In yet another huge Amazon announcement in recent weeks, the selling giant has said all sellers may now sign up to become eligible for Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP). It’s no longer an invite-only party, ladies and gentlemen.

The Advantages

Of course, there are still restrictions put in place to keep the status quo, but this new change up will allow many more sellers to be a part of the program without Amazon controlling their inventory. Sellers with high performance metrics and consistent fulfillment capabilities are eligible to enroll, therefore displaying the Prime badge next to listings they ship directly to customers. This badge can significantly increase sales.

Another advantage is that Seller Fulfilled Prime shipments go directly through seller's own UPS/FedEx accounts making it possible to negotiate special contracts with UPS/FedEx. These lower shipping costs combined with the lack of FBA fees makes SFP a much cheaper option for a lot of sellers.

How to Become Eligible

Brad King, president and co-owner of Webzom.com, credits SkuVault in part for helping them reach the requirements to become Seller Fulfilled Prime.

“We’ve been using SkuVault for about four years now, so it’s really kept us on top of the metrics as far as being able to qualify for those restrictions,” he said. “When we first did our beta test with Seller Fulfilled Prime, the 500 SKUs we tested increased in velocity by 25% on those SKUs, so we basically sold them 25% faster at the same price.”

Webzom.com was one of the first eCommerce companies to be invited to use Seller Fulfilled Prime because they had outstanding metrics.

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To qualify for Seller Fulfilled Prime, sellers must meet the following criteria:

• Sellers must be migrated to the new shipping settings
• Sellers must have an active professional selling plan in good standing
• Enrolled in premium shipping (same-day delivery, two-day shipping, or both)
• Must have filled at least 30 premium shipping orders over the last 30 days
• Use one of the approved buy shipping service carriers to pick up at the seller’s location at or after 4 pm local time
• Performance metrics that meet or exceed an on-time shipment rate of at least 99% on Prime orders, use of buy shipping services for at least 95% of Prime orders, and a cancellation rate of less than 1% on Prime orders

In addition, before enrolling, sellers must complete a trial period to show you are able to meet requirements and ensure excellent customer satisfaction.

On top of qualifying, sellers must agree to requirements for listed products, including Prime shipping benefits, the purchase of shipping labels, Amazon customer service, and that customer returns apply to all orders of Seller Fulfilled Prime items, regardless of the buyer’s status as a Prime member.

Final Thoughts

This is huge news for sellers looking to increase their listing visibility and advance to the next level in sales. Sellers now have more control of their inventory shipments with the perks of Amazon’s customer service, speedy shipments, reliable delivery guarantee, and Prime status - without all of FBA’s fees.