What is it and who is it suited to?
Essentially, Amazon Marketplace allows retailers and distributors to tap into Amazon’s infrastructure, in exchange for a fee. Amazon Marketplace allows other companies to sell their products under the Amazon banner.
Marketplace divides its sellers into two principal categories: casual and professional. Casual sellers are defined as those selling 35 items per month or less, and are asked to pay only a completion and referral fee for each item sold. Professional sellers, those selling at least 35 items per month, are able to sell a greater range of products than casuals and are given bulk listing tools to make it easier to sell high volumes, but there’s a monthly subscription fee in addition to the individual completion and referral fees.
Quick, simple and affordable
If you’re just starting out, and finding it hard to drive traffic to your own site, Amazon’s global reach and brand identity can ramp up your online business. At present, around two million people sell items on Marketplace; although this means there’s lots of competition, it also enables you to find out how your rivals are pricing and marketing their products, boosting your own business strategy.
Furthermore, the simplicity and affordability of Marketplace provide genuine benefit for entrepreneurs who don’t know much about web development, and don’t have much money to spend on their own site. However, it’s worth noting that the site expressly forbids the trade of several types of item, so your line of business might not be suitable.