Overview

Amazon's "Start Selling" resource hub is designed to help new and prospective sellers navigate the initial steps of launching a business on the marketplace. It serves as a central starting point that walks sellers through account setup, product listing creation, and essential operational knowledge needed to begin generating sales on Amazon.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Account registration is the first step — Sellers must choose between an Individual plan (per-item fees) or a Professional plan (monthly subscription), depending on their expected sales volume and need for advanced tools.
• Product listing setup requires attention to detail — Each listing needs accurate titles, descriptions, images, and proper category placement to be discoverable by buyers.
• Understanding fees upfront prevents surprises — Amazon charges referral fees, and FBA sellers pay additional fulfillment and storage fees that vary by product size and weight.
• Seller Central is your operations dashboard — This is where you manage inventory, track orders, handle customer messages, monitor account health, and access performance reports.
• Compliance matters from day one — New sellers must understand Amazon's policies around product authenticity, restricted categories, and performance metrics to avoid account suspensions.

Setting Up Your Seller Account

Creating an Amazon seller account requires several pieces of documentation, including a valid government-issued ID, a bank account for receiving payments, a chargeable credit card, and tax information. The registration process includes identity verification, which may take a few days to complete. Sellers should have their business details ready before starting, as Amazon will verify the information provided. Choosing between an Individual and Professional selling plan depends largely on volume: sellers expecting to list more than 40 items per month generally benefit from the Professional plan, which also unlocks access to advertising tools, bulk listing features, and eligibility for the Buy Box.

Creating Your First Listings

Once your account is active, the next step is creating product listings. If the product already exists in Amazon's catalog, you can match to an existing listing by searching for it using the product name, UPC, or ASIN. For new-to-Amazon products, you will need to create a listing from scratch, which requires selecting the correct product category, writing a compelling title and bullet points, uploading high-quality images, and setting your price. Properly optimized listings are critical because they directly impact search visibility and conversion rates. Amazon provides listing quality dashboards within Seller Central to help sellers identify areas for improvement.