Who should sell on Amazon
Amazon fits private-label brands, manufacturers, and resellers across almost every category. It is the highest-volume marketplace covered in this hub, which cuts both ways: the largest addressable audience, and the most competition and the strictest operational bar (account health, delivery speed, review policy enforcement) of any platform here. If you're choosing a first marketplace, see Best Marketplaces to Sell On and Amazon vs. Walmart Marketplace before committing.
Eligibility & how to apply
Amazon offers two selling plans: Individual (pay-per-sale, no monthly fee, best for very low volume) and Professional ($39.99/month flat, required once you're selling more than roughly 40 units/month or want access to advertising, bulk tools, and top placement eligibility). Sign-up requires business verification (legal business name, address, a valid ID, and a bank account for payouts). Some categories — including many in grocery, jewelry, and certain electronics — require additional approval ("ungating") before you can list, which typically means submitting invoices from a legitimate supplier.
Fees
Amazon charges a referral fee on every completed sale — a percentage of the total sales price (item price plus shipping and gift-wrap), or a flat per-item minimum, whichever is greater. Rates are set per category, and a number of categories drop to a lower rate above a price breakpoint. The table below is Amazon's published U.S. referral-fee schedule, verified against Amazon's own pricing page on September 6, 2026:
| Category | Referral fee | Per-item minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Device Accessories | 45% | $0.30 |
| Appliances — compact | 15% up to $300; 8% above $300 | $0.30 |
| Appliances — full-size | 8% | $0.30 |
| Automotive & Powersports | 12% | $0.30 |
| Baby products | 8% up to $10; 15% above $10 | $0.30 |
| Backpacks, handbags & luggage | 15% | $0.30 |
| Base equipment power tools | 12% | $0.30 |
| Beauty, health & personal care | 8% up to $10; 15% above $10 | $0.30 |
| Business, industrial & scientific | 12% | $0.30 |
| Clothing & accessories | 5% up to $15; 10% from $15–$20; 17% above $20 | $0.30 |
| Computers | 8% | $0.30 |
| Consumer electronics | 8% | $0.30 |
| Electronics accessories | 15% up to $100; 8% above $100 | $0.30 |
| Eyewear | 15% | $0.30 |
| Fine art | 20% up to $100; 15% from $100–$1,000; 10% from $1,000–$5,000; 5% above $5,000 | $1.00 |
| Footwear | 15% | $0.30 |
| Furniture | 15% up to $200; 10% above $200 | $0.30 |
| Gift cards | 20% | none |
| Grocery & gourmet | 8% up to $15; 15% above $15 | none |
| Home & kitchen | 15% | $0.30 |
| Jewelry | 20% up to $250; 5% above $250 | $0.30 |
| Lawn & garden | 15% | $0.30 |
| Lawn mowers & snow throwers | 15% up to $500; 8% above $500 | $0.30 |
| Mattresses | 15% | $0.30 |
| Media (books, DVDs, music, software) | 15%, plus a $1.80 closing fee per item | none |
| Merchant Fulfilled Services | 20% | $0.30 |
| Musical instruments & AV | 15% | $0.30 |
| Office products | 15% | $0.30 |
| Pet supplies | 15% (22% on veterinary diet items) | $0.30 |
| Sports & outdoors | 15% | $0.30 |
| Tires | 10% | $0.30 |
| Tools & home improvement | 15% | $0.30 |
| Toys & games | 15% | $0.30 |
| Video games & accessories | 15% | none |
| Video game consoles | 8% | none |
| Watches | 16% up to $1,500; 3% above $1,500 | $0.30 |
| Everything else | 15% | $0.30 |
On top of the referral fee, FBA sellers pay per-unit fulfillment fees. Amazon's most recent U.S. fee update took effect January 15, 2026: referral-fee rates were not changed for 2026, but FBA fulfillment fees rose by an average of about $0.08 per unit. Amazon points sellers to the Revenue Calculator and Profit Analytics dashboard in Seller Central for the exact current numbers on a specific SKU, since individual category rates can change between annual announcements. Treat the table above as a planning reference, and confirm the live rate for your exact category and price point in Seller Central before pricing a new SKU — use the Marketplace Fee Calculator to model the outcome once you have it.
Product eligibility & restricted categories
Most categories are open by default; hazmat, certain electronics, jewelry, grocery, and a handful of other categories require approval. Restricted-products lists (weapons, certain supplements, recalled items) are enforced strictly and change periodically — check Seller Central's current Restricted Products policy before sourcing into a new category, not after inventory has landed.
Fulfillment programs
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) — Amazon stores, picks, packs, ships, and handles customer service/returns for the order. Highest convenience, highest fee, and the path to Prime badge eligibility.
- Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) — you fulfill the order yourself but must meet Amazon's own two-day delivery and cancellation-rate bar to keep the Prime badge.
- Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) — uses your FBA inventory to fulfill orders placed on other channels (your own site, other marketplaces).
See FBA vs. WFS vs. 3PL: Full Comparison for a cross-marketplace view of this decision.
Seller performance & account health
Amazon's Account Health Rating (AHR) rolls up your Order Defect Rate, Late Shipment Rate, Valid Tracking Rate, and policy-compliance record into a single score. Falling below Amazon's thresholds on any one of these triggers warnings, then listing or account restrictions. Inventory health is tracked separately via the Inventory Performance Index (IPI), which affects storage limits. See Account Health Metrics Explained and, if you're already in trouble, My Account Was Suspended — What to Do First.
Advertising
Amazon Ads includes Sponsored Products (keyword/product-targeted ads on individual listings), Sponsored Brands (headline ads featuring your brand and multiple products), Sponsored Display (retargeting on and off Amazon), and Amazon DSP (programmatic, for larger advertisers). Most sellers should start with Sponsored Products — see How to Set Up Your First Sponsored Products Campaign.
Brand tools
Brand Registry (requires a registered trademark) unlocks A+ Content, Amazon Storefronts, more effective counterfeit-reporting tools, and access to Sponsored Brands. It is one of the highest-leverage things a brand-owning seller can do early — see Marketplace Brand Registry Programs, Explained.
APIs & integrations
The Selling Partner API (SP-API) is Amazon's current API surface for catalog, orders, inventory, and reporting, replacing the older MWS API. Most sellers reach it through a listing/repricing/analytics tool rather than building directly against it — see Understanding Marketplace APIs.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
My listing is suppressed — what do I check first? Missing required attributes, a policy violation on the image or title, or a pricing error relative to your own history are the most common causes. Use the Suppressed Listing Decision Tree.
Do I need a UPC to list a product? In most cases yes, unless you have a GS1-verified brand exemption or are adding an offer to an existing listing. See Understanding Product Identifiers.
Sources
Amazon, "Referral fees" (sell.amazon.com/pricing), fetched and verified September 6, 2026; Amazon Selling Partners, "2026 Amazon Referral & FBA Fee Updates" (sellingpartners.aboutamazon.com). Category-level fee figures should be reconfirmed against Amazon Seller Central's current Fee Schedule / Revenue Calculator before publishing or pricing decisions, since they can change independently of the annual announcement.