There are two ways to deliver products to customers in the Amazon marketplace. These are known as Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment By Merchant (FBM).
Selecting the right fulfillment option
Amazon sellers have two options for getting shoppers their stuff: You can do it yourself, maintaining your own inventory and shipping products to customers (merchant-fulfillment), or have Amazon take responsibility for packaging, labeling, and shipping products through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
Each method has its own set of benefits—you just have to decide which one is right for your business.
If you’re fulfilling your own orders
Merchant-fulfilled just means you store and ship products directly to customers yourself. Amazon charges shipping rates based on the product category and shipping service selected by the customer, then passes the amount on to you in the form of a shipping credit.
Set shipping rates apply to all products sold with an Individual plan, so it’s important to determine if you can still price items profitably. Amazon’s Buy Shipping tool can help you get a great deal on shipping labels with Amazon’s trusted network of shipping partners, ship and confirm your orders, and track your shipments.
The benefits of Fulfillment by Amazon
Around the world, Amazon has more than 175 fulfillment centers which contain more than 150 million square feet of storage space. With FBA, you get to store your stuff on those shelves. You also get Amazon’s world-class customer service and returns, along with other advantages (like automatic
Prime eligibility and Free Super Saver Shipping) that help you scale your business—fast.
How Fulfillment by Amazon works
- Ship your inventory to Amazon. It will be scanned and made available for sale.
- With each order, Amazon packages and ships the product directly to the customer.
- Amazon collects payment from the customer and pays you available funds every two weeks.
- Amazon’s customer service team handles questions, returns, and refunds.
*The content has been sourced from Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP)
