Opening an Amazon store requires choosing between Individual and Professional seller plans, registering through Seller Central with business verification documents, setting up tax information and deposit accounts, and preparing product listings that comply with category-specific requirements before you can start fulfilling orders.
Amazon offers two seller plans: Individual and Professional. Individual sellers pay no monthly fee but incur a $1.49 fee per item sold, making it suitable if you move fewer than forty units monthly. You cannot run sponsored ads, access bulk listing tools, or use Amazon's API. Professional sellers pay $39.95 CAD monthly, unlock advertising through Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, gain access to business reporting dashboards, and can apply for category approvals that Individual accounts cannot access. Beyond plan fees, Amazon charges referral fees—typically eight to fifteen percent of the item price depending on category—and if you use Fulfillment by Amazon, monthly storage fees and per-unit fulfillment fees apply. Jewelry and watches carry higher referral percentages. Calculate your unit economics before selecting a plan; high-volume, low-margin products can become unprofitable once all fees stack. Professional plans also enable you to win the Buy Box more reliably, which is critical since most mobile purchases happen directly from that widget without browsing other offers.
Navigate to sellercentral.amazon.ca and begin account creation. You will need a valid email address, a chargeable credit card, government-issued photo ID (passport or driver's license), and bank account information for deposits. Professional sellers must provide business verification documents: articles of incorporation, business license, or partnership agreements if operating as a legal entity. Sole proprietors in Canada can use their SIN and personal ID. Amazon cross-references your details against third-party databases and may request additional documentation if discrepancies appear. Tax information collection includes your GST/HST registration number if your revenue exceeds the threshold; Amazon withholds and remits marketplace facilitator tax in applicable provinces. Approval typically completes within twenty-four to seventy-two hours, though some accounts enter secondary review requiring scanned utility bills or bank statements to prove address. Keep documents current; expired IDs trigger account suspensions. If you operate in Quebec, prepare French-language product detail pages to comply with provincial consumer protection regulations, especially for electronics and children's products.
Amazon divides product categories into open and gated. Open categories—general home goods, most toys, books—allow immediate listing. Gated categories require approval to protect brand integrity and customer safety. Grocery and gourmet food demand invoices from recognized distributors showing you purchased at least ten units within the past ninety days, plus liability insurance. Collectibles, fine art, and jewelry often require photos of inventory, business registration proof, and sometimes industry certifications. Topical treatments and health-related products need regulatory compliance evidence. Application processes vary: some categories grant instant approval upon document upload, others involve manual review taking several days. If sourcing branded products, ensure you can provide purchase invoices that list the brand owner or authorized distributor—Amazon rejects receipts from unauthorized resellers. Counterfeits and intellectual property complaints result in listing removal and potential account suspension. Generic or private-label products bypass many gating restrictions, which is why many new sellers start with unbranded items in open categories before expanding into restricted verticals.
Fulfillment by Amazon means you ship inventory to Amazon warehouses, and they pick, pack, ship, and handle customer service and returns. Your listings earn the Prime badge, which drives higher conversion rates and visibility in search results. FBA incurs monthly storage fees—higher during Q4—and per-unit fulfillment fees based on size and weight tiers. Long-term storage fees apply to inventory sitting beyond three hundred sixty-five days. Merchant-fulfilled (FBM) means you store products, ship orders yourself, and manage customer inquiries. You avoid storage fees and maintain inventory control but lose Prime eligibility unless you qualify for Seller Fulfilled Prime, which requires meeting strict shipping speed and on-time delivery metrics. FBM works well for bulky items with thin margins where FBA fees erode profitability, custom or made-to-order products, and sellers with existing warehouse infrastructure. Many sellers use a hybrid approach: FBA for fast-moving SKUs to capture Prime traffic, FBM for slow movers or oversized goods. Consider inbound shipping costs to Amazon fulfillment centers; if you manufacture overseas, consolidating shipments and using freight forwarders familiar with Amazon's labeling and packaging requirements reduces headaches.
Each product listing requires a title, bullet points, description, images, and backend search terms. Titles have character limits—two hundred for most categories—and should front-load primary keywords while remaining readable: brand, key feature, size, color, quantity. Bullet points highlight benefits and specifications; use all five slots and structure each as a complete thought rather than a keyword dump. Descriptions support SEO but many mobile users never scroll that far, so critical information belongs in bullets. Images must be at least one thousand pixels on the longest side to enable zoom; the main image requires a pure white background with the product occupying at least eighty-five percent of the frame. Lifestyle images, infographics showing dimensions, and use-case photos increase conversion. Backend search terms are hidden keyword fields; avoid repetition of words already in the title and bullets, use synonyms and variant spellings, and skip filler words. Amazon's A9 algorithm indexes these terms for search but does not display them to customers. Brand-registered sellers unlock A+ Content—formerly Enhanced Brand Content—which allows custom image and text modules in the description area, improving conversion and reducing returns by setting accurate expectations.
Amazon displays one seller's offer prominently in the Buy Box; other sellers appear under 'Other Sellers on Amazon.' Winning the Buy Box depends on price competitiveness, fulfillment method, seller feedback rating, and order defect rate. FBA sellers have an advantage because Amazon trusts its own logistics. Pricing too high excludes you from consideration; pricing too low erodes margin. Use repricing tools—manual monitoring does not scale beyond a handful of SKUs—to adjust dynamically based on competitor moves, inventory levels, and time of day. Some sellers use algorithmic repricers that react within minutes; others set rules-based floors to protect margin. Monitor the landed cost: product cost plus shipping, Amazon fees, and advertising spend. If you operate on a twenty percent margin and invest twelve percent of revenue into Sponsored Products ads, a sudden referral fee increase or competitor price war can flip you into loss. Calculate break-even and establish a minimum price floor in your repricer. Geographic pricing does not exist on Amazon Canada the way it does in brick-and-mortar; a buyer in Vancouver pays the same price as one in Halifax, so optimize for national competitiveness rather than regional.
New listings lack reviews and sales history, which suppresses organic ranking. Drive initial velocity through Amazon PPC—start with automatic campaigns to discover which search terms convert, then migrate top performers into manual exact-match campaigns for better control. Set a daily budget you can sustain for at least thirty days; inconsistent ad spend confuses the algorithm. Request reviews using Amazon's 'Request a Review' button, which sends a templated email to buyers. Do not incentivize reviews or use third-party services that violate terms of service; suspensions are common. Amazon Vine allows brand-registered sellers to distribute free units to trusted reviewers in exchange for honest feedback, helpful for launches but enrollment requires an active Brand Registry and varies by category. External traffic—social media, influencer partnerships, email lists—can accelerate ranking if it converts, but Amazon prioritizes conversion rate over raw clicks. A surge of traffic that does not buy signals poor product-market fit and can harm ranking. Monitor session percentage, unit session percentage, and conversion rate in your business reports. If conversion lags, revisit images, pricing, or bullet clarity before increasing ad spend. Sustained sales velocity over two to four weeks typically moves a listing into page-one visibility for mid-competition keywords.
Amazon does not universally require a business license for Individual sellers operating as sole proprietors, though you must provide a SIN and personal identification. Professional sellers and those forming corporations or partnerships need business registration documents. Some provinces and municipalities require business licenses depending on product type and sales volume. If your revenue exceeds thirty thousand CAD annually, you must register for GST/HST and provide that number to Amazon.
Most accounts receive approval within twenty-four to seventy-two hours after submitting required documents. Some applications trigger secondary verification requiring additional proof of identity or address, extending the timeline to one or two weeks. If Amazon flags inconsistencies in your business name, address, or banking details, expect longer review periods. Ensure all documents match exactly—mismatched names between your ID and bank account cause delays.
Amazon operates separate marketplaces; you need individual seller accounts for Canada, the United States, and other regions. The North America Unified Account allows you to manage Canada, U.S., and Mexico from a single login but requires separate inventory pools and fee structures per marketplace. Shipping products cross-border introduces customs, duties, and longer delivery times unless you establish FBA inventory in each region's fulfillment centers.
Seller Central is a marketplace model where you list products, set prices, and retain ownership until the customer purchases. You receive payment roughly fourteen days after the order ships. Vendor Central is an invitation-only wholesale model where Amazon buys inventory from you at negotiated prices, owns the product, and controls pricing and availability. Vendors issue invoices and receive payment on net terms. Most small and mid-sized businesses operate through Seller Central; Vendor Central typically targets larger brands or manufacturers.
Fulfillment by Amazon manages all customer service inquiries and returns for FBA orders. Amazon processes refunds according to their return policy—usually thirty days for most products—and determines whether returned items are resellable or damaged. You see return rates and reasons in Seller Central reports. If a product shows a high return rate due to defects or inaccurate descriptions, Amazon may suppress the listing or require you to address the issue. You can create removal orders to have unsellable inventory returned to you or disposed of for a fee.
Brand Registry is optional but highly valuable. It grants access to A+ Content, Sponsored Brands ads, automated brand protection tools that help remove counterfeit listings, and eligibility for Amazon Vine. To enroll, you need an active registered trademark in Canada—either through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office or a recognized international registry. Generic or unbranded products cannot use Brand Registry, but you can still build a profitable business in open categories without it. Many private-label sellers start unbranded and pursue trademark registration once they validate product-market fit.