What To Do If Amazon Vendor Is Terminating Your Account
We’re hearing reports of more and more vendors receiving emails from Amazon warning them that their Vendor Central account is about to be closed. It’s a growing trend, and one that’s affecting brands with lower turnovers or limited catalogue depth. If you’ve received that notice, or you’re worried it might be coming, here’s what you need to know and how to prepare for the shift.
Why It’s Happening
Amazon Vendor Central has been undergoing significant changes in recent years. Smaller vendors and those typically turning over less than £5–6 million annually, are being pushed off the platform or left without any form of account support. Amazon’s vendor model is expensive to run. If your products aren’t generating strong profit margins or your pricing isn’t competitive, you may no longer meet their ideal seller profile
This shift is forcing many brands to consider Seller Central instead. If your vendor relationship is being phased out, you’ll likely be directed to open a Seller Central account which means you’ll need to manage your brand in a completely different way.
How to Prepare for the Transition
First off, open a Seller Central account as soon as possible. Even if you’re not planning to start selling on it right away, having the account ready means you’re not caught off guard by short notice periods. In the US, there are more complications around vendors becoming sellers, but in the UK and Europe, the transition is typically more straightforward.
Next, get your Brand Registry in order. If you’ve been on Vendor Central for a while, there’s a good chance your brand isn’t fully connected under the latest Brand Registry system. You’ll need registered trademarks for each brand and confirmation that those brands are correctly linked to your Seller Central account.
After that, focus on your catalogue. Download as much information as you can from Vendor Central, including barcodes, ASINs, and any existing content. If Amazon Vendor holds the retail contribution, it may be difficult to make updates in Seller Central, even with Brand Registry. This is something we’ve dealt with for clients before and it can be navigated, but only if you’ve got the right data in place early on.
Review Pricing and Profitability
You’ll also need to assess which products are actually worth moving to Seller Central. Many brands find that certain SKUs are no longer viable once Amazon’s fee structure changes. Smaller or lower-value items may need to be bundled to justify FBA costs. Go through your product range line by line and work out whether each item will remain profitable after the switch.
Don’t Forget About Advertising
Advertising is another major area which is going to change significantly. You won’t be able to carry over existing campaign data from Vendor to Seller, so you’ll need to rebuild your ad account from scratch. Make sure you export everything you can now. This includes keywords, performance data, and spend history among others. Be warned that after the switch, accessing this data won’t be possible under any circumstances.
Final Thoughts
If your Vendor account is at risk, don’t wait. The sooner you plan your next steps, the smoother the transition will be. Setting up Seller Central, protecting your brand data, and rebuilding your catalogue properly could save you weeks of disruption and thousands in lost sales.
