What Amazon's Vendor Central Changes Mean for Your Brand

In March 2019, thousands of brands logged into Vendor Central to find their purchase orders gone. No warning. No explanation. Just empty dashboards.

Amazon framed it as a system issue. Some vendors got their orders back. Others didn't. The chaos lasted weeks.

Seven years later, we know what that event really was: the start of a structural shift in how Amazon runs its marketplace.

The shift didn't stop. In November 2024, Amazon formally terminated thousands of Vendor Central accounts, effective November 9. This time, the message was explicit: "We've made the decision to stop sourcing products from your company." No ambiguity. No glitch. Just a termination date weeks before Black Friday.

The brands affected were mostly those doing under $5 million annually in the U.S., or under €2-5 million in the EU. Amazon didn't just cut purchase orders. It ended the relationship and invited them to move to Seller Central instead.

Third-party sellers now represent 69% of Amazon's total GMV, up from 60% in 2019. That's $575 billion in 3P sales versus $255 billion in 1P sales in 2025. Amazon's first-party business actually shrank year-over-year.

The 2019 purchase order freeze looked like a temporary disruption. It was actually a preview of Amazon's long-term vendor strategy. Three takeaways from that event have proven prescient.

1. Amazon Wants to Move Away from Buying and Owning Inventory

Amazon can offload inventory management to brands and third-party sellers, and it doesn't need permission to do it overnight.

The economics explain why. When Amazon buys inventory, it owns the risk. It pays upfront. It stores products in its warehouses. It marks down unsold units. That model worked when Amazon prioritized growth over profit. It doesn't work now.

Third-party sellers carry the inventory. They pay for FBA storage. They eat the cost of unsold stock. Amazon collects fees at every step (listing, fulfillment, storage, advertising) without the balance sheet risk.

Vendor Central is now reserved almost exclusively for enterprise brands: those doing $10 million or more in the EU, $20 million or more in the U.S. Below those thresholds, Amazon pushes brands to Seller Central. In 2023, Amazon removed most distributors from the vendor program entirely, limiting 1P relationships to direct manufacturers.

The brands that remain on Vendor Central face stricter compliance. Mandatory ASN v2 labeling went live August 1, 2025 for EU and UK vendors. Chargeback categories expanded. Payment terms stretched to Net 60-90 days. Margin controls tightened.

Whether or not your purchase orders were reinstated in 2019, the long-term direction is clear: Amazon wants fewer vendor relationships, not more.

2. Amazon Is No Longer Willing to Lose Money on Products Just to Gain Market Share

Amazon's "everything store" strategy depended on accepting thin margins, or outright losses, to win customers and build dominance. That playbook is over.

The marketplace model generates better returns. Amazon now takes approximately 50% of seller revenue across commissions, FBA fees, and advertising. It earns that without buying a single unit of inventory.

Amazon's advertising business hit $68.6 billion in revenue in 2025, up 22% year-over-year. It's now Amazon's third-largest revenue stream. Paid visibility isn't optional anymore. It's the cost of competing. And Amazon collects that fee whether it owns the inventory or not.

Amazon's shift toward profitability shows up in fee structures, too. FBA fees increased an average of $0.08 per unit for 2026. The cost to do business on Amazon keeps climbing, but the fees hit sellers, not Amazon's own inventory.

3. Amazon Will Always Do What Is Best for Amazon

Products are the lifeblood of the marketplace. But Amazon will prioritize the interests of its end customers and its bottom line over any individual brand.

If that means cutting thousands of vendor accounts six weeks before the holiday season, Amazon will do it. If it means raising fees, extending payment terms, or adding compliance requirements, Amazon will do that, too.

Amazon launched Rufus, its AI shopping assistant, in 2024. By late 2025, Rufus handled nearly 14% of Amazon searches and drove $12 billion in incremental sales. It fundamentally changed product discovery. Brands didn't get a vote.

Amazon launched Amazon Haul in November 2024 to compete with Temu and Shein: 1 million items under $10. That decision reshaped the margin pool for commodity sellers overnight. Again, no consultation.

Amazon's interests and your brand's interests sometimes align. When they don't, Amazon wins. The question isn't whether Amazon will act in its own interest. It's whether your Amazon strategy accounts for that reality.

Based on these factors, the best long-term Amazon strategy for most brands is transitioning to Seller Central with an exclusive, trusted third-party partner.

What Brands Should Do Now

Evaluate your vendor account health. If you're doing under $10 million annually in the EU or under $20 million in the U.S., your Vendor Central relationship is at risk. Build contingency plans now, not after you receive a termination notice.

Build a Seller Central backup strategy. Even if your vendor account is stable, understand how to operate as a 3P seller. Set up a Seller Central account. Learn the FBA model. Test it with a subset of your catalog. Many brands run hybrid models, keeping high-volume SKUs on Vendor Central while launching premium or seasonal products through Seller Central.

Expect a learning curve. Brands transitioning from Vendor Central to Seller Central typically face a 3-6 month adjustment period before achieving previous profitability levels. Account for ramp time in your planning.

Work with an experienced Amazon partner. Managing a Seller Central account requires different skills than Vendor Central. Pricing, inventory, advertising, compliance: everything changes. Partners who specialize in 3P selling can compress the learning curve and avoid costly mistakes.

Frequently Asked Questions