Sell Direct First. Consider Amazon as a Secondary Channel.
We recommend that your primary marketing and sales efforts point customers to your own website. Selling direct lets you control the customer experience, process transactions, collect customer data, and grow your email community. That direct relationship is one of your most valuable business assets.
We make this easy. Our fulfillment systems work with any shopping cart, so you can sell from your own site while we handle printing, inventory management, and shipping. Our goal is simple: help you sell more products without adding complexity.
What You Can and Can't List on Amazon Right Now
Amazon has tightened control over how new products are added to its marketplace, and the rules now depend on your product type:
- Books — New titles cannot currently be added to Amazon's Books category through the standard Marketplace channel. This applies regardless of binding type, print-on-demand vs. inventory, or how long you've been selling. The limitation is Amazon's category policy, not our printing or fulfillment model. Books can still reach Amazon through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) — see below.
- Planners & Journals — May be listed in Amazon's Office Products category.
- Card Decks — May be listed in Amazon's Games category.
These alternative categories aren't always an ideal fit, and category placement affects how customers find your product, so we want you to understand the tradeoffs before choosing this route.
Because Amazon's policies change frequently and without much notice, we encourage you to build your business on your own website first, then add Amazon or other channels where they make sense for your product and goals.
Want the full background on what changed and where other creators are selling instead? Read Amazon Marketplace Changes for Books, Planners, and Card Decks.
For detailed steps to get started listing your product on Amazon, please log in to your Vervante Author Account and go to the Retail Distribution page accessible via the Services menu.
