Sell on Amazon with invtri, using your own SP-API keys.

Who can sell on Amazon

Amazon accepts businesses and individuals: the business types at registration run from listed and privately owned companies to sole proprietors, plus “None, I am an individual”³.

For Europe you need a government-issued ID, proof of address such as a bank statement or utility bill, a phone number and a credit or debit card; companies also give their registration number³. Prepaid cards, cheques and PayPal are not accepted³. The US guide asks for proof of residential address from the last 180 days, a bank account and tax information⁷.

Registration ends with an identity check: in Europe, a photo of your face and your ID, verified automatically³; in the US, a photo or a video call with an Amazon associate⁷. Amazon says verification usually takes three business days or less³⁷.

One European registration covers the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland³. To build your own SP-API application you need the Professional plan, and only the primary account user can register as a developer⁶.

If you are based outside the region you sell in:

• You do not need a US bank account to sell in the US: the Amazon Currency Converter can pay proceeds to a bank account outside the US⁷.
• An account opened at sell.amazon.com sells in the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil; for Europe you create an additional selling account⁷.
• Selling in the EU from outside it, you need an EU Responsible Person for product safety⁸.

Selling plans and referral fees

The Individual plan charges per item sold; the Professional plan is a monthly subscription, plus selling fees⁴. To create SP-API keys as a private developer, you need a Professional selling account⁶.

You also pay a referral fee on each sale. Amazon’s US pricing page describes it as a percentage of the total price, including shipping and gift wrap, or a minimum amount, whichever is greater¹³.

Other fees to check: in the UK, a refund administration fee of £5.00 or 20% of the referral fee, whichever is less⁴; on amazon.com, a $1.80 closing fee per media item¹³. FBA adds a fulfilment fee per unit and monthly storage fees⁴.

Account health and the Featured Offer

For orders you ship yourself, Amazon tracks order defects, late shipments, pre-fulfilment cancellations and valid tracking, which you follow in the Account Health dashboard⁵. Amazon sets the target for each metric, so check them there.

The same numbers count on shared product pages: winning the Featured Offer depends partly on seller performance metrics such as your order defect rate and late shipment rate¹.

Two rules come with figures: answer every return request within 24 hours using Manage Returns⁵¹⁴, and if you offer Seller Fulfilled Prime, use Buy Shipping for at least 98% of those products⁵.

Product pages, brands and gated categories

Resellers search Amazon’s catalogue for the products they stock and add an offer, using the EAN, UPC or ASIN to match the right product page¹. On a shared page, only a brand owner enrolled in Brand Registry controls the content².

For a product not yet on Amazon, Seller Central’s route is “I am adding a product not sold on Amazon”, and you need an EAN (13 digits) or UPC (12 digits) from GS1, or a GTIN exemption, for example for your own unbranded products². Amazon calls GTIN issues “the single most common reason new listings fail”².

Some categories are gated and some brands restricted, so you need approval or the brand owner’s authorisation before you list¹. For a gated category, Amazon generally asks for invoices from an authorised distributor dated within the last 180 days, with at least 10 units per invoice and the supplier’s name and contact details visible¹. Categories needing pre-approval include beauty, supplements, toys and food².

In Europe, Amazon requires EPR registration numbers before you can sell in key EU markets, and Germany needs a separate WEEE registration for electronics⁸.

Amazon’s dropshipping rules

Amazon allows dropshipping only when it is clear to the customer that you are the seller of record¹⁵. You must be the only seller of record named on packing slips, invoices and external packaging, nothing in the shipment may refer to a third party, and you handle customer service and returns¹⁵.

Having another online retailer ship to your customer without naming you as the seller of record is strictly prohibited¹⁵. Amazon’s US guidance likewise allows dropshipping as long as you are the seller of record and follow its Drop Shipping Policy¹⁶. Blind shipping, where the parcel and paperwork show your business rather than your supplier’s, is arranged between you and your supplier.

Shipping, tracking and returns

Confirm shipment within the handling time you set; Amazon counts total delivery time as handling time plus transit time⁵. With Amazon’s Buy Shipping, orders are confirmed and tracked automatically, and if you ship on time you are protected against A-to-Z Guarantee claims about delivery problems⁵.

In the UK you must offer a prepaid return label or a returnless refund for every return request⁵. In the US, Amazon enrols sellers in its prepaid returns label programme automatically¹⁴.

Stock you hold in FBA can also fulfil orders from your other channels. With the Amazon FBA & MCF add-on, you send an order to Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfilment from invtri and confirm. Amazon bills its standard MCF fee per order through Seller Central.

Your Amazon keys: private developer registration

Your developer keys come from your own SP-API application, registered as a private developer¹⁷:

1. 1

   Register as a private developer

   In Seller Central, open Apps and Services, then Develop Apps¹⁷. Under Data Access choose Private Developer, then select roles and describe your use cases and security controls¹⁷.

2. 2

   Wait for Amazon’s review

   Amazon evaluates your profile and creates a case with next steps; if it asks for more information, reply within five days or the case closes¹⁷.

3. 3

   Add an app client

   In Develop Apps, choose Add new app client and complete the form, ticking Sellers if asked¹⁸.

4. 4

   Copy the LWA credentials

   Choose Edit app, then View under LWA credentials, to see the client identifier and client secret¹⁹.

5. 5

   Authorise the app

   On the Authorize application page, choose Authorize app for your selling account and copy the refresh token²⁰. A private application allows up to 10 self-authorisations²¹.

Roles decide what the app can reach. Inventory and Order Tracking covers orders without buyer shipping details; those need the restricted Direct-to-Consumer Shipping role, which asks for more information on data use and security²².

Amazon requires you to rotate the client secret every 180 days, warns you 90 days ahead, and calls fail if you miss the deadline²³. The refresh token survives the rotation, because it is linked to the client identifier²⁴. Amazon periodically deactivates authorisations that have been neither renewed nor used for more than 365 days²⁵. How to connect Amazon has the full steps.

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