Everything you Need to Know About Seller Fulfilled Prime

Amazon seller fulfilled prime is a programme offered by Amazon that allows you to delivery your items directly to Amazon prime customers from your warehouse (or your chosen 3PL providers website). You will be able to display a ‘prime badge’ on your Amazon listings, which allows users to see you offer free next-day prime delivery, which can encourage customers to purchase from you. Amazon will give you access to the right transportation solutions and couriers to ensure you meet the high expectations of prime customers.

So, why is seller fulfilled prime (SFP) so important to help your business grow? This blogpost will cover exactly how beneficial SFP can be for your business when selling on Amazon and exactly what standards you need to meet in order to qualify.

What is Amazon prime?

Amazon prime was launched in 2005 as an ‘Amazon membership’ offering free two-day shipping. In the first few years it gained limited customer attraction, but in 2011 it took off massively and now has over two hundred million members across twenty-five countries. We have seen sales reach up to $14.2 billion on prime day in 2024 and membership is currently available in twenty-five different countries. This subscription gained Amazon £21.59 billion in revenue in 2024 and continues to grow massively.

In the UK, you can pay £8.99 a month and receive several benefits of Amazon primes. You can get free and fast delivery on millions of items on Amazon, exclusive perks and deals including health care and food shopping discounts, and access to prime video and audio books (which is thousands of films and books to keep you entertained).

With all those benefits, it is no surprise that millions of customers are loyal to their prime account, and they expect exceptional service from both Amazon and the sellers they purchase from with prime.

What is SFP and how does it affect sellers on Amazon?

There are three Amazon fulfilment options to choose from when selling on Amazon: FBA, FBM and SFP (and you can read more on FBA and FBM here). SFP involves sellers being able to deliver their products directly to domestic Prime customers in 2 days, from their own warehouse. Amazon has seen that businesses who use SFP have experienced an average sales uplift of more than 50%, and with such a large number of users having a prime account, it is the perfect way to attract more customers.

However, your company must meet strict performance metrics and shipping standards to qualify for SFP, but the benefits are incredible. To qualify for Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime, your business must register and complete the trial period (this can last between 5-90 days) and you must fulfil at least one hundred prime packages, following all of Amazon’s strict shipping requirements.

Being eligible requires a business to have its own warehouse and have an Amazon Professional Seller account.

What are the key benefits of SFP?

SFP allows you to fulfil orders from your own facility or a 3PL provider, providing greater control over inventory and costs, whilst benefiting from having Prime customers. But this isn’t the only benefit, the key ones include:

• Reaching loyal Amazon customers

It’s the best way to offer your products to the widest network of Prime members, reaching more customers than ever. Prime customers will easily be able to find your products, and it also gives your products more visibility over competitors.

• Offer delivery date messaging

Keep your customers happier by having live delivery updates sent directly to them, making customers more likely to make multiple and repeat purchases.

• Customer service

With SFP, Amazon helps you with all post-order customer service for you with no extra costs. This allows customers to track orders, request refunds and submit returns.

• Be a part of exclusive deals

Your products will be displayed on ‘Today’s deals’ sections, and customers will be notified on exclusive deals (helping you sell more). You can also submit your own lighting deals and take part in prime day, which is an extremely profitable day for sellers.

What are the requirements for Seller Fulfilled Prime?

It is important to understand that qualifying for SFP can be an extremely complicated process as your business has to reach all the Prime performance requirements.

To qualify you must:

• Offer premium shipping options.
• Have a professional seller account on Amazon.
• Ship 99% of orders on time.
• Have less than 0.5% cancellation rate.
• Agree to Amazon’s returns policy.
• Use Amazon Buy Shipping Services for at least 98% of orders.
• Deliver orders with Amazon’s supported couriers.
• Allow your customer service to be dealt with by Amazon.

You can get started with SFP and complete your fulfilment in five easy steps:

Step 1:

Qualify for Seller Fulfilled Prime and complete your 5–90-day trial period.

Step 2:

Store inventory in your own warehouse or chosen 3PL provider.

Step 3:

Customers will buy your items, and they will be processed on your systems.

Step 4:

Pick, pack, and ship your orders on the same day as purchased.

Step 5:

Seller Fulfilled Prime couriers will collect and deliver orders to customers (who will then be thrilled with their purchases).

The setbacks to SFP

Despite there being many benefits for sellers when it comes to SFP, there are some things for sellers to consider before applying. Maintaining all the rules for SFP can be extremely difficult for any business and therefore can be quite stressful, and when using SFP, it is likely your order rate will increase drastically and this can be extremely hard to deal with from your own warehouse, and problems can begin to happen. This is something businesses need to prepare for. Also, SFP requires extremely high shipping rates, which can add up to quite costly for your business, which may eventually affect your profits.

Despite these setbacks, SFP is the most effective way to get sales from Amazon and should be an extremely profitable thing for your business.

Where does GNOC come in?

At GNOC, we are a 3PL provider, and therefore you can work with us and let us store your products at our UK warehouse, and allow us to pick, pack and ship them out to your customers. Partnering with a 3PL can save your business huge warehousing and staffing costs, as well as time (as all logistics will be left to us).

We have years of experience in selling on Amazon and here at GNOC we offer all Amazon fulfilment options, and therefore are the perfect partner to help with your SFP. You might wonder how the process works, and it is quite simple. We will receive your products and conduct a quality check to ensure they meet Amazon's SFP guidelines. They will then be moved to our general storage, where they will be prepped and wait to be shipped. Once your prime orders roll in, we will ship your items out using the trusted SFP couriers and they will be with your customers in no time. It really is as simple as that!

Contact us today to get started....