Amazon accounts (2025)

Welcome to the wonderful world of Amazon Marketplaces accounts aka. Amazon Seller Central accounts.

Kinds of account

Let's start with an impression of the kinds of accounts you might encounter:

Kind	Description
Individual seller account	Easy but limited: No monthly fee, but a per-item selling fee Limited to 40 sales per month No access to advanced seller tools like bulk listings, API access, or promotions Best for casual sellers
Professional seller acount	What you usually want: $39.99/month subscription fee (in most regions) Unlimited sales per month Access to bulk listing tools, API access, advertising, and advanced reports Required for FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and many other features Best for businesses selling regularly.
Vendor accounts	Used by manufacturers and wholesalers who sell in bulk directly to Amazon, instead of customers
Affiliate Accounts (Amazon Associates)	Used for earning commissions by promoting Amazon products: You earn a percentage of sales made through your referral links Used by bloggers, influencers, and websites to monetize traffic No need to handle inventory or customer service.
Business Buyer Accounts (Amazon Business)	For companies that buy supplies in bulk from Amazon: Gives access to business-only pricing, quantity discounts, and tax exemptions Not for selling—only for purchasing business supplies Multi-user accounts for company-wide access.
Amazon Service Provider Accounts (ASPA)	This isn't an official account type, but refers to a Selling Account that is being used to support sellers, rather than sell products. Used by companies or individuals who provide services to Amazon sellers like: Marketing, advertising, and SEO optimization FBA prep and logistics Consulting and account management.
Amazon Developer Account for Seller Central (Selling Partner API / MWS)	This is the developer account used for integrating with Amazon Seller Central (not AWS, although developer accounts for AWS basically have the same name). It allows you to create applications that interact with Amazon Selling Partner API (SP-API) or the older Marketplace Web Service (MWS). This is Seller Central-related and is required for API-based operations like: Managing orders, inventory, and pricing Automating listing updates Pulling reports

Some other related stuff:

Entity	Description
Amazon Service Provider Network (ASPN)	Not an account type, but a directory of service providers, maintained by Amazon. Maybe similar to Google having a directory with Google Ads certified individuals or companies

Create a subaccount

How to create a subaccount, or formulated differently: How to give access to a subcontractor, e.g., an account owner with regards to a subcontractor:

Account owner: Invite

Log in to Seller Central
Go to Settings (top right corner) » User Permissions
Add a New Seller Central User » Enter email address » Send invitation

Add a subaccount to an exsting Seller Central Account via Seller Central » Settings » User Permissions - Here, this has already been done (situation 2017)

Subcontractor: Accept through email

Open the email invitation » Click link to accept the invitation
Sign in to Amazon account (or create an account)

Email subsequently received by the subcontractor. I believe the subcontractor subsequently has to set a password him-/herself (situation 2017)

Account owner: Configure user permissions

If I remember correctly, this can only be done after the subcontractor accepted the invitation

Settings » User permissions
Manage permissions
Select the appropriate permissions
Save changes.

Configure permission for the subcontractor: This is about 80% of all settings (situation 2017)

Best practices

Limit Permissions: Only grant the minimum permissions necessary for the subcontractor to perform their tasks
Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Ensure both your account and the subcontractor’s account have 2FA enabled for added security
Monitor Activity: Regularly review the actions taken by the subcontractor in your account
Remove Access When No Longer Needed: If the subcontractor no longer needs access, promptly remove their permissions by going to User Permissions and deleting their account.

Revoking Access

Go to Settings » User Permissions
Select the subcontractor’s email address
Click Remove Access.

Reactivate an account

To reactivate an Amazon Seller Central account that has been suspended due to inactivity:

Log in to Seller Central using your existing credentials
Check for Notifications: Within the Seller Central account or in the email associated with your account for details about the suspension. Amazon typically sends a notification explaining the reason for the suspension and the steps required to reactivate your account
Submit a Reactivation Request:
- Go to the Help section in Seller Central
- Search for "reactivate account" or "account suspension"
- Follow the prompts to submit a request to reactivate your account
Provide Required Information:
- Amazon may ask you to verify your identity or provide updated information, such as a valid government-issued ID, proof of business registration, updated contact information or bank account details for payments
Write a Plan of Action (if required): In some cases, Amazon may ask for a Plan of Action (POA) explaining why your account was inactive and how you plan to avoid inactivity in the future
Wait for Amazon’s Response: After submitting your request, wait for Amazon to review your case. This process can take anywhere from a few hours to several days, depending on the complexity of the issue.

If the account remains inactive after completing the above steps or after waiting for more than a couple of days, reach out to Amazon Seller Support for further assistance.

What kind of account do I have?

I am not sure what kind of account on Seller Central I actually have. It's surely a subaccount to the accounts of customers of mine, but without those customers, what is left? I don't sell myself.

Incidents

There were two reasons for this existential crisis:

Near the end of 2024, I tried to obtain API access to automate stuff in a customer's Seller Central account, but I couldn't find the expected menu items
Beginning of 2025: I have been granted access to the Seller Central account of a new customer. To my surprise, it requested me to upload a proof-of-ID

Additional information

When I go to Settings (the gear icon top-right), I invariably only get information about the customer who's account I have selected, except for Login settings, which always is just about my account.