Amazon Marketplace is an e-commerce platform owned and operated by Amazon.com Inc. that enables third-party sellers to sell new and used offerings on Amazon.com's fixed-price online marketplace alongside Amazon's regular offerings. Using Amazon Marketplace, third-party sellers gain access to Amazon's customer base, and Amazon expands the offerings on its site without having to invest in additional inventory. Customers gain access to additional offerings by strictly following the product search algorithm: A9 to create optimized product detail pages with accurate, current and standardized product details at Amazon Marketplace, increased competition, and the ability to purchase from third-party sellers.
Items purchased on Amazon from third-party sellers are either Fulfilled By Merchant (FBM) or Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA). FBM goods are kept in the third-party seller's inventory, and shipping and customer service are handled by the third-party merchant. FBA goods are stored in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and shipping and customer service are handled by Amazon.
Amazon charges its third-party merchants a referral fee for each sale which is a percentage of the sales price, usually 15%, but less in some categories. Additionally, sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon must pay FBA fees which include a pick, pack and weight charge.
The Marketplace uses Amazon.com's software infrastructure. Amazon.com charges the buyer's credit card and sends his or her payment to the seller, but does not pass along any credit-card information.
The Marketplace is available on Amazon sites in over 60 countries. Some sellers do not ship internationally.
Third-party sales on the Amazon Marketplace account for 40% (approximately $40 billion) of Amazon's annual sales.