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Originally published on October 25, 2016, updated October 21, 2024
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Every Amazon seller wants the coveted Prime badge, which has been shown to increase trust in the seller as well as sales. And okay, yes, it also looks pretty cool and has good PR attached to it!
To become an Amazon Prime seller, you must be able to get orders to customers quickly. Many sellers rely on Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to get their products in front of Prime customers, but there's another option: Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP).
If you're still unfamiliar with the benefits of Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime or want to delve deeper into the program, we'll provide you with a thorough explanation below. This will cover the latest eligibility requirements and program changes that you should be aware of.
Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime is a program where Amazon sellers store and ship their products but still follow the rigorous guidelines of Prime. In a trial run of the program, merchants saw a 50% increase in sales right out of the gate!
The real appeal of Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime is that you can carry the Prime badge without paying FBA fees. Your Prime listings qualify for filtered results in Prime member searches, helping to increase their visibility and adding an incentive to purchase thanks to the two-day delivery guarantee. Prime products have a greater chance of winning the Buy Box too, which is another big perk.
The downside is that you handle the entire fulfillment process yourself while following Amazon’s strict rules. That means storing your inventory, printing shipping labels, getting packages to the carrier, and confirming deliveries all fall on your shoulders.
Amazon launched the Seller Fulfilled Prime program in 2015 but later paused new enrollments in the US due to sellers “not providing the same high-quality experience that customers expect from Prime.”
In a long-awaited update, Amazon announced in August 2023 that it will be reopening enrollment to Seller Fulfilled Prime on October 1, 2023, to sellers who complete the SFP trial. After taking the time to refine the program and its practices, this decision showcases Amazon's commitment to providing the best possible service to its customers.
To begin your 30-day trial, you must first meet the pre-qualification criteria. Throughout the trial period, you'll need to continue to check all the necessary boxes to become an official participant.
If you're already an SFP seller, you won't need to go through the trial period as long as you meet the updated eligibility requirements that were implemented on October 1, 2023.
To start your SFP trial, you must be a Professional seller with a domestic US address as your default shipping address.
Within the past 90 days, you should have also met the following criteria:
If you meet the pre-qualification criteria, you can officially register and begin your trial. During the trial period, you'll have the chance to customize your Prime shipping templates and link them to the specific items you wish to include in the trial.
Note that during your trial period, the Prime badge will not be displayed on your offers.
While a lot has changed, there are a few things that haven't. You still must:
You can find more information about these requirements on Amazon's Seller Fulfilled Prime shipping requirements and performance metrics pages.
The program also previously required sellers to have at least 99% of their orders shipped on time and to use Amazon Buy Shipping services for the same amount of orders. However, Amazon has now eliminated these requirements to provide more flexibility for sellers.
Here's what's new or has changed:
On-time delivery: Amazon calculates on-time delivery by dividing the number of Prime units delivered on or before the promised delivery date by all Prime units with a delivery scan. The minimum performance requirement for on-time delivery will be updated quarterly and communicated at least 45 days in advance. As of October 1, you must have an on-time delivery rate (OTDR) of 93.5% or higher. Editor's note: Amazon announced general OTDR and handling policy updates in July 2024.
Valid tracking: Your valid tracking rate is calculated by dividing the number of Prime packages with a valid tracking ID by the total number of Prime packages with a confirmed shipment. Note that the tracking ID must have a first scan from an Amazon-supported carrier. As of October 1, you must have a valid tracking rate of 99% or higher.
Nationwide delivery: All offers from a Prime shipping template, regardless of their size tier, must provide nationwide delivery to the contiguous US within one to five days. A default minimum delivery speed of three to five days will be set for all Prime shipping templates and cannot be modified. However, you can set faster delivery (same-day, one-day, or two-day delivery) for some regions.
No SFP program fee: After listening to feedback from sellers, Amazon removed the proposed 2% SFP program fee. There is no fee to participate in Seller Fulfilled Prime.
Delivery speed: The delivery speed metric measures the percentage of product page views by Prime customers for items that provide a particular speed of delivery. The minimum performance requirements for delivery speed will be updated every quarter and communicated to you at least 45 days in advance.
As of October 1, it's required that a minimum of 30% of your standard-size products be delivered within one day, and 70% within two days. For oversize products, at least 10% of orders must be delivered within one day, and 45% within two days.
As for extra-large products, a minimum of 15% of orders must be delivered within two days. For the month of October, there will be no initial requirement for same-day delivery speeds. However, the specific details regarding this will be displayed on your Seller Fulfilled Prime dashboard at a later date.
Free returns: The free returns requirement will be updated to mimic the Amazon-fulfilled free returns policy. This means that any items weighing less than 50 pounds that are eligible for returns will be able to be returned for free, regardless of the reasons behind the return. This applies to both buyers and sellers.
Buy Shipping: You now have the option to choose any Amazon-integrated carrier for your shipping needs. While Amazon's Buy Shipping services will still be accessible and offer advantages like discounted shipping suggestions with valid tracking to help you fulfill your customer promise, they are no longer mandatory.
Your performance as a Seller Fulfilled Prime seller will be evaluated on a weekly basis. If you fail to meet a requirement for the first time, you will receive an email notification. If the same requirement is not met for a second time, you will receive another email notice and your Prime listings will be temporarily paused. If the requirement is not met for a third time, you will receive an email notice and your enrollment in the program will be revoked. This will disable your Prime status for all Prime shipping templates.
Once you meet the pre-qualification criteria again, you can begin the program's 30-day trial period. During this time, if you successfully meet all the program requirements, you will automatically be enrolled in the program.
For more details and a program FAQ, go to Upcoming changes to Seller Fulfilled Prime.
Related reading: Seller Fulfilled Prime: The Peak Season Advantage
Clearly, Amazon is eager to uphold the reputation of its Prime membership, so it's only prepared to accept the best of the best. Maintaining a positive seller feedback rating should be easy if you're meeting these requirements. If you need more feedback to improve your Amazon metrics, check out FeedbackFive by eComEngine.
Amazon has added tools and features to help you achieve these delivery speeds. For example, you can set your order cut-off time with options to vary by day of the week and shipping service. You can also use Shipping Region Automation to set up delivery regions for one and two-day delivery based on the speeds of your shipping services and one or more of your warehouses.
You can also see SKUs that are contributing to slower delivery speeds in the Delivery Speed report.
Amazon will automatically classify your products into standard-size, oversize, or extra-large based on package weight and dimensions. The SFP analytics page includes this information as well as SKU-level visibility into calculated Prime coverage for an assigned shipping template.
If you want that Prime badge, the big question boils down to Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime vs. Fulfilled By Amazon. FBA is Amazon’s own program that handles both storage and fulfillment, but it certainly isn't free.
FBA has less strict eligibility requirements. It also handles all shipping responsibilities for you, so all you have to worry about is the sales side of your business. The downside for many sellers is all the associated fees. FBA charges a lot of small fees for aspects like product weight and how much cubic footage your products take up.
All in all, FBA tends to be more convenient and expands your delivery range, but that comes at a high cost. Still, FBA is the easiest route to get that Prime badge — FBA sellers only need to maintain performance status as reliable sellers to qualify. Considering the fees, though, if you sell heavy/large-sized products, operate your own warehouse(s), or work with a 3PL, it may be cheaper to fulfill them yourself.
Ready to become an Amazon Prime seller? Carefully weigh your options and decide on the best route to get there. If you have any questions, we're always happy to help!
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