The Ultimate Guide to Amazon Seller Central India

Are you ready to join the 500 lakh sellers driving spectacular success with Amazon Seller Central India? 

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner located in India (or if you’re just thinking about becoming one) and are curious about what it takes to sell on Amazon India, keep reading. 

We’ll discuss some of the basics of selling on Amazon India here, as well as some of the resources you’ll need to get started on Amazon Seller Central. 

Some of the topics we’ll cover here include: 

• General information about Amazon Seller Central India 

• What you need to create an Amazon India seller account 

• Shipping and delivery options available to sellers 

• Suggestions for where to look for domestic product sourcing options 

• How Helium 10’s product research tools can help 

Amazon India, and Ecommerce at a Glance   

• While Flipkart still leads in market share, Amazon India is rapidly closing the gap—driving 120 million more monthly visits than Flipkart as of March 2024 

• Digital payment methods like Amazon Pay and Google Pay lead the way, accounting for 58% of e-commerce payments 

• The ecommerce industry is rapidly growing in India, expected to reach $299 billion by 2029 

• Amazon India is the fastest-growing Amazon marketplace worldwide, second only to Amazon US 

What You Need to Get Started on Amazon Seller Central India 

Business and contact details 

This is straightforward: have your business information, including email and phone number, ready when registering for your seller account. 

An active bank account 

You’ll need to set up an active bank account to receive your sales profits from Amazon. Keep a separate business bank account so you don’t mix your business finances with your personal finances. 

Tax registration details – GST and PAN information 

Have your tax registration details (PAN and GST) ready when registering. You need a GST if you sell taxable goods. 

If you don’t have a GST, you can apply for one directly through Amazon. Click here to learn more about how to apply. 

Approval for certain product categories 

After being approved for your seller’s account, you need additional permission to sell in certain restricted product categories, such as auto parts. For more details about product category restrictions, see Amazon.in’s page here. 

The 3 Shipping Options: FBA, EasyShip, and Self-Ship 

Amazon Seller Central India currently provides three shipping options for Amazon sellers, each with different costs and levels of control, so you’re sure to find something that suits your needs. 

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) 

Perhaps the most commonly discussed selling method, many Amazon sellers worldwide have found success selling purely through the FBA model. 

The FBA model essentially offers you the most convenience. The tradeoff is that you pay higher fees to Amazon. 

Under the FBA model, your only responsibility is to ship your products to an Amazon warehouse for them to store. After that, Amazon handles the rest. When an Amazon customer orders your product, Amazon picks the product, packs it up, and ships it directly to the customer. You do not have to touch the product after shipping it to an Amazon warehouse. 

The tradeoff, as mentioned above, is that you pay higher fees under the FBA model. On top of the standard Amazon commission fees (determined by product category), you’ll pay fulfillment and FBA fees per item sold, generally based on the product size and weight. 

Selling via FBA is the easiest way to ensure your products are eligible for Prime Shipping. Most customers prefer to purchase products eligible for Prime Shipping. 

EasyShip 

With the EasyShip option, Amazon handles the delivery for you. Your responsibility is to store your own product, pack it, and pick it when a customer places an order. 

Once your product is ready to go, Amazon’s delivery partner will pick it up from your location and deliver it to the customer. 

This method provides the flexibility of managing, storing, and prepping your products, combined with the convenience of Amazon’s delivery infrastructure. You still pay shipping and commission fees, but not as much as through FBA. 

EasyShip also allows customers to pay by Payment on Delivery/Cash on Delivery (COD), which is preferred by some customers. 

With EasyShip, your products can still show up as available for Prime delivery. 

Self-Ship 

Also called the Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) model in other marketplaces, Self-Ship gives you the most control over your sales process, meaning you are responsible for every step of the customer experience. 

When a customer places an order, you must pick, prep, pack, and ship the product to the customer. 

You can still take advantage of Prime shipping if you can build a record of delivering products within one to two days to locations near your PIN code. If you establish this delivery speed and reliability, Amazon will give your products the Prime badge. 

Since you are responsible for the delivery leg of the customer experience, how much you pay for shipping costs depends on the carrier you choose. 

Have a Physical Store? Try the Local Shops Program 

For businesses with a physical location, such as retail shops, grocery stores, kirana, and similar storefronts, you can enter Amazon.in’s “Local Shops” program. With this program, you will be fulfilling orders via the Self-Ship method. 

You can choose which PIN codes you want to include in your Prime delivery radius, and as long as your shop is able to deliver within two days of a customer ordering your shop’s products will show up as available for Prime delivery. Essentially, you would be able to bring your entire shop’s inventory online and reach more customers than your physical storefront would be able to do on its own! 

This program was especially beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling physical stores to reach customers that weren’t able to shop in person.  

Where to Find Product Suppliers and Manufacturers 

Indian sellers have the advantage of access to some of the best product manufacturers in the world. Whereas many global sellers need to pay expensive import and freight costs to order products from manufacturers outside their countries, India-based Amazon sellers can source and form relationships directly with domestic suppliers. 

Some great places to look for product suppliers online include: 

• IndiaMart 

• Global Sources 

• Alibaba 

• Google

Places to look for suppliers in person: 

• The India Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (Delhi Fair) 

• TradeFairDates.com 

For more options, listen to this sourcing podcast with Meghla Bhardwaj. 

How Helium 10 Can Help You with Product Research and Strategy 

Did you know Helium 10’s product research tools work in the Amazon India marketplace? Our tools like Black Box and Cerebro offer insights into competing products, buyer behavior, and potential selling opportunities, among other things. 

Amazon India is the fastest-growing Amazon marketplace (other than Amazon US), so now is the time to get in on the ground floor and start (or start growing) your business. 

Want to Know More? 

Are you an Amazon seller selling through Amazon Seller Central India? If you’re just starting, let us know what else you want us to research and write about. Or, if you’re already selling on Amazon.in, feel free to share some insights and experiences. We’re always looking to broaden our knowledge (and share that knowledge), so leave a comment or reach out to us via the Helium 10 Facebook group. 

Good luck and see you soon! 

Frequently Asked Questions