Beginner's Guide: What is Amazon MWS?

What is Amazon MWS? You could read a dozen articles about it and still have no idea. That’s because Amazon Marketplace Web Services are a little complicated — they’re actually a broad assortment of APIs that sellers and third-party app makers can use to create software and enhance the Amazon seller experience… but knowing that really just raises more questions than it answers!

In this guide, we break down Amazon MWS in a way that anyone can understand, programming background or not. We’ll explain APIs, what you can do with Amazon MWS, and how the Amazon Marketplace Appstore works.

What is Amazon MWS?

Technically speaking, Amazon Marketplace Web Services, or Amazon MWS, is a collection of APIs that allow you to extract data and perform operations within an Amazon seller account.

Essentially, it’s a way for sellers and third-party software developers (like us) to design original software that works in the Amazon marketplace. Some sellers use it to create their own inventory management system or other such workarounds. Developers also use it to build and sell original software with special features for Amazon sellers.

What are APIs?

To really understand what Amazon MWS is, it helps to know what APIs are. We see these initials a lot in the tech world, but what exactly do they mean? Basically, APIs help one program interact with another.

Programs can’t just talk to one another like people can. For one thing, they each use very specific formatting, so it’d be like two people speaking different languages. But on top of that, each program has a limited range of what it can do, so it may not even be capable of accomplishing what’s being asked. APIs act as an intermediary to avoid those problems and smooth over any wrinkles in communication between programs.

An easy way to think about APIs is that they’re like menus at a restaurant. The world’s greatest sushi chef might not know how to make a burger, so they only put items on the menu that they know. Instead of dishes the chefs know how to make, APIs use commands the program understands, pre-formatted in their native language.

Put it all together, and you see what Amazon MWS is: the link that lets sellers and other parties interact with and control the internal Amazon systems.

What Can You Do With the Amazon MWS API?

Amazon MWS is more of a means to an end than the end itself; it doesn’t offer features or services per se, but it does enable developers to make their own features.

If you’re an Amazon seller and want to use a third-party app for something like automatic repricing or stock alerts, all you have to do is go to the Marketplace Appstore, or as it's now called, the Selling Partner Appstore. We talk more about that below, but in a nutshell, it’s where you can buy apps that incorporate Amazon MWS.

On the other hand, if you actually want to build your own program, here’s a brief rundown on the kinds of things you can do with Amazon MWS:

Inventory management: batch uploads, check stock levels, review pricing, etc.
Order management: extract and download order data, obtain payment information, schedule reports, etc.
Reports management: request reports, query the status of reports, download reports
FBA management: create and check the status of inbound shipments, submit fulfillment orders, track and manage outbound shipping requests

Of course, there are a few steps to take before you dive in.

How Do You Register With Amazon MWS?

To develop applications with Amazon MWS, you first have to register. As Amazon Services explains, there are three criteria to be eligible:

Comply with the Acceptable Use Policy and Data Protection Policy
Have an existing Professional selling plan
Submit the Amazon MWS Developer Registration and Assessment form

You can find the registration form, along with the registration gateway, in Seller Central. Go to User Permissions > Amazon MWS Developer Access Keys > Visit Developer Credentials. This takes you to the Developer Central page, where you can apply for developer access.

What is the Amazon Marketplace Appstore?

If you want to avoid spending time and money on developing custom software, you can simply go to the Amazon Marketplace Appstore and choose from a variety of existing apps for the Amazon services you need.

Update: In 2022, the Amazon Marketplace Appstore underwent a couple of name changes. While it was briefly called the Seller Central Partner Network, it's now known as the Selling Partner Appstore.

This is a convenient and time-saving solution — the difficulty in creating an app from scratch is already taken care of.

Here you can find aid for an array of services: review software, price automation, shipping solutions, product scouting, discoverability, reports, listing organization — you name it. It’s a great resource for small and medium-sized Amazon sellers who want to stay competitive or simply automate their tasks to save time. It’s worth taking the time to explore, especially if you’re looking for solutions to a particular problem. Don’t forget to check out our apps while you’re there!