Four ways an equipment brand can be on Amazon

Which Amazon route fits an equipment brand?

Professional lawn and landscape equipment is heavy, seasonal and sold through dealers who watch the advertised price. Those three facts decide which route works, more than the size of the brand. The sections below take each route in turn, then compare them on the points a brand owner usually asks about.

What does selling it yourself on Amazon take?

Amazon calls this selling as a third-party seller. The Professional plan is $39.99 a month plus selling fees, and the Individual plan is $0.99 per item sold (Amazon pricing). A referral fee applies to every item sold, a percentage of the total price or a minimum amount, whichever is greater.

You choose how orders ship. With Fulfillment by Amazon, Amazon picks, packs and ships the product and handles customer service and returns. With Fulfilled by Merchant you ship orders yourself (How to sell on Amazon). For large, heavy equipment, the fulfillment and storage choice often decides whether a product makes money; the guide to Amazon fees on heavy equipment works through it.

This route fits a brand with someone who can own the account every week through the season. It does not fit a brand whose team is already stretched by dealer orders in spring.

What changes when you sell to Amazon instead?

For a brand with a dealer network, settle one question first: who sets the price buyers see. Dealers watch the advertised price. The guide to MAP policy on Amazon explains what a brand can and cannot enforce.

When does an Amazon agency make sense?

Ask any agency who owns the listings and ad data if you part ways, how it is paid, and whether its fee rises with ad spend. An agency paid on spend has a reason to spend more. Price protection still depends on you and your dealer terms.

How does one authorized reseller work?

This is the model Crew Grade runs. The reseller earns the gap between wholesale and the Amazon price after Amazon fees, so terms depend on each product's fee stack. The authorization letter guide shows what the letter should say, including a template.

One authorized seller also gives you a clean line when other sellers appear. When multiple sellers offer the same product, each offer shows on the same product detail page (How to sell on Amazon), so a buyer can see the difference between your authorized offer and everyone else. The guide to stopping unauthorized Amazon sellers covers the tools that help.

How do the four routes compare?

• Price control: full when you sell it yourself or use an agency. To confirm with Amazon when you sell to Amazon. Held at your MAP by an authorized reseller under your terms.
• Your time: hours every week when you sell it yourself. Depends on the terms when you sell to Amazon. Oversight of an agency. One monthly report with an authorized reseller.
• Inventory risk: yours when you sell it yourself or use an agency. The reseller's once it buys at wholesale.
• Brand protection tools: Amazon Brand Registry is free and open to the trademark owner on every route.