The 411 on Seller Fulfilled Prime
Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) is a great option for brands that use Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) to allow them to offer Prime shipping to customers outside of Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). In order to maintain your SFP status, you will need a solid fulfillment process that includes picking, packing, and shipping the product the same day as the order is made. You must also guarantee delivery within two days, at no extra cost to the buyer.
Benefits of SFP
The main benefit of SFP is the Prime badge that will display on your Product Detail Page. Prime products rank better than non-Prime products because Amazon prioritizes fast shipping. Along with better ranking comes more sales and higher conversions, which can help you own the Buy Box.
Many Amazon shoppers solely purchase Prime products because they know they can trust the high standard of shipping, returns, and customer service associated with Prime. Consumers can filter their search for Prime products which means Prime Sellers will have less competition in the Prime-filtered search results. It has become increasingly important to offer reliable shipping and one way to let customers know they can trust your brand is via that coveted Prime badge.
Requirements for SFP
Offer Premium Shipping Options to Customers
Ship over 99% of your orders on time
Have an order cancellation rate of less than 0.5%
Use Amazon Buy Shipping Services for at least 99% of orders
Deliver orders with our supported Seller Fulfilled Prime carriers
The seller must agree to the Amazon Returns Policy
Allow for all customer service inquiries to be dealt with by Amazon
Trial Period
Before enrolling in Seller Fulfilled Prime, you must complete a trial period to show that you are able to meet the requirements for Prime fulfillment excellence and customer satisfaction. The Prime badge will not be displayed on items enrolled in Seller Fulfilled Prime during the trial period, however, you must process the orders with a zero-day handling time (meaning the product needs to ship the day it is ordered). Once you successfully complete the trial period, you will automatically be enrolled in Seller Fulfilled Prime and your enrolled ASINs will display the Prime badge to customers.
Losing SFP Privileges
Amazon can revoke your SFP status if you don’t consistently hit your delivery target dates. Over time you can earn it back. It is important to stay on top of fulfillment and disable SFP during times you aren’t able to process orders with a zero-day handling time.
Set Prime Order Volume
You can set a limit for how many orders on a listing will be fulfilled as SFP. To do this go to the ‘General Shipping Settings’ page and select ‘Control Prime Order Volume’. There will be a blank space to set a daily limit.
Setting a Prime order limit per shipping day will take effect on the next business day. It is based on the expected shipping day - orders placed over the weekends will count as the Monday limit. Once the limit has been met the prime badge will be disabled on the listings for the remainder of the day and restored at the cut off time which is the end of the shipping day 2 PM Local Time and this only applies to same-day, two-day and next-day prime orders, not standard shipping orders.
Enable and Disable SFP
You can also turn SFP on and off from the Control Prime Order Volume page with the on/off toggle. This allows you to turn it on when you're able to fulfill orders same-day and turn it off when you can't.
Seller Fulfilled Prime in 5 Easy Steps
Step 1: Qualify for Seller Fulfilled Prime and complete the trial period
Step 2: Store inventory in your own warehouse
Step 3: Process your orders and buy shipping labels from approved carriers
Step 4: Pick, pack and ship your orders same day
Step 5: Seller Fulfilled Prime carriers collect and deliver orders in two days to customers
If your brand has the expertise of running your own shipping operation but you find yourself lacking the information or time needed to make a killer Amazon strategy, please schedule a free consultation with us today! We want your brand to see success whether you are FBM, SFP, or FBA!