While each service is different, all options end with customers receiving their orders. Although FBA is the most common method, it has become less effective in recent times. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many Amazon sellers have been rethinking their selling strategies. Factors for these are the sales drop, delays in the shipment processing, storage limits, problems with listings and difficulties with getting in touch with Amazon support. All these caused Amazon sellers to look for alternatives to FBA. In this unsure times many sellers returned to the initial phase – Fulfilling by Merchant (FBM) to ensure they can fulfill orders on Amazon.

With Amazon FBM, products lose Prime status but may ship with a faster delivery date than Amazon can do at this time. And shoppers who check out with the default option that Amazon offers in the Buy Box (which used to primarily be for Prime-eligible, Amazon-fulfilled options), will now see products with faster shipping options from third-party merchants — regardless of fulfillment method.

Seller Fulfilled Prime, like FBM, allows merchants to either fulfill orders themselves or to handle fulfillment through an outsourced provider. The main differentiator between SFP and FBM is that SFP does include Prime eligibility. In this way, SFP offers the best of both options: merchants control their fulfillment, build relationships directly with their customers, and they also gain access to the 200 000 Prime members worldwide.

Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) fulfills orders for your sales channels at the same delivery speed as FBA. You pay one fee to Amazon for pick, pack and shipping and you are obliged with Amazon discounted shipping rates. Another benefit is that you keep your stock on one place – in the Amazon fulfillment centers and you can easily keep track on it. But there is always the risk that Amazon will delay the shipping process, then you will not keep the delivery periods you have announced and your other sales channels my suffer.