Amazon 1P vs 3P: Vendor Central vs Seller Central in 2026

Amazon Updated October 21, 2026

Quick answer: In 1P you sell wholesale to Amazon through Vendor Central. Amazon buys your stock with purchase orders, sets the retail price and sells it as "ships from and sold by Amazon." Joining is by invitation only. In 3P you sell straight to shoppers through Seller Central, set your own price and pay Amazon a referral fee plus FBA fees if you use them. Since late 2024 Amazon has been ending relationships with some smaller vendors and steering them to Seller Central, and third-party sellers account for about 60% of the units sold on Amazon. If you source from China and Amazon hasn't invited you, 3P is your route.

How the money moves

1P: you are Amazon's supplier

1. Amazon's retail team sends you a purchase order.
2. You ship the goods in bulk to the Amazon warehouses on the order, following Amazon's vendor shipping and labelling rules.
3. Amazon pays your invoice on the payment terms in your vendor agreement.
4. Amazon owns the stock, sets the price, sells it and handles every customer.

3P: you are the retailer

1. You list the product in Seller Central under your business name.
2. A shopper buys from you.
3. FBA ships the order from Amazon's warehouse, or you ship it yourself.
4. Amazon pays out the sale minus its fees, on a regular schedule.

1P vs 3P side by side

	1P (Vendor Central)	3P (Seller Central)
Your customer	Amazon	The shopper
Who sets the retail price	Amazon	You
How you join	Invitation only	Open registration: Individual plan at $0.99 per item sold, or Professional at $39.99 per month
What Amazon takes	Negotiated cost price, plus allowances and chargebacks for shipments that break its rules	Referral fee (15% in most categories, $0.30 minimum), plus FBA fees if you use FBA
Cash flow	Large orders, paid on agreed terms	Paid as units sell; you fund stock, freight and duty first
Inventory risk	Amazon's once it receives the goods	Yours until the unit sells
Listing and brand control	Shared with Amazon's retail team	Yours
Fulfillment	Bulk purchase orders, or Direct Fulfillment for some vendors	FBA, merchant fulfilled (MFN) or Seller Fulfilled Prime
Selling elsewhere	Allowed, but lower prices elsewhere can bring pressure on your cost price	Your pricing on every channel is your call

What changed between 2024 and 2026

• Vendor Central got smaller. In the fall of 2024 Amazon told a number of vendors it would "stop sourcing products from your company," with the relationship ending on November 9, 2024, and invited them to keep selling as independent sellers. Amazon called it a routine review of its product offerings. Agencies that work with vendors report that smaller accounts were hit hardest and that further rounds of notices followed.
• Third-party sellers still move most units. Sellers accounted for 60% of paid units in Q1 2026, according to Marketplace Pulse, after peaking at 62%. The dip came from Amazon's own retail growing faster, not from sellers shrinking.
• Brand owners gained ground in FBA. Amazon ended commingled inventory on March 31, 2026. Sellers with the Brand Representative role in Amazon Brand Registry can keep using manufacturer barcodes on eligible products; resellers now need an Amazon (FNSKU) label on every unit.
• FBA prep became the seller's job. Since January 1, 2026 Amazon no longer preps or labels goods sent to US FBA. Products have to arrive ready to sell.

The direction is clear. For small and mid-size brands Vendor Central is closing rather than opening, and Seller Central is where you control your growth.

When 1P still makes sense

• Amazon invites you, and you already sell through big-box retail, so wholesale terms and purchase orders feel familiar.
• You would rather ship pallets on a schedule than run listings, ads and customer service.
• "Sold by Amazon" adds trust in your category and the volume makes up for the thinner margin.
• You can absorb annual cost negotiations and chargebacks for packing or labelling mistakes.

When 3P is the better choice

• You want to set your own price and keep the retail margin.
• You sell the same products on Shopify, WooCommerce or TikTok and need pricing freedom across channels.
• You are building a private label brand and want full control of the listing.
• You are new to Amazon. Nobody needs an invitation to open a Seller Central account.

Some large brands run a hybrid, keeping core products in Vendor Central and launching new ones through Seller Central. It works, but both teams must manage price and catalog so the two offers don't compete on the same listing.

You may also hear "2P." It is an informal term, not an Amazon program: usually it means selling through a distributor or wholesaler who then lists your products on Amazon as a 3P seller. You give up margin and control to the middleman, and the shopper still sees a third-party offer.

Decision checklist for sellers sourcing from China

1. Do you have a Vendor Central invitation? If not, the decision is made: start in 3P.
2. Who owns the brand? Register it in Amazon Brand Registry. Without the Brand Representative role, every FBA unit needs an FNSKU label applied before it ships.
3. Can you fund stock? In 3P you pay the factory, freight and duty before Amazon pays you. Plan your first order around that cash cycle.
4. Who will run listings, ads and customer messages? In 3P that is your team.
5. How will orders be fulfilled? Compare costs in our FBA vs MFN breakdown and the routes to the Prime badge in FBA vs Seller Fulfilled Prime.
6. Who checks quality before goods leave China? A bad batch inside FBA costs you returns, reviews and removal fees.

How PackQuay helps 3P sellers

We work on the supply side of a Seller Central business. Our team sources from factories for a fee that falls from 10% to 4% of goods value as orders grow (a $25,000 order is 7%, or $1,750), with 2.5% added for private label and branding. We inspect 20% of each batch free at our warehouse in Xinxiang, Henan, and produce custom packaging and inserts on quote. When the stock is ready, we apply Amazon labels, pack to Amazon's requirements and ship the goods to Amazon's warehouses, with FNSKU labelling at $0.10 per unit and freight at cost (all prices on our Amazon FBA prep page). Tell us what you sell on WhatsApp.

FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon 1P and 3P?

In 1P you sell your products wholesale to Amazon through Vendor Central, and Amazon resells them at a price it sets. In 3P you sell directly to shoppers through Seller Central, set your own price and pay Amazon referral fees and, if you use it, FBA fees.

How do I become an Amazon 1P vendor?

Vendor Central is invitation only. Amazon's retail team invites brands and manufacturers it wants to buy from, and since 2024 it has been ending relationships with some smaller vendors rather than adding them. Most new brands start in Seller Central.

Is 3P or 1P more profitable?

3P usually keeps more margin per unit because you sell at retail price, but you carry the inventory risk, ad spend and fulfillment costs. 1P gives up margin and price control in exchange for bulk orders and less day-to-day work.

Can a Chinese manufacturer or seller sell on Amazon as 3P?

Yes. Seller Central is open to businesses worldwide, including sellers in China. You still need to meet Amazon's identity verification, product and fulfillment requirements, and FBA stock has to arrive prepped and labelled.

Can I move from 1P to 3P?

Yes, and many brands have done so since Amazon started cutting vendor accounts in 2024. You need a Seller Central account, a fulfillment plan (FBA or your own), an advertising budget and someone to manage listings and customer messages.