The Five Big Differences Between Amazon Vendor Central and Seller Central

Whether your brand is selling products on Amazon for the first time or reevaluating an existing sales strategy, it’s common to struggle with the decision to go the Vendor Central (1P) or Seller Central (3P) route. Making an informed choice begins with understanding the key differences between the two.

What is Amazon Vendor Central?

Amazon Vendor Central is an invite-only platform that allows manufacturers and authorized distributors to sell their products directly to Amazon, making them first-party (1P) sellers. In this arrangement, Amazon purchases products in bulk from the vendor, assuming control over pricing, sales, and customer service. For customers, products sold through Vendor Central are labeled with “ships from and sold by Amazon,” which can increase trust and credibility.

Unlike other selling arrangements, Vendor Central eliminates intermediaries, enabling companies to form a direct partnership with Amazon. This model is popular with established brands that have a proven track record, such as manufacturers with unique, high-demand products. Amazon’s Vendor Central Recruitment team often scouts these brands, reaching out to marketplace sellers, trade show participants, and other companies that show promise in the market. For instance, an electronics manufacturer recognized for innovation may receive an invitation to join Vendor Central, allowing them to sell their products directly to Amazon.

Vendor Central offers an attractive opportunity for brands seeking streamlined distribution and enhanced visibility through Amazon’s platform. However, vendors relinquish some control, particularly over pricing, in exchange for Amazon’s logistics and sales support.

What is Amazon Seller Central?

Amazon Seller Central is the platform where individual merchants and businesses can list and sell products directly to Amazon’s customers, making them third-party (3P) sellers. This model gives sellers control over product listings, inventory management, pricing, and customer service. It’s especially appealing to startups and small to mid-sized businesses looking to expand their reach without selling wholesale to Amazon. Through Seller Central, merchants create and maintain their accounts, deciding how to manage and scale their business.

Seller Central offers two account types: individual and professional. While the individual account is generally suited for those with lower sales volume, the professional account requires a monthly fee and includes advanced tools, marketing support, and features that are essential for business growth. Many businesses choose the professional account to access Amazon’s analytics, advertising tools, and other resources.

Fulfillment Options for Amazon Seller Central Sellers: Sellers on Amazon have several choices for managing order fulfillment:

1. Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) – The seller handles shipping, customer service, and returns independently or through a third-party logistics provider (3PL).
2. Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime – Similar to FBM, this option allows sellers to manage fulfillment while retaining the Prime badge for faster delivery.
3. Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) – Sellers can also use Amazon’s FBA service, where Amazon handles storage, shipping, customer service, and returns. This option allows the seller’s product listing to show “sold by [Brand Name] and Fulfilled by Amazon.”

For example, a business like “Crafty Creations,” which offers handmade and artisanal products, could use Seller Central to reach more customers. By listing products directly, Crafty Creations maintains control over branding and pricing, potentially increasing margins compared to a wholesale arrangement. They can opt for FBA to ensure smooth order fulfillment and benefit from the Prime shipping badge, making their products more appealing to Amazon’s loyal customers.

Amazon Vendor Central vs. Amazon Seller Central

The path you take will have a major impact on the legwork required by your company, the way your brand is presented to customers on Amazon and, critically, the level of control you have over their experience. Before you make the choice, here are five major factors to consider:

1. Messaging Control

A brand is only as strong as the character and consistency of its messaging.

Vendor Central: brands that go the Vendor Central route relinquish substantial messaging and branding control to Amazon with limited flexibility or customization.

Seller Central: comes with access to marketing features, such as Amazon’s A+ Content offerings and Brand Stores, to tell captivating stories.

No surprise, then, that some of the most celebrated –– and best managed-brands, such as Nike, have made the decision to stop selling on Vendor Central (1P).

2. Pricing Control

Pricing is one of the most consequential decisions your brand must make.

Vendor Central: If you’re a Vendor Central (1P) vendor, you effectively hand this decision to Amazon (more specifically, their pricing algorithm). They set prices at their discretion, even if this means selling below your MAP (Minimum Advertised Price).

Seller Central: Seller Central (3P) sellers set their own prices. This means that they can charge full retail, increasing their margins.

3. Logistics and Inventory Control

Vendor Central: Amazon maintains very high logistics standards for its Vendor Central (1P) vendors and will charge penalties for non-compliance. In addition, while Amazon may initially purchase your whole product line, they can and do drop products. Their purchase orders can be hard to plan for and vary greatly.

Seller Central: Seller Central (3P) sellers have more day-to-day management to handle when it comes to logistics and inventory, but also more flexibility. To participate in Prime, many companies choose to retain the services of FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) to warehouse, pick-pack orders and ship them to the end consumer. Because 65% of US households have a Prime membership and Amazon’s shipping rates tend to be better than UPS or FedEx, FBA is a very appealing option when selling on Seller Central (3P). However, it is still the seller’s responsibility to forecast and send items to Amazon’s FBA warehouses.

4. Data Control

Vendor Central: When you are on Vendor Central (1P), you have to pay for Amazon’s Brand Analytics subscription.

Seller Central: Amazon shares some powerful customer data with Seller Central (3P) sellers that it doesn’t with Vendor Central (1P) vendors. While you cannot market directly to these customers, the insights are still valuable. For instance, gaining access to names and addresses can help determine who is buying your products and how much overlap there is between a DTC site and Amazon. You can also use the data to create lookalike customer audiences to target with marketing.

Seller Central (3P) sellers also get access to Amazon Brand Analytics, which allows you to research keywords and track attribution from marketing channels outside of Amazon. With this sort of data, brands can better manage their inventory and marketing campaigns.

5. Stress Control

At first glance, going Vendor Central (1P) may look like the easier route to take. Amazon handles much of the supply chain and fulfillment details and you can wholesale your products in one go. But, as mentioned above, that “ease” comes with a number of pricing concerns and a lack of control over brand experience that can cause more stress ¾and problems¾down the line. So, what does this all mean for your company? Vendor Central and Seller Central both offer benefits, but if you’re interested in greater control over your brand experience and sales strategy, we believe that Seller Central (3P) is the best path forward. Managing a Seller Central presence may seem daunting, but we’re here to help.

Partnering with Amify, an Amazon as a Service partner, will lighten your workload, reduce stress and most importantly––improve your profits. If you’d like to learn more, let’s talk.