Amazon Business Account Pros and Cons: A Guide for Sellers

Running a B2B e-commerce channel is complex. You need to consider many things, including your payment method, catalogs, commission, etc. However, these complexities have been solved by modern e-commerce platforms like Amazon. If you are looking to tap into the Chinese market, the largest eCommerce market in the world, in a bid to make more sales and access a new niche, our Alibaba and Amazon FBA overview will come in handy.

When talking about e-commerce, you can’t miss the biggest online shop, AMZ. However, AMZ didn’t start as a tech giant. Its success started in 2015 when it introduced a new marketplace, Amazon Business.

It uses a new criterion incorporating new features with unique benefits tailored to customers. This method provided easier access to millions of products, ranging from education and IT to beauty products and lab equipment. Moreover, customers can enjoy free two-day shipping on any eligible item on the platform.

Although it might seem like a simple selecting-and-pricing platform, this model offers more. Some of its exceptional features include the multi-user business account option, tax exemption, approval workflow, dedicated customer care support, and many more. In addition, the Amazon Business Seller program also greatly impacts small and mid-level distributors.

In this article, let’s explore everything you need to know about Amazon’s Business. Hopefully, this will encourage you to join the hundreds of business sellers in the marketplace, build your catalog, and increase your sales.

What Is Amazon Business?

The marketplace has changed how consumers shop online and completely transformed the whole online shopping experience. With Amazon, products are easy to find. What’s more, they are cheap and quickly delivered. Amazon has taken this same level of experience and applied it to the B2B scene and has created Amazon Business.

It is an online user purchase solution that provides a marketplace to any registered business- big or small. Typically, this model allows businesses to assign users and give them access to supplies, which they can purchase on behalf of their employers. The administrator of the company reserves the right to add or remove users. He can also add or remove payment options and approve workflows, depending on what the brand needs.

In the simplest words, it allows you to connect with other businesses so that you can find the right suppliers to help you grow your own business. Here, you can access hundreds of millions of products and businesses from many industries and sizes. With all the features specifically made to make easy B2B transactions, you can conduct your activities with little to no problem.

How Amazon Business Works for Sellers

Except for the standard customer marketplace, this model does not incur additional charges or fees. There are several features to this platform. These include the following:

• Free shipping- Orders under Fulfillment by AMZ or above $49 are offered free shipping services.
• Product browsing and a customized search option- This option is specifically tailored to your company type.
• Multi-user support and order approval workflows
• Business Pricing- This option ensures you don’t have to buy as a company at the given consumer points.
• Purchase order number association- This is necessary to provide uniformity of orders.
• Business selection assistance

Before you upgrade to the B2B model, however, you must first show a good seller history. Once you have your B2B seller account, customers can scroll through your page and see your Business seller credential. With this credential, you can encourage more customer loyalty. Other verified B2B buyers can only see your business-only prices.

B2B customers can also add logos, banners, and more details to their profiles. This feature is not available on seller central. If you want to meet delivery requirements, you can also avail of fulfillment by Amazon. Orders can be directly shipped from the warehouse to customers. You can sell by units, cases, or pallets.

Amazon Business for Small Businesses

One of the best things about AMZ B2B is its ATEP or Amazon Tax Exemption Program. The program allows you to apply for tax exemption, which you can use to purchase from Amazon. This program is so popular because it allows you to take full advantage of its benefits without creating an AMZ company profile. To improve it, you take full advantage of its analytic dashboard monitoring– all the international and Amazon web – to help you control and regulate your supply and purchase chain.

This model also offers a necessary tool to help you determine whether you qualify for the seller program. You can also use the tool to inquire about your state’s tax-exemption rules and determine which type of exemption suits you best. To access this option, one must set up an Amazon Business account.

Pros and Cons of Amazon Business

Like starting any kind of business, you need to know whether or not the platform fits your business. We’ll list all the pros and cons of AMZ B2B.

Buying from Amazon Business

Although buying materials and supplies to operate your company might sometimes not come as a priority, it is a fundamental part of the operation. You might have someone do it for you if you are a big business. On the other hand, if you are running a smaller business, you might do it yourself. In either case, buyers incorporating the services of the model will work more efficiently and can increase your business’ stock.

Below are the advantages of buying from amazonbusiness.com:

• It allows you to save on shipping fees.
• If you properly establish your B2B account, you can use it to perform advanced tasks such as managing your approval workflows.
• You can comfortably use B2B to vet your suppliers.
• You will find all your desired products in the B2B marketplace.
• You might also want to know its disadvantages:
• It might not always have everything for a business model you need.
• It might not offer the best prices.
• Approval workflow processes, as well as order tracking, are separated from other operations.

Selling on Amazon Business

Typically, by being a B2B seller, you open up a marketplace to third-party sellers. It means that you can sell through the Amazon B2B program. However, much of what you can do on the B2B program is similar to that of a normal B2B program.

Below are some of the advantages of selling on AMZ B2B:

• You can easily get more buyers by advertising your credentials through the business seller program.
• You can take advantage of the credit options and infrastructures.
• It is quite easy to switch and integrate with your seller profile and seller central.

On the other hand, its disadvantages include:

• Your ability to build a brand on this platform is limited.
• Selling on Amazon Marketplace can be quite cumbersome and hard to manage if proper integration is not kept.
• Although it might change with time, the cost of selling on the platform is similar to a normal seller account.

Price Saving and Shipping Options

The minute you are on Amazon’s homepage, you know you are in for a treat. The same can be said about Amazon’s Business. There are plenty of discounts, referral fees, price-saving options, and reduced shipping costs.

Typically, those with business-user accounts can purchase Amazon.com. And the model ensures it rewards its customers by providing price breaks on multiple unit transactions.

These price cuts apply to millions of B2B products and allow users to compare prices with different sellers before purchasing. Moreover, buying larger quantities of products from B2B will allow you quantity discounts of up to 10%. Although you might think this option is designed to benefit B2B customers making big purchases, it is very helpful to small businesses using a redeemable AMZ point balance option. It also means that as long as you are a B2B customer, you will always enjoy amazing goodies regardless of your level of shopping.

On the hand, when it comes to shipping on the Amazon Business, you are required to add a prime shipping account to your account and apply at an additional fee – usually not more than $49. Additionally, for a single-user account, you can enjoy free two-day shipping and private labeling on any eligible product. Further, you can add multiple prime accounts to your account for a maximum of 10 users, depending on the number of employees you have.

Amazon Business Payment Options

With this model, customers have to enhance their payment relationship with the platform before getting standardized invoices. Also, administrators hold the right to either add or remove payment options. Among these options include debit cards, credit cards, or corporate credit lines from Amazon. Note that anyone using your business account can access your Amazon Business and can make purchases on your behalf using the payment option of your choice. For these reasons, always ensure you keep your credentials safe at all times. Amazon lending encourages the growth of the marketplace and sellers by letting them carry more products and enhance their operations.

AMZ Corporate Credit Line offers an expanded user and management option for account fees. It allows you to authorize multiple buyers to use a single account. Also, the sophisticated line can easily let you pay by purchase order and download order history reports.

Do I Need AMZ Business If I Make B2B Sales Already? 

Driving more sales is the name of the game for most merchants on AMZ. At this point, you might successfully sell to both consumers and businesses. However, you may be able to grow your leads further with B2B on Amazon.

There are many businesses that purchase what they require through the general AMZ platform and have been accomplishing so for years. But other companies will only use the Amazon B2B marketplace. They enjoy the perks of the marketplace, and, in some cases, they have no other option because their firm requires them to purchase only from a list of approved B2B sites.

If you are only selling through the usual Amazon marketplace, and you have an item that appeals to companies, you may be missing out on orders. Even companies that are willing to purchase through the standard AMZ website may purchase more if they can get access to your goods through the Amazon B2B model.

A Review of Amazon Business

Unless you are new to online shopping, you have probably heard of or even shopped at Amazon. Maybe you liked the experience and even commented on the B2B account review, or it didn’t interest you. After all, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. One thing certain is that the company has registered the highest number of customers over the last two years.

Given its reputation, wouldn’t it be easier for you to grow your brand if you were an affiliate of such a big organization? To make it even better, joining this program allows you to enjoy the AMZ Tax Exemption Program. So, while enjoying the platform’s great user experience and on-point customer service, you can also take advantage of tax-free purchases.

In as much as Amazon’s Business is considered exceptional, experts believe that it works best on some companies compared to others. Therefore, you might want to evaluate how your company works before you sign up for AMZ B2B. For example, the program can be of great use if you operate a business that caters to bulk product orders. Top sellers expressed their opinion regarding the issue, saying that the program has been quite helpful mainly due to its ability to incorporate bulk B2B pricing and discount provisions to companies that deliver larger quantities.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Amazon’s online business has taken the online shopping experience to the next level. Utilizing the new phase of eCommerce innovation, the platform has gained a reputation as one of the best B2B marketplaces in the world. Whether you try it or not depends on the type of business you’re running. It’s best that you carefully understand the function of the model before you register and join.

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