How to start selling on Amazon for beginners: 10 steps to first sales

Pick the model before the product, because the model decides what Amazon will ask of you.

• Your own brand (private label or a brand you already own): you need a trademark plan and a supplier.
• Wholesale: you need written authorization from the brand or its distributor and invoices Amazon accepts.
• Handmade: you need Amazon's Handmade approval and a Professional plan (Sell on Amazon, Handmade).

The honest comparison of every model is on Amazon business models. For a first product, simple wins: one size, sturdy, not fragile, not hazardous, not in a category that needs approval and a price that leaves room for fees.

Do this before you pay for anything. Amazon's Revenue Calculator works without a seller account (Sell on Amazon, Pricing).

Contribution margin per unit = price minus referral fee minus FBA fulfillment fee (plus the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge) minus storage per unit minus landed cost (product, freight, duties, prep) minus ad cost per unit minus returns allowance.

Write the number down for your planned price and for a price 10% lower. If the lower price leaves no margin, the product is fragile on Amazon. Module 02 walks through a full example.

Brand Registry, which protects your listings and opens up A+ Content, Brand Analytics, Sponsored Brands, Vine and Amazon's brand incentives, needs "an active registered trademark or a pending trademark registration" from an approved government office (Sell on Amazon, Brand Registry requirements; Sell on Amazon, Brand Registry). The USPTO averaged 4.45 months to a first action in early fiscal 2026 (USPTO), so file now. If you do not have a trademark attorney, Amazon's IP Accelerator connects you with Amazon-vetted legal service providers at pre-negotiated rates (a maximum service fee of $700 plus government fees for a US trademark application) and lets you enroll with a pending application (Sell on Amazon, Brand Registry requirements; Sell on Amazon, IP Accelerator). Your brand name and logo must be on the product or packaging (Sell on Amazon, Brand Registry). Full lesson: Module 03, Brand Registry and trademarks.

Amazon asks for a government-issued ID, an email address, a credit card that can be charged internationally, a bank account with routing number, business registration (or "None, I am an individual"), proof of address dated within the last 180 days and tax information. Verification "usually takes three business days or less", by a photo of your face and ID or a video call with an Amazon associate (Sell on Amazon, Registration guide). Use the same name and address on every document; a mismatch is one of the most common reasons verification stalls. Full lesson: Module 04, Account setup and verification.

Individual: $0.99 per item sold. Professional: $39.99 a month (Sell on Amazon, Pricing). Individual is cheaper below about 40 sales a month ($39.99 ÷ $0.99). Choose Professional if you plan to advertise, use Brand Registry benefits, claim the New Seller Incentives or sell more than about 40 units a month; Sponsored Products is open to Professional sellers (Amazon Ads, Sponsored Products).

Run both in the Revenue Calculator (Sell on Amazon, Pricing). New FBA sellers are auto-enrolled in FBA New Selection (free monthly storage and referral fee discounts on new products) when they create an FBA shipment within 90 days of listing their first buyable product (Sell on Amazon, Fulfillment by Amazon). Module 01 covers the choice.

Two rules changed this year:

• Amazon stopped prep and item labeling services for US FBA shipments on Jan 1, 2026 (Amazon, quoted by Packaging Insights, Oct 29, 2025). Trade press also reports that shipments created after that date without proper prep or labels are not eligible for reimbursement if lost or damaged (Packaging Insights, Oct 29, 2025; Supply Chain Dive, Aug 1, 2025). You prep, or a prep center does.
• Commingling ended for inventory shipped on or after Mar 31, 2026. If you are the Brand Representative in Brand Registry and your product has a manufacturer barcode (UPC), you can ship without an Amazon barcode sticker. Resellers must put an Amazon barcode on every unit. Anyone without a manufacturer barcode must label (Amazon Seller Forums, commingling ends).

Checklist: GS1 barcodes bought in your company's name; packaging that survives a drop; poly bags with suffocation warnings where needed; carton labels printed from the shipment workflow.

Since Jul 27, 2026 titles are 75 characters or less including spaces in every category except media. Item Highlights add 125 characters that are searchable and shown in results (Amazon Seller Forums, title update). Amazon's assistant, Alexa for Shopping, answers shoppers' questions and writes AI overviews of products (About Amazon, Alexa for Shopping), so complete attributes and plain, specific bullets matter as much as keywords.

A first listing needs: a 75-character title (brand, product, the one spec that decides the purchase); Item Highlights (material or use case); five bullets that answer the questions buyers ask; every attribute filled; 6 or more images including one with dimensions; A+ Content once Brand Registry is approved (Sell on Amazon, Brand Registry). Full lesson: Module 05, listings for 75-character titles and Alexa for Shopping.

Small enough that a mistake is cheap, large enough to cover your first weeks of ads. Use Send to Amazon, follow the carton rules and choose inbound placement options on cost. Amazon gives new Professional sellers credits toward inbound placement ($400), partnered carrier shipments ($100) and Amazon Global Logistics ($200) (Sell on Amazon, Fulfillment by Amazon). How much you can send is capped by your monthly FBA capacity limit, which sellers still call the restock limit (Amazon Seller Forums, FBA capacity limits), so check it before you book freight. Module 06 explains how it works.

• Price where your unit economics work, not where the lowest competitor sits.
• Start Sponsored Products on a small daily budget with exact and phrase keywords from your research; there are no monthly or upfront fees (Amazon Ads, Sponsored Products).
• Get early reviews the allowed way, such as Amazon Vine (new-to-Amazon sellers who enroll their brand in Brand Registry within six months of their first eligible listing, then enroll a product in Vine within 90 days, can get a $200 Vine credit). Never pay for or trade for reviews.
• Check account health, inventory and ad spend every business day for the first 30 days.