There are several benefits to doing this. Let’s look at the main ones:
- For individual sellers, Amazon charges you 15% Selling commission (on most products) plus 99¢ per sale. The fee to become a professional seller is $39.95 per month, but as a Pro Seller you are only charged 15% –and not the extra 99¢. Therefore, if you sell 40 items per month or more, you will save money on fees. (Unless you plan to make at least 40 sales per month -you should not be wasting your time selling on Amazon).
- Professional Sellers are allowed to create listings for products that are not currently being sold on Amazon. You can also create product bundles, (Creating your own listings will help you reach those 40 sales per month more quickly).
- Amazon has several restricted categories. You must apply to sell in these –clothing, shoes, jewelry and auto accessories are just a few. You must be a Pro Seller to apply to sell in these categories.
- Pro Sellers can Manage inventory using feeds, spreadsheets, and reports
- Pro Sellers can take advantage of Promotions, gift services, and other special listing features
- Pro-Sellers can use the automatic repricing tool
- Pro Sellers can customize shipping rates instead of having to use the rate Amazon gives you
- Pro Sellers can sell in the U.S., Canada or Mexico
- Here is the most important one: Only Professional Sellers are eligible for listing placement in the Buy Box. This is critical because over 78% of all Amazon sales originate in the buy box.