Amazon SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime): Qualification Criteria 2024
Relaunched on October 1st 2023 to clear space in Amazon’s warehouses, Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) is transforming the landscape for sellers who want to boost their brand’s presence on the platform.
For those eager to advance their business on Amazon and meet the demands of Prime shoppers, this guide provides essential insights into what SFP is, how it operates, and the steps necessary to become an Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime merchant.
Amazon Reopens Seller-Fulfilled Prime Enrollment for 2024
Amazon plans to restart sign-ups for the Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) program, beginning in 2023. This update was shared on Seller Central, highlighting a major shift since the program was paused in September 2020.
The reason for that decision was Amazon’s concern that the SFP program wasn’t delivering the high-quality experience that Prime customers expect, leading to its enrollment pause.
“We are excited to announce that we will reopen new seller enrollment for the Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) program later this year.
We first launched SFP in 2015. Our goal was to allow sellers to independently handle the fulfillment of their products while also making them available to Prime customers with the same fast, free delivery they have come to expect.
As the program grew, we unfortunately realized that SFP was not providing the same high-quality experience that customers expect from Prime. As a result, we paused new seller enrollment while we worked to make sure we had more support for sellers and clear standards in place for the SFP program to ensure it provides customers a great Prime experience. We appreciate the sellers that have helped us work through this, and we are excited to be at the point where we will soon reopen enrollment.
We will update you in the coming months with enrollment details and updated requirements to ensure that it meets Prime customers’ high expectations. We look forward to the improved customer experience that these changes will bring. For those of you that have been interested in joining SFP and waiting, we thank you for your patience. To learn more about the program, go to Seller Fulfilled Prime.”
Amazon plans to restart sign-ups for the Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) program, beginning in 2023. This update was shared on Seller Central, highlighting a major shift since the program was paused in September 2020.
What is Amazon SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime)?
Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) is a program that allows you to deliver directly from your warehouse to Prime customers within your country while strictly adhering to Amazon’s delivery standards.
With Seller Fulfilled Prime, sellers can show the Prime badge on their products, letting customers know they qualify for Prime’s quick and free shipping. But having this badge comes at a cost: if you have it, that means you agree to fulfill orders in 1-2 days to your customers at no extra charge.
Not everyone can meet this criteria, therefore, to participate in SFP program sellers must showcase their capability of meeting Amazon’s strict performance standards by successfully completing a trial period.
How to Become a SFP Seller and Pass the Trial?
As mentioned above, to be eligible for SFP, sellers must go through a trial period which can take 5 to 90 days to complete. During that time,you’ll have to fulfill at least 100 Prime shipments following Amazon’s strict performance requirements. Here’s a list of criteria you must meet to qualify as an SFP seller (relevant as of September 1st, 2024).
Pre-Qualification criteria
Meet the following criteria for 90 days:
1. At least 100 self-fulfilled packages
2. Cancellation rate: 2.5% and less
3. Valid tracking rate: 95% and greater
4. Late shipment: 4% and less.
Trial-Completion criteria
Meet the following criteria for 30 days:
1. Ship 100 or more packages during the trial period
2. On-time delivery: 93.5% and greater
3. Valid tracking rate: 99% and greater
4. Seller-initiated cancellation rate: 0.5% and less
5. Delivery Speed requirements:
Size tier | Same-day | ≤ 1 day | ≤ 2 days |
Standard-size | N/A | ≥ 30% | ≥ 70% |
Oversize | N/A | ≥ 10% | ≥ 45% |
Extra large | N/A | N/A | ≥ 15% |
If you’re unsure of the size category your product belongs to:
Standard-size
An item will be considered standard-size if its package weight and dimensions meet all of the following:
- The length (or longest side) is 18 inches or less;
- The width (or median side) is 14 inches or less;
- The height (or shortest side) is 8 inches or less;
- The weight is 20 lb or less;
Oversize
An item will be considered oversize if its package weight and dimensions exceed any of the standard-size conditions but do not meet any of the extra large conditions. |
Extra large
An item will be considered extra large if its package weight and dimensions meet any of the following:
- The length (or longest side) is 96 inches or more;
- The length plus girth is 130 inches or more (girth is 2 x height + 2 x width);
- The weight is 50 lb or more;
- The item is a television and the length (or longest side) is 40 inches or more;
6.Nationwide Delivery: Sellers in the SFP program are required to provide nationwide delivery for all standard-size products, ensuring a delivery time of 3 to 5 days.
7. Free Returns: SFP sellers must offer free returns for items under 50 pounds.
Keep in mind:
During the trial period, the Prime badge won’t be displayed on your product listings. Once the trial is completed, eligible ASINs will be automatically enrolled in the SFP program and their listings will show the Prime badge.
All orders must be processed with a zero-day handling time with a minimum order cutoff time.
Who can Use Amazon SFP Program?
SFP is perfect for experienced Amazon sellers who sell a large number of products through FBM. Today, SFP obliges sellers to offer one-day and two-day Prime shipping across the United States. In case your business cannot fulfill those requirements, then SFP might not be the right solution for it.
What are the Benefits of Amazon SFP?
1. Connect with Amazon’s Most Loyal Customers
Joining the SFP program connects you with 150 million Amazon’s most devoted customers — Prime members, who are known to spend significantly more than others (up to 2-3 times).
2. Prime Badge Logo Benefits
If a product has a Prime Badge, it usually serves as a signal to customers that the product is of high quality and the seller can be trusted.
This can potentially boost your conversion rates by up to 25%, and not only that: a product with the Prime Badge has higher chances of being featured over competitors thanks to Amazon’s search engine preferences. This also means that your chances of winning the Buy Box are going to be higher than FBM offers.
3. Drive Sales by promising “Free Delivery”
More than 72% of Amazon shoppers are looking for products with a free shipping option and state it as the most important benefit of the SFP service.
By having that “Free Delivery” messaging on your product listing, you are increasing your chances of selling the product and possibly stimulating shoppers to do business with you again.
4. Fewer Inventory Expenses
Unlike Amazon FBA with its high storage fees, by choosing SFP you can save a significant amount on storage and shipping costs by partnering with a low-cost 3PL or using an in-house fulfillment solution.
What are the Cons of Amazon SFP?
1. Strict requirements to remain eligible
Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) is quite exclusive because Amazon has strict rules to keep customers happy. These rules get tougher over time, making it ever harder for sellers to follow them. If sellers can’t keep up with these demands, they risk losing their Prime status.
2. Ever increasing number of orders
In Seller Fulfilled Prime, it’s vital to control your fulfillment operations. As orders increase, a well-organized system becomes essential to avoid problems. To keep your SFP status, you need a strong infrastructure and effective strategies for packaging if you are to meet that 1-2 day delivery time deadline.
3. Costly shipping
Sure, you will save money on FBa fees, but that doesn’t mean anyone’s going to cover your own shipping costs. And we must say, 1-2 days delivery time can be costly. You have to consider the expenses for a warehouse, staff, and shipping materials like boxes and labels. Therefore, you should probably limit how far you can ship a product with Prime delivery, otherwise you might run into some serious expenses on delivery.
4. Changing requirements
Amazon often changes its agreements with vendors, which is something FBA participants are likely familiar with. From adding new fees for shipments to updating SFP program rules in 2023, the company frequently alters its rules. Therefore, SFP vendors need to stay alert and watch for any changes as Amazon always aims for top customer service and quick deliveries.
What is the Primary Challenge of Amazon SFP?
One thing crucial to consider before joining the Amazon SFP program is understanding that it’s not all sunshine and roses.
Despite a program relaunch that promised to put an end to poor service, shoppers all around the world continue to complain about failure to meet 1-2 day delivery requirements.
The decline of Amazon SFP shipping performance and its inability to provide 1-2 days delivery service can be attributed to radical changes in the program’s shipping. The new rollout of the SFP program removed regional SFP delivery for sellers, meaning they had to ship across the country. This shift raises significant operational issues, particularly for those who lack distribution network coverage in both the East and West coasts. These sellers are now challenged with the problem of reaching a wide geographic area, which has forced them to rethink their delivery and logistics functions in an effort to expand nationwide while keeping operating costs low.
Sellers also have complained about the increased shipping costs associated with the SFP program. The need to satisfy one- and two-day shipping demands only amplifies these expenses, especially for those sellers who are not located in the United States’ center.
Final Thoughts
While providing many benefits and having a significant impact on sales, not every seller gets to meet the strict set of rules to become eligible for Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime. But if you’re still up to it, try setting up some FBM offers and see if you can cope with the whole process. If you find yourself successful without running into any serious issues or seeing it as unprofitable, perhaps you’re ready to apply!
If you have any questions left or need help, contact our specialist at Weby Corp. We’ll make sure your business is ready to apply should you want to try and participate in the SFP program.
Table Of Glossary
FAQ
If you're in the program and can't meet the requirements, here's what happens:
The first time you miss a requirement, you'll get an email warning.
The second time you fail to meet the same requirement, you'll receive another email, and your Prime listings will be paused. This pause means your Prime status is temporarily disabled, removing the Prime label from your offers. It can be re-enabled manually, but we don’t recommend doing so unless you’re certain you’ve solved the issue in your performance.
Should you fail to meet the requirement for the third time, and your enrollment will be revoked. Your Prime status will be disabled for all Prime shipping templates too.
With Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime, you have more chances to grow your brand compared to FBA because you manage everything yourself. This means fewer Amazon logos on your packages, more control over your products, and direct tracking of your stock from your own warehouse, while still keeping Prime status.
Although SFP is usually cheaper than FBA, both programs require sellers to pay a referral fee, which is typically 15% of the product's selling price.
