Anyone can start selling on Amazon without paying a monthly subscription by choosing the Individual selling plan. Instead of the $39.99 per month Professional plan charges, Individual sellers pay $0.99 per item sold, making it a practical entry point if you’re testing the waters or selling fewer than 40 items a month.
How the Individual Plan Works
Amazon offers two selling plans: Individual and Professional. The Individual plan has no monthly fee. You simply pay $0.99 each time an item sells, on top of other standard selling fees like referral fees (a percentage of the sale price that varies by category, typically 8% to 15%). If you sell 30 items in a month, you’d pay $29.70 in per-item fees. Sell 41 or more, and the Professional plan’s flat $39.99 becomes the cheaper option.
The Individual plan does come with some functional limits. You can’t create new product listings from scratch for items not already in Amazon’s catalog (though you can list against existing product pages). You also don’t get access to bulk listing tools, advertising through Sponsored Products, or eligibility for the Buy Box on competitive listings. For someone selling a modest number of items, especially used goods, books, or surplus inventory, these limitations rarely matter.
What You Need to Register
Setting up your account takes about 15 to 30 minutes if you have your documents ready. Amazon requires identity verification for all sellers, and the process involves providing:
- Government-issued photo ID: A valid driver’s license or passport.
- Bank account information: Amazon deposits your earnings directly, so you’ll need a bank account where you can receive payments. You may also be asked for a bank or credit card statement.
- Tax information: For U.S. sellers, you’ll complete tax information during registration. If you’re selling as yourself (not a business entity), your Social Security number is typically sufficient.
- A credit card: Amazon keeps one on file to charge selling fees.
- Phone number and email: For account verification and buyer communication.
Amazon may ask you to complete additional verification steps, such as a video call or uploading supplementary documents. The exact requirements can vary, but most individual sellers get through verification within a few days.
Listing Your First Product
Once your account is approved, you can start listing items through Seller Central, Amazon’s dashboard for sellers. As an Individual seller, you’ll search Amazon’s catalog for the product you want to sell and add your offer to the existing listing. You set your price, describe the item’s condition (new, used, refurbished), and choose your shipping method.
Each listing needs a few key details: the product’s condition, your asking price, the quantity available, and your shipping options. If you’re selling a used book, for instance, you’d find the book by its ISBN, select “Used” as the condition, add a note about its quality, and set your price. The listing goes live almost immediately.
If you want to sell a product that doesn’t already exist in Amazon’s catalog, you’ll need to upgrade to a Professional account to create a brand-new product page. Individual sellers can only list against products Amazon already knows about.
Restricted Categories to Know About
Not everything can be listed freely. Amazon restricts certain product categories, brands, and item types regardless of which selling plan you’re on. Some categories require prior approval before you can list in them. These restrictions exist for legal, safety, or regulatory reasons, and they cover areas like fine jewelry, certain grocery items, and collectible coins, among others.
Before sourcing inventory, search for the specific product in Seller Central to see if it’s restricted. If approval is required, Amazon will walk you through the application, which may involve providing invoices from authorized distributors or meeting specific quality standards. Some restricted categories are straightforward to get approved for, while others are effectively closed to new sellers.
Shipping: Fulfillment by You or by Amazon
Individual sellers can either ship orders themselves or use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). With self-fulfillment, you store your inventory at home, pack each order, and ship it when a sale comes in. You set your own shipping rates within Amazon’s guidelines, and you’re responsible for meeting the delivery window you promise.
FBA is the alternative: you send your inventory to an Amazon warehouse, and they handle storage, packing, shipping, and customer service for those orders. Your products become eligible for Prime shipping, which can significantly increase sales. FBA comes with its own fees for storage and fulfillment, so it makes the most sense for items that sell quickly and have healthy profit margins. For someone testing a small batch of products, self-fulfillment keeps costs lower and simpler.
When and How You Get Paid
Amazon doesn’t pay you the moment an item sells. Funds go through a reserve period first: the standard hold is seven days after the item is delivered to the buyer. So if you sell something on January 1 and it arrives on January 6, your funds become available for disbursement starting January 14. Amazon then initiates a transfer to your bank account, which typically takes an additional three to five business days.
For new sellers, the reserve period can be longer. Amazon assesses your overall risk and selling history, and it may extend the hold if your account is brand new or if there’s a higher rate of returns or claims. As you build a track record of successful deliveries and satisfied customers, the process speeds up. Plan for roughly two to three weeks between your first sale and your first deposit.
Costs Beyond the Per-Item Fee
The $0.99 per-item fee is just one piece of the cost structure. Every sale also incurs a referral fee, which is a percentage of the total sale price (including shipping). This percentage varies by category: most categories charge between 8% and 15%, though some go higher. On a $20 book sale, for example, a 15% referral fee takes $3.00, plus the $0.99 per-item fee, leaving you with $16.01 before shipping costs.
If you use FBA, you’ll pay fulfillment fees based on the item’s size and weight, plus monthly storage fees for inventory sitting in Amazon’s warehouses. Storage fees increase during the fourth quarter (October through December) when warehouse space is at a premium. If you self-fulfill, your costs are whatever you spend on packaging materials and postage.
Upgrading to Professional Later
You can switch from Individual to Professional at any time through your Seller Central account settings. The change takes effect immediately. Most sellers make the switch once they consistently sell more than 40 items a month, since that’s the breakeven point where the flat $39.99 monthly fee costs less than paying $0.99 per item. The Professional plan also unlocks advertising tools, bulk listing capabilities, and access to additional reports that help you scale.
Starting on the Individual plan and upgrading later is a common path. It lets you learn how Seller Central works, test product demand, and figure out your margins before committing to a monthly subscription.