How to sell on Amazon Handmade: application, categories and fees

What it takes to sell on Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade is a section of the Amazon store for goods made by hand. Selling there takes three things: a Professional seller account, an approved maker application, and listings marked with the Handmade Classification attribute. Amazon requires an application before you can sell, and says its application and audit processes ensure the store features genuine handcrafted products.

Amazon's program page names who can sell: Approved makers and collaborative groups (cooperatives, nonprofits, or charities). The attribute matters after approval too, because a product needs it to appear in the Handmade store.

The table sums up the requirements as Amazon's Handmade program page states them for US sellers.

Which crafts qualify: product types and Handmade categories

Selling crafts on Amazon through Handmade depends on two checks: how the item is made and which category it falls in. Amazon accepts products that are hand-altered, hand-designed, handcrafted, repurposed, or upcycled. Each type has a plain meaning on Amazon's program page.

• Hand-altered: a premade item you change by hand, such as a t-shirt or mug with your own graphic.
• Hand-designed: an original design, such as an art print or stationery.
• Handcrafted: made by hand from raw materials, such as a carved wooden bowl.
• Repurposed: an item turned into something with a different use, such as a planter made from tires.
• Upcycled: an item improved in quality, such as refinished furniture.

The Handmade store is open in these categories: Accessories, Artwork, Baby, Beauty & Personal Care, Clothing, Shoes & Handbags, Home, Outdoor & Home Care, Jewelry & Watches, Kitchen & Dining, Pet Supplies, Sporting Goods, Stationery & Party Supplies, and Toys & Games. Amazon says items from other categories may not be sold in the Handmade store, and suggests selling them in the broader Amazon store, where the referral fee depends on the category.

Customised work is allowed. You can personalise Handmade products by registering for Amazon Custom, and Amazon notes that Custom products must be fulfilled by the seller and can’t be fulfilled through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

How to sell on Amazon Handmade, step by step

These are the steps from Amazon's Handmade program page, in the order Amazon lists them. Approval comes after step 2; you cannot list in the Handmade store before it.

1. Open an Amazon Handmade seller account on the Professional plan

   Sign up in Seller Central as a Professional seller, or log in if you already sell on Amazon. If you are on the Individual plan, upgrade to a Professional plan under Manage Your Services. The plan costs $39.99 a month, and Amazon says it is waived after the first month once approved for Handmade.

2. Submit the Amazon Handmade application

   Before you apply, you confirm you will comply with all Handmade guidelines. The application asks for information about you, your products, and your process. Describe how you make each kind of product, since Amazon reviews makers to keep the store to genuine handcrafted work. You can check the application status in Seller Central with your email and confirmation code.

3. List and classify your products

   Once approved, add the Handmade Classification attribute to your products through the normal listing process, and say whether each item is hand-altered, hand-designed, handcrafted, repurposed or upcycled. Each listing needs a product ID or a product ID exemption.

4. Create your maker profile

   The maker profile is a page that’s visible to Amazon customers. Use it to describe what you make, how you make it and where your ideas come from.

5. Decide whether to sell in other countries

   Amazon runs Handmade stores in other countries. You need a separate selling account for each region, but your Handmade approval extends from one region to another. Amazon asks for a separate maker profile for each country you sell in, and you’ll need to translate the descriptive sections.

What to prepare before the Amazon Handmade application

The application decides whether you can sell in the Handmade store at all. Amazon's program page does not publish a review time, so plan your launch around the approval rather than a date. The list below is general preparation, not a list of Amazon requirements.

• A clear list of the products you plan to sell, sorted into the Handmade categories above.
• A short description of your process for each product type: materials, tools and the steps done by hand.
• Who makes the products, whether that is you alone, a small team or a cooperative.
• Photos of your workspace and work in progress, which help you describe the process accurately.
• Your Professional seller account set up first, since you apply from it.

If you already sell on Etsy, Amazon says you can transfer your product details from Etsy to Handmade. Transferred listings still need the Handmade Classification attribute before they appear in the Handmade store.

Amazon Handmade fees on one sale

Amazon Handmade has one fee per sale: a referral fee of 15% or $0.30, whichever is greater, charged on each unit shipped. The chart puts the same $30 sale on Etsy and eBay next to it, using each platform's own published rates.

The Professional plan fee and other costs

The Professional plan normally costs $39.99/month. For Handmade sellers, Amazon charges the first month and then waives the fee once you are approved, which Amazon puts at $480 per year. The waiver is for approved Handmade sellers, so check the plan before you apply. Amazon says you can switch or cancel your selling plan at any time.

The Individual plan does not unlock Handmade. On the main Amazon store it charges $0.99 per unit sold instead of a monthly fee, but Amazon tells Individual sellers to upgrade to a Professional plan under Manage Your Services.

This page counts only the referral fee and the plan fee. Fulfillment by Amazon and advertising are separate services with their own costs, and they are not included here. Personalised items sold through Amazon Custom cannot use FBA, so you ship them yourself and pay for postage and supplies.

Where Nation fits

Questions about selling on Amazon Handmade