How to sell on Amazon

If you’ve ever thought about expanding your online business, chances are that Amazon was at the top of your list. With over 310 million active customers worldwide and nearly 40% of all eCommerce sales in the US happening on Amazon, selling on the marketplace is a no brainer and makes sense for all retailers looking to sell online.

But there’s a catch! While Amazon is a terrific marketplace that gives you access to millions of customers, it also comes with strict requirements, pretty stiff competition, and operational challenges that can make or break your success. Selling on Amazon isn’t just as easy as uploading your products and waiting for sales to roll in, it typically requires detailed planning, compliance, and smart optimization strategies.

This is where Channable comes into play. As a leading multichannel platform for eCommerce, Channable helps many sellers manage their Amazon listings efficiently, stay compliant, and scale with ease. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about how to sell on Amazon. This includes everything from setting up your seller account to optimizing your listings and integrating with Channable for maximum growth.

Key Takeaways

• Amazon is a massive opportunity: With millions of daily shoppers, Amazon offers incredible visibility and growth potential. However, strict compliance rules and intense competition mean success requires planning, optimization, and consistency.
• Optimize your listings for performance: High-quality images, keyword-rich titles, and benefit-driven bullet points improve visibility and conversion. Always stay compliant with Amazon’s listing standards.
• Continuous optimization drives success: Winning on Amazon isn’t a one-time step. It’s an ongoing process of testing, refining, and scaling. Data insights, automation, and proactive listing management help you stay ahead.
• Automation is your competitive edge: Manual management slows growth and increases errors. With Channable’s Amazon marketplace integration, you can automate feed management, sync inventory and pricing in real time, and keep listings optimized across multiple marketplaces.

Why You Should Sell on Amazon

Before diving into the setup and optimization, let’s quickly explore why Amazon is such a powerful marketplace. Amazon offers:

• Unmatched Reach: Amazon provides unparalleled access to millions of daily shoppers, serving as a direct path to new, ready-to-buy customers. Product searches often begin here, establishing it as a crucial storefront and marketing platform.
• Trust: Many consumers have built trust with the Amazon brand, reviews, and fulfillment services which makes it easier for your products to be found and converted. More than 70% of Amazon sellers generate their first sale in less than 60 days.
• Global Visibility: Selling on Amazon offers global visibility, reaching customers in the US, UK, and EU. Brands should actively manage their Amazon presence to prevent unauthorized sellers from listing products with poor images and low prices, which can damage brand image and result in loss of control over product presentation, pricing, and customer experience.
• Established Infrastructure: Amazon is an established player in the marketplace and can take care of many of the operational headaches that might plague you when selling your products. This can include anything from fulfillment to payment processing.

It’s important to note that even though there are many benefits for selling on Amazon, there’s also some challenges that you might face with the Amazon marketplace. Many users that start selling on Amazon run into challenges such as:

• Authorized and unauthorized resellers in a highly competitive marketplace
• Strict requirements for product listings and compliance rules to follow
• Additional fees that can potentially cut into your margins if not managed properly

One of the best ways to overcome these challenges is by using automation and optimization tools that support your Amazon selling strategy. By combining Amazon’s reach with a solution like Channable, you can achieve better results while minimizing the common hurdles that sellers typically face since Channable helps streamline and simplify the process for you.

The Basics for How to Sell on Amazon

Selling on Amazon opens your products up to millions of customers worldwide, but before you start listing everything, you’ll first need to set up your account and ensure that your products meet Amazon’s requirements. There’s a bit of administrative work to set up and below, you’ll find a step-by-step overview of what you need to know. Let’s get started!

1. Creating an Amazon Seller Account

The first step is to create an Amazon Seller Central account which is Amazon’s platform for managing listings, inventory, and orders. During this setup, you’ll choose between two types of accounts:

Individual Seller Account

• No monthly fee but comes with a small fee per item sold ($0.99 / €0.99) and additional selling fees
• Best suited for hobbyists or small resellers that sell fewer than 35 items/month
• You get limited access to bulk listing tools, reports, and advertising options

Professional Seller Account

• Monthly subscription ($39.99 / €39) and additional selling fees
• Recommended for businesses or sellers with large product catalogs that sell more than 35 items a month
• You get access to advanced analytics, promotions, bulk uploads, and integrations with third-party software

When you’re registering your seller account, Amazon will typically ask you for the following details and you can view a more detailed list of everything using Amazon’s registration guide:

• Business information: Legal business name, registered business location, business type, company registration number, and contact details.
• Selling information: Verification documents that help to identify you as the business’s primary contact person.
• Billing information: A valid bank account that your business will use to receive payments from Amazon. This bank account will be used to process payments and expenses as well.
• Store and product information: Name of your business/store as it’ll appear on Amazon.com. You may be prompted to fill information about your product codes, business certifications, etc.
• Verification information: Government-issued ID and verification documents to verify your identity.

Expert Tip! Make sure your business name and banking details match all your official documents to avoid any delays in the verification process.

2. Amazon Requirements Checklist

Before you launch and your products go live, Amazon requires very specific documentation and compliance steps to be completed. Use our checklist to ensure that you’re ready to go live with your products without sneaky delays:

Seller Information: Individual or business registration details verified by Amazon.

Payment Setup: A valid credit card and bank account for payments and refunds.

Tax Documentation: Varies by the location of your business. We’ll include everything you need to have prepared.

• For EU sellers: You need a VAT registration number.
• For US sellers: You need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security Number (SSN).

Product Identification Codes: Each one of your products needs a EAN, UPC, or GTIN unless you have an exemption (You can typically request a GTIN exemption if your products don’t have a barcode).

Brand approval: if you are an advertiser not selling your own brand make sure you apply for brand approval. And if you are an advertiser selling your own brand make sure to protect and register your products.

Compliant product images: Ensure you have clear, professional images with a white background and at least 1000x1000 pixels for zooming into your product.

Accurate and compliant listings: Your listings have titles, bullet points, and descriptions that align with Amazon’s product listing guidelines. You can view Amazon’s listing requirements below.

Regional Compliance: Ensure you comply with requirements specific to regions such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), and Digital Services Act (DSA).

• EU Sellers: Ensure CE marking for electronics, proper labeling, WEEE compliance, and you want to adhere to local product safety standards. Check category-specific certifications or documents (e.g. cosmetics, electronics, toys) beforehand.
• US Sellers: Follow FDA, FCC, or CPSC regulations where applicable.

GDPR Compliance: If you’re selling products to EU customers, you want to make sure that you handle customer data in line with the privacy laws.

Tip! Keep all your documentation handy and easily accessible as Amazon routinely performs compliance and security checks to re-verify sellers.

3. Choosing your Fulfillment Strategy

Once you’ve met all the Amazon setup requirements, your next step is deciding how your products will be stored, packaged, and shipped to customers. Amazon offers two main fulfillment methods: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM). Each has its own advantages depending on your business size, resources, and goals.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) offers a comprehensive solution for sellers, as Amazon manages storage, packaging, shipping, and customer service. With FBA, you send your inventory to an Amazon fulfillment center, and they handle all subsequent operations.

Alternatively, services like Amazon EasyShip provide end-to-end support which covers new order detection, shipment confirmation, label generation, order status updates, and delivery.

Our Expert Recommendation: FBA is typically best for sellers who want to scale quickly, improve customer trust, or manage high order volumes without handling logistics.

Pros	Cons
Prime eligibility increases your visibility and conversions Amazon manages shipping, returns, and customer service Faster delivery through Amazon’s logistics network Simplifies scaling and international selling	Storage and fulfillment fees can add up Less control over inventory and packaging Stricter preparation and labeling requirements

Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)

FBM means that you handle all storage, packaging, and shipping yourself or through a third-party provider. With this, you have full control over your fulfillment process and inventory.

Our Expert Recommendation: FBM is typically best for sellers with niche or custom products, or those with established logistics systems and smaller catalogs.

Pros	Cons
Greater control over branding, packaging, and inventory Lower fees if you manage fulfillment efficiently Suitable for made-to-order or low-volume products	No automatic Prime eligibility unless you qualify for Seller Fulfilled Prime You must handle all customer service and returns It can become quite time-consuming as your order volume grows

4. Amazon Listing Requirements

Amazon’s product listings are designed to help customers quickly find what they’re looking for. With this in mind, following their structure and quality standards is crucial to ensure your products can be discovered organically. Here’s what every list should include to meet Amazon’s listing requirements:

1. Product Title
Maximum of 200 characters (this can vary by category). Please note that while Amazon gives you a generous character limit, most of that gets cut off on mobile and you’re ideally working with about 80 characters to make your first impression. We recommend that you front-load all of your critical information for your product title. Let’s take a look at an example from Margareta, our Product Manager for Amazon integrations at Channable:

Titles should include the product brand, product name, key features, and size/color.
Avoid any promotional phrases in the title such as “best seller” or “free shipping.”

2. Bullet Points

• Include roughly 5 concise points that summarize the main benefits or features of your product.
• These bullets should focus on the functionality, materials, dimensions, or compatibility.
• We recommend using plain language and capitalize the first letter of each point for readability.

Tip: Start each bullet with a capitalized, benefit-driven hook. It makes the whole section scannable and immediately tells the shopper what's in it for them.

Example: Feature: Water-resistant 600D polyester.

Benefit: NEVER WORRY ABOUT RAIN AGAIN: Keeps your gear bone-dry through unexpected downpours with its rugged, waterproof 600D polyester construction, so you can focus on your adventure.

3. Product Description

• Provide a detailed, keyword-oriented excerpt and explanation of your product.
• It should be simple and formatted in a short paragraph for clarity (if possible).
• In the description, we recommend that you mention what makes your product stand out and also include any relevant or secondary keywords naturally.

4. Images

• Your products should have at least one high-quality image and preferably you should have multiple images of your product from different angles.
• Product images should have a minimum of 1000 pixels on the longest side as this enables Amazon’s zoom feature.
• It’s beneficial to include lifestyle images or infographics to show real-world usage of your product.

Tip: All images must meet the following requirements:
500 to 10,000 pixels on their longest side
Provided in JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg), TIFF (.tif), PNG (.png), or non-animated GIF (.gif) file formats (JPEG recommended). Clear with no pixelation or jagged edges

5. Product Categorization

• Place your product in the most relevant product type, category, and subcategory. This helps Amazon categorize and display your products to customers.
• If you have incorrect categorization, it can lead to visibility issues and might even lead you to a listing suspension as Amazon is pretty strict with listing requirements.

6. Compliance and Regulations

Ensure that your products meet all the regional and category-specific rules. Let’s take a look at a couple of example:

• Electronics: Products in this category should comply with CE or FCC standards.
• Cosmetics: Products in this category should follow ingredient labeling and safety regulations.
• Toys: Products in this category should meet child safety standards and labeling laws.

A great way to optimize your product listings is by researching your competitors’ listings to understand how top sellers format their titles, images, and bullet points. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to replicate their exact listings but it gives you an idea on how to stay compliant while also improving your own product visibility and conversion rates.

Best Practices for Setting Up Your Amazon Store

Once you have your seller account active, it’s time to get started with setting up your store. Here are some of our best practices, recommendations, and tips for areas to focus on:

Inventory Management

• Keep your stock levels updated to avoid “out-of-stock” penalties from Amazon.
• Automate your inventory updates whenever possible.
• We recommend using FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) for Prime eligibility.

Pricing Strategy

• Keep track and monitor your competitors and then adjust the pricing to stay competitive.
• Don’t forget to factor in any Amazon fees and shipping costs when setting your prices.
• We recommend using automated repricing tools or rules.

Shipping and Fulfillment

• Choose either FBA (Amazon handles storage, packaging, shipping, and customer service), FBM (you handle it all yourself) or a mix of the two.
• Choosing FBA increases your buy box eligibility and customer trust.

Customer Service and Returns

• Amazon expects you to have fast response times (typically within 24 hours).
• Ensure that your return policy aligns with Amazon’s requirements.
• By having good customer service, it’ll have a stronger and better impact on your seller performance metrics.

Optimization and growth

• Integrating Amazon into the product innovation process, prioritizing Amazon when selecting and launching products (Amazon-first approach, rather than the seller's own web shop).

How to Sell on Amazon with Channable

Selling on Amazon can be overwhelming especially if you are already selling across multiple marketplaces. It’s not as simple as just adding another marketplace to your arsenal but this is where Channable helps.

Why Channable?

Product feed Optimization: Automatically tailor your product data to meet Amazon’s strict listing requirements

Multi-Channel Management: Sync your products not just on Amazon, but also any other marketplaces (eBay, bol, and more) all from one platform.

Automation: Take advantage of Channable’s rules-based engine to clean, transform, and optimize your product information.

Error Reduction: Avoid any manual mistakes with automated category mapping and compliance checks.

Scalability: Whether you manage 100 or 1,000,000 SKUs, Channable grows with you and keeps everything accurate.

Step-by-Step for Selling on Amazon with Channable

Your setup in Channable depends on what you want to achieve, the type of products you’re selling, and how you plan to fulfill your orders. Whether you want to create new listings from scratch or add offers to existing listings, it’s important to consider all of Amazon’s fulfillment models (AFN/MFN) and the level of listing requirements that apply to your product catalog. Once you’ve defined your selling strategy, you can configure your Amazon connection in Channable to match your goals.

Let’s take a quick look at the basic steps to start selling on Amazon with Channable:

1. Connect your Amazon Account to the Channable platform.
2. Create an Amazon channel in Channable. For a smoother setup, check your listing requirement level.
3. Categorize your products within Channable manually or using our AI categorization feature.
4. Optimize your product data with Channable’s rules engine to ensure better visibility and compliance.
5. Send your listings and monitor any errors or feedback directly from Channable.
6. Start selling and managing your inventory, pricing, and orders!

For a more detailed and technical walkthrough, visit our Help Center guide on connecting Amazon with Channable.

Optimize Your Amazon Selling Strategy

Staying competitive on Amazon requires more than just listing your products, it’s about continuously optimizing every element of your selling strategy. Start with the fundamentals: keep products in stock, maintain competitive pricing, and ensure your content and listings reflect your brand’s value. Strong ratings and reviews remain essential for both visibility and conversion.

From a content perspective, think of optimization as an ongoing process rather than a “set it and forget it” task. Regularly refine your product titles, bullet points, and descriptions with relevant keywords, and ensure your listings clearly communicate what sets your brand apart, whether it’s quality, sustainability, or unique brand credentials. You can also test different image archetypes to see which visuals drive the highest conversion rates in your category.

Data plays a central role in all of this. By analyzing performance metrics such as conversion rates, customer reviews, and sales trends, you can better understand strategic intent, whether your focus is on driving volume or maximizing value across your product portfolio. With the right data, you can even influence how Amazon’s algorithm responds to your listings.

To bring all of these efforts together efficiently, tools like Channable help automate inventory and price syncing, preventing out-of-stock issues and protecting your buy box eligibility. You can also automate feed updates, test variations, and manage all changes from a single platform, so you can sell smarter, scale faster, and continuously optimize your Amazon business with less manual work.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selling on Amazon

• Failing to continuously optimize your listing data. Don’t set and forget as mentioned by experts from the RetailX conference.
• Ignoring Amazon’s strict listing guidelines
• Using duplicate or poor-quality images for your products
• Allowing inventory to run out as Amazon can penalize your account for this.
• Manually managing your listings rather than using an automation tool.
• Not monitoring your customer feedback and reviews

Wrap Up

Amazon is an incredible marketplace platform for eCommerce growth but it usually comes with some difficulties. By following the steps in this Amazon seller guide, you can set up your Amazon store, meet compliance requirements, and build a strategy for success.

Channable takes your efforts to the next level by automating feed management, syncing inventory, and optimizing your product listings. With Channable’s Amazon marketplace integration, you don’t just sell, you sell smarter, faster, and more profitably.

Ready to start? Grow your Amazon sales with confidence by exploring Channable’s marketplace integration, all while staying in complete control of your operations.