Amazon1P-3P

As Amazon specialists Rex Brown offers a full Amazon service from full listing management all the way through to AMS (Amazon Marketing Spend), Deal program, Access to invite only programs and a full strategic planning using our ASP (Amazon Success Program).

If you’re a seller on Amazon (or you’re interested in becoming one), you will certainly have heard the terms 1P and 3P being used. But what exactly do these terms mean, and how do they describe your relationship with Amazon? 1P refers to a first-party relationship with Amazon, while 3P is a third-party relationship. They both deal with how much control you have over selling your product on the Amazon marketplace. We will explain what Amazon 1P versus 3P and what this means for you as an Amazon seller.

1P:

A 1P model means that Amazon acts as the retailer, with your brand operating as their wholesale supplier.

To work with Amazon in this way, you need to be invited by Amazon directly. They send you a purchase order (PO), which you fulfil by shipping the product back to Amazon.

From there, they take ownership of the product and control over how it will be priced. They also reserve the right to charge additional fees for advertising allowances, merchandising allowances, and chargebacks.

3P:

Conversely, a 3P model sees your brand retain control, acting as the retailer and selling products directly via the Amazon marketplace to consumers.

Through Amazon’s seller portal, Seller Central, you can create and edit product detail pages, check order statuses, monitor your inventory, and more.

You maintain control of pricing and fulfilment, choosing whether to send our orders via FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon), FBM (Fulfilment by Merchant), or SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime). If you choose FBA, Amazon takes care of picking, packing, shipping, and returns.

OurConclusion

The biggest difference between Amazon 1P and Amazon 3P comes down to control. If you’re in a first-party relationship with Amazon, then you’ll act mostly as a wholesale supplier and forego the ability to control your pricing and some branding elements. But if you’re in a third-party relationship, then you’ll be dealing with all the different factors that come with pricing, marketing and operations.

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