just like any other Prime item, the consumer must receive their item in 2 Business Days (see below for alternatives to 2 Day Prime).
To learn more about how SFP works, requirements for service level agreements, and shipping options, download the ebook.