Setting up an Amazon Individual seller account takes about 15 to 20 minutes if you have your documents ready. The Individual plan has no monthly subscription fee. Instead, you pay $0.99 per item sold, making it a good fit if you’re selling fewer than 40 items per month or just testing the waters before committing to a larger operation.
What You Need Before You Start
Gather these items before you begin the registration process, since Amazon asks for everything in one sitting and leaving partway through can cause delays:
- Government-issued photo ID: A passport or national identity card with your full legal name, date of birth, and photo.
- Bank account details: The account must be in your name. Amazon deposits your sales proceeds here.
- Credit card: Amazon accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, and JCB. The card does not need to be in your name.
- Phone number: You’ll verify it during registration.
- Residential address: This should match the address on your ID or financial documents.
You don’t need a business license or incorporation paperwork. When the registration form asks for your business type, select “None, I am an individual.” For business location, choose the country where you’re doing business from.
Step-by-Step Registration
Go to sell.amazon.com and click “Sign up.” You can use an existing Amazon customer account or create a new one. From there, the process follows a structured series of screens.
First, you’ll enter personal details pulled from your government ID: your full legal name (including middle name), country of citizenship, country of birth, date of birth, and residential address. Then you’ll provide and verify your phone number.
Next, Amazon asks for your billing information. Enter both a bank account (for receiving payouts) and a credit card (for any fees Amazon charges you, like the $0.99 per-item fee). The bank account holder name should match exactly what your bank has on file.
Finally, you’ll answer a few questions about the products you plan to sell, including whether you’re a manufacturer or reseller, whether your products have product codes like UPCs, and whether you hold any business certifications. For most individual sellers listing existing products, these answers are straightforward. Once you submit, Amazon begins reviewing your account.
Identity Verification
Amazon requires a video call to verify your identity before your account is fully activated. You’ll receive a notification in your Seller Central account with a link to either join an instant video call or schedule one for a specific date and time.
During the call, an Amazon associate will ask you to show the original documents you submitted during registration: your government-issued photo ID and a bank or credit card statement issued within the last 180 days. Have the physical or original digital versions ready, not photocopies. The call is conducted through your browser (Chrome or Safari) using a front-facing camera, so a laptop, tablet, or smartphone all work.
You’ll choose a preferred language when scheduling. Amazon’s verification team supports English, Spanish, French, German, and over a dozen other languages. If your language isn’t listed, you can bring an interpreter to the call. If you miss your scheduled appointment, Amazon will send a notification letting you reschedule or join an instant call instead.
What Individual Sellers Can and Can’t Do
The Individual plan gives you access to Amazon’s marketplace and fulfillment tools, but it strips out several features that Professional sellers get. Understanding these limits up front helps you decide whether this plan fits your goals.
You cannot run Amazon Sponsored Products ads, which are the pay-per-click listings that appear in search results. If driving traffic through Amazon’s advertising platform is part of your strategy, you’ll need the Professional plan. You also can’t create bulk listings. Every product must be listed one at a time through Seller Central, which is fine for a small catalog but tedious if you have hundreds of SKUs.
Individual sellers are not eligible for the Buy Box, the “Add to Cart” button that appears on a product’s main listing page. When multiple sellers offer the same product, Amazon rotates the Buy Box among eligible Professional sellers based on price, fulfillment method, and performance metrics. As an Individual seller, customers can still find your offer by clicking “Other Sellers on Amazon,” but you’ll generally get less visibility.
You also won’t have access to Amazon’s APIs or detailed business reports, which are tools that matter more as your sales volume grows.
Costs Beyond the Per-Item Fee
The $0.99 per-item fee replaces the Professional plan’s $39.99 monthly subscription. Simple math: if you sell more than 40 items in a month, the Professional plan costs less. But the per-item fee isn’t your only cost.
Amazon also charges referral fees on every sale, typically ranging from 6% to 15% of the selling price depending on the product category. These referral fees apply to both Individual and Professional sellers, so they aren’t unique to your plan type. If you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to store and ship your products, you’ll pay fulfillment and storage fees on top of that. These variable costs can add up quickly, so factor them into your pricing before you list your first product.
Upgrading to Professional Later
You can switch from Individual to Professional at any time through Seller Central without creating a new account. Go to Settings, then Account Info, and look for the option to change your selling plan. The switch takes effect immediately, and you’ll start paying the $39.99 monthly fee from that point forward. Your listings, reviews, and seller metrics carry over. Many sellers start on the Individual plan to learn the platform, then upgrade once their volume justifies the monthly cost or they need access to advertising and bulk tools.