Amazon Prime through Seller: Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP)

With the Prime through Seller program, English Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), qualified sellers can ship their products themselves according to strict time requirements with a certified shipping service provider (currently DPD). This is a shipping method when using the shipping model Fulfillment by Merchant. It is not necessary to store the item in an Amazon logistics center compared to the FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) program. You can integrate Prime through Seller into your existing shipping processes. With SFP, your items receive Prime status on Amazon.

What do I need to do to use Prime through Seller?

To qualify for Prime through Seller, you must meet certain requirements. The requirements include:

• Shipping address within Germany
• Professional selling tariff
• Positive sales performance regarding customer reviews, cancellations and delivery delays
• Authorization for premium shipping options in self-shipping
• Successful completion of a test phase

How does Prime through Seller work?

Once you use SFP, you are responsible for making your products ready for shipment within a certain time frame. You are therefore obliged to make orders that arrive on weekdays before 1 p.m. ready for shipment by 2 p.m. with the labels provided by Amazon. The shipping service provider DPD then picks up the products between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. From this point on, Amazon takes responsibility for delivery to the customer.

Advantages

• Prime customers benefit from free and fast shipping including tracking
• Your products can participate in Lightning Deals
• Amazon takes over customer service and ensures customer satisfaction
• DPD takes over delivery and is responsible for delays (provided you have handed over your products to DPD on time)

Disadvantages

• You are responsible for returns yourself
• Currently only one shipping service provider (DPD) participates in the SFP program
• If timely handover does not take place due to an error by DPD, the system assumes you did not deliver your shipments on time. As a result, you can lose your claim to SFP without your own fault and you may be excluded from the program

Is Prime through Seller worth it for me?

The Prime through Seller program is particularly suitable for selling products that are not suitable for storage in the FBA program at Amazon. This is the case when costs become too high, e.g. due to size, weight, seasonality, high value or due to specific requirements for product packaging. In the following price overview you can see the Prime through Seller shipping costs from DPD. Note that these are exclusively the shipping costs. Additional costs such as Amazon sales commission and internal costs must still be added.

What problems exist with Prime through Seller?

SFP has been controversial from the start, as Amazon sets very strict time requirements for the Prime program. This responsibility is transferred to retailers and shipping service providers through SFP, which means Amazon no longer has complete control over the smooth running of the Prime program.

Amazon has set up a help page for problems with Prime through Seller on their own website. The following points are listed there:

• Early, late or missed pickup from warehouse
• Claims for package loss
• Claims for package damage
• Problems with label scanning
• Shipment tracking and delivery confirmation
• Costs for shipping labels with insufficient payment
• Refund for shipping labels
• Contact person at DPD

More about Prime through Seller

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