What is Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime & how do you sign up?

Amazon sellers face a tough choice: send inventory to FBA warehouses and lose control, or handle fulfillment yourself and miss out on the coveted Prime badge. Amazon’s Seller-Fulfilled Prime program offers a third option.

The program lets you keep your inventory in-house while still offering Prime benefits to customers. It’s a middle ground that appeals to sellers who want Prime visibility without surrendering inventory control to Amazon’s fulfillment centers.

What is Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime?

Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) allows you to fulfill Prime orders from your own warehouse while displaying the Prime badge on your listings. You ship the products directly to customers, but Amazon handles all post-order customer service, returns, and refunds. Think of it as keeping the operational control you want while getting the sales boost that comes with Prime eligibility.

This differs significantly from Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), where you send inventory to Amazon’s warehouses and they handle everything from storage to shipping. With SFP, you maintain complete control over your inventory, packaging, and initial customer experience. Amazon only steps in after the order ships.

The arrangement creates a hybrid model where you get Prime badge benefits without paying FBA fees or losing inventory visibility. Your products show up in Prime search results, and eligible customers see free shipping options, but you’re responsible for meeting Amazon’s strict delivery and performance standards.

How does Seller-Fulfilled Prime work?

Your role centers on meeting Amazon’s delivery promises while maintaining high performance standards. You receive Prime orders through Seller Central, pick and pack them in your facility, and ship using carriers that integrate with Amazon’s tracking systems. Orders must ship the same day they’re received for one-day and two-day delivery promises.

Amazon takes over once the package leaves your facility. They handle all customer inquiries about delivery status, process returns, issue refunds, and manage any disputes. Customers contact Amazon Customer Service instead of you for post-purchase support. This arrangement protects you from many customer service headaches while ensuring Prime customers get the support experience they expect.

The Prime badge appears on your listings when Amazon determines your delivery speed meets customer expectations. For offers with longer delivery times, the badge may not display, though customers still receive other Prime benefits like free returns and Amazon customer service.

Your existing fulfillment processes need adjustments to meet SFP requirements. You’ll need to configure shipping templates with specific delivery regions, set daily order limits you can reliably fulfill, and operate during weekends. Most sellers find they need to upgrade their shipping processes and carrier relationships to maintain the required performance levels.

Benefits of Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime

Prime badge visibility puts your products in front of Amazon’s most valuable customers. Prime members spend more per order and shop more frequently than regular customers. The badge signals fast, free shipping and reliable service, which increases conversion rates and can improve your Buy Box chances.

Inventory control remains entirely in your hands. You decide storage locations, manage stock levels, and control product availability. This proves especially valuable for sellers with seasonal inventory, fragile products, or items requiring special handling. You can also fulfill orders from multiple locations if that improves your delivery capabilities.

Cost savings can be substantial compared to FBA fees. You eliminate storage fees, pick and pack charges, and long-term storage costs. Sellers with efficient fulfillment operations often find SFP significantly more profitable than FBA, especially for larger or slower-moving items.

Amazon handles returns and customer service for all post-order issues. This removes a major operational burden while ensuring customers receive consistent support. Returns get processed automatically, refunds happen quickly, and you avoid most customer service tickets related to delivery or post-purchase problems.

Drawbacks and challenges of SFP

Performance requirements are unforgiving. You must maintain at least 93.5% on-time delivery, 99% valid tracking rates, and keep seller-initiated cancellations under 0.5%. Amazon monitors these metrics weekly, and falling short twice for the same requirement gets your Prime offers disabled. A third strike revokes your enrollment entirely.

Weekend operations become mandatory. You must ship Prime orders on at least one weekend day (Saturday or Sunday) and use carriers that deliver during weekends. This requirement alone eliminates many smaller sellers who can’t commit to seven-day operations.

Volume minimums demand consistency. You must ship at least 100 Prime packages monthly and maintain consistent shipping throughout each month. Sporadic fulfillment patterns trigger order volume limits that restrict your growth potential.

Delivery speed requirements vary by product size and location. Standard-size items need to show one-day delivery to at least 30% of Prime customer page views and two-day delivery to at least 70%. Oversize items have lower thresholds, but extra-large products only need two-day delivery to 15% of views. Meeting these requirements often requires strategic warehouse locations or premium carrier services.

Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime requirements

Pre-qualification criteria

Your seller account must demonstrate reliable fulfillment capabilities before Amazon grants trial access. You need a domestic US shipping address, an active Professional selling account, and a track record of consistent performance over the past 90 days.

The specific pre-qualification metrics include shipping at least 100 seller-fulfilled packages, maintaining a cancellation rate below 2.5%, keeping valid tracking rates above 95%, and limiting late shipments to under 4%. These thresholds are more relaxed than ongoing SFP requirements, giving you room to improve during the trial period.

Amazon evaluates your recent performance data automatically when you apply. Sellers who barely meet these minimums should consider improving their metrics before starting the trial, as the ongoing requirements jump significantly higher once enrolled.

Trial requirements

The 30-day trial period tests your ability to meet full SFP standards. You must ship at least 100 Prime trial orders during this period while maintaining the same performance levels required of enrolled sellers: 93.5% on-time delivery, 99% valid tracking, and under 0.5% cancellation rates.

Delivery speed requirements kick in immediately:

• Standard-size products: 30% same-day/one-day delivery, 70% two-day delivery
• Oversize products: 10% same-day/one-day delivery, 45% two-day delivery
• Extra-large products: 15% two-day delivery

Missing any requirement for two weeks during your trial results in failure. You get three attempts per calendar year to pass the trial, so most sellers spend time optimizing their fulfillment processes before attempting enrollment.

Ongoing performance standards

Enrolled sellers face weekly performance reviews from Sunday through Saturday. The monitoring system sends email warnings for first-time failures, disables Prime offers for second violations, and revokes enrollment after three strikes for the same requirement.

Quarterly reviews may increase performance thresholds to reflect customer expectations. Amazon announces changes at least 45 days in advance, but the trend points toward stricter requirements over time. Regular monitoring through your Seller Fulfilled Prime dashboard becomes essential for staying compliant.

How to enroll in Seller-Fulfilled Prime

Step 1: Verify your pre-qualification status

Check your seller metrics against the pre-qualification criteria before applying. Your Seller Central dashboard shows cancellation rates, tracking performance, and shipment data for the past 90 days. Address any deficiencies before starting the enrollment process.

Ensure your default shipping address reflects a domestic US location and your account maintains Professional selling plan status. Individual seller accounts cannot access SFP regardless of their performance metrics.

Step 2: Apply for the trial

Visit the Seller Fulfilled Prime trial registration page in Seller Central to begin your application. The system automatically evaluates your recent performance data and either approves you for trial or explains which requirements you haven’t met.

Approved sellers can start their trial immediately or wait until they’re better prepared. The trial clock starts once you activate Prime offers, so timing your start date strategically can improve your success chances.

Step 3: Configure your shipping settings

Set up shipping templates that meet SFP delivery speed requirements for your target regions. Most sellers need to offer one-day delivery to major metropolitan areas and two-day shipping to broader geographic zones. Your carrier relationships and warehouse locations determine which regions you can realistically serve.

Configure daily order limits based on your realistic fulfillment capacity. Starting conservatively helps ensure you can meet volume commitments while maintaining performance standards. You can increase limits gradually as you optimize your processes.

Step 4: Complete the 30-day trial

Focus on consistent performance during your trial period rather than maximizing order volume. Ship Prime orders promptly, use integrated carriers for reliable tracking, and monitor your performance dashboard daily. Address any emerging issues quickly before they impact your metrics.

Maintain detailed records of your fulfillment processes, carrier performance, and any challenges you encounter. This documentation proves valuable if you need to appeal performance issues or optimize for future enrollment attempts.

Trial phase details

Amazon evaluates trial performance holistically rather than focusing on individual bad days. Consistent shipping patterns, reliable carrier relationships, and proactive issue resolution matter more than perfect daily metrics. However, sustained problems across multiple weeks typically result in trial failure.

The system tracks your performance against enrolled seller standards from day one. Meeting these higher thresholds during your trial demonstrates your readiness for ongoing enrollment. Some sellers struggle with the immediate jump from relaxed pre-qualification standards to full SFP requirements.

What happens after trial completion

Successful trial completion automatically enrolls you in SFP with full Prime badge privileges. Your performance monitoring continues under the same weekly review system used for all enrolled sellers. The transition happens seamlessly without disrupting your active Prime offers.

Failed trials reset your eligibility for future attempts, but you retain all the fulfillment improvements made during the process. Many sellers use their first trial as a learning experience, then succeed on subsequent attempts after optimizing their operations.

How to maintain SFP enrollment

Weekly performance monitoring creates a predictable rhythm for managing your SFP compliance. Amazon reviews your metrics every Sunday through Saturday, sending email notifications for any failures. The first warning serves as an early alert system, while the second triggers automatic Prime offer suspension.

The three-strike system works like this:

• First violation: Email warning only
• Second violation: Prime offers disabled (you can re-enable them)
• Third violation: Enrollment revoked, must restart the trial process

You get an exemption period after your second violation to fix the underlying issues while keeping Prime offers disabled. This grace period prevents immediate enrollment revocation if you address problems quickly. However, re-enabling offers restarts the evaluation clock for that entire week.

Appeal deadlines give you two weeks from any performance notification to contest the decision. Valid appeals require specific documentation, including affected order IDs, tracking numbers, and supporting evidence like weather reports for delivery delays. Amazon limits you to three appeals per quarter to prevent system abuse.

The eligibility reset mechanism provides redemption paths after violations. Meeting requirements for four consecutive weeks following your first or second infraction resets your standing for that specific metric. This prevents isolated problems from permanently damaging your enrollment status.

Is Seller-Fulfilled Prime right for your business?

Fulfillment capacity determines your SFP viability more than business size. You need reliable systems for receiving, processing, and shipping at least 100 orders monthly while maintaining 93.5% on-time delivery rates. Sellers with inconsistent staffing, limited warehouse space, or unreliable carrier relationships often struggle with SFP requirements.

Geographic considerations affect delivery speed requirements significantly. Sellers located near major population centers find it easier to meet one-day and two-day delivery thresholds. Rural locations or single-warehouse operations may need premium shipping services to achieve required delivery speeds, which can erode profit margins.

Cost analysis requires comparing SFP operational expenses against FBA fees. Calculate your actual fulfillment costs, including labor, packaging materials, shipping charges, and weekend operations overhead. Factor in the time value of inventory management and customer service responsibilities you’ll retain versus FBA’s hands-off approach.

The program works best for established sellers with efficient fulfillment operations who want Prime visibility without surrendering inventory control. New sellers often benefit from mastering basic fulfillment requirements before attempting SFP’s demanding performance standards.

Managing your Amazon business efficiently requires tools that integrate with your fulfillment processes. Seller 365 provides inventory management, repricing automation, and profit tracking specifically designed for sellers handling their own fulfillment. The bundle also includes InventoryLab for streamlined prep and shipping workflows that help maintain SFP performance standards.

Ready to optimize your Amazon selling operations? Try Seller 365 free for up to 14 days and see how the right tools can streamline your fulfillment operations while maintaining the performance standards that Amazon demands.