Before You Start Your Approval Process:
In order to request approval to sell in the restricted categories you must meet the following criteria as an Amazon seller:
- Be a PROFESSIONAL MERCHANT – this means you are paying the $39.99 a month for your seller account.
- Order defect rate: < 1%
- Pre-fulfillment cancel rate: < 2.5%
- Late shipment rate: < 4%
Amazon Gated Categories
Amazon has several gated categories many that don’t apply to private label sellers. The most common categories for Amazon Private Label Sellers are:
- Automotive & Powersports
- Beauty
- Clothing & Accessories
- Groceries
- Health & Personal Care
- Jewelry
- Luggage & Travel Accessories
- Personal Care Appliances
- Shoes, Handbags & Sunglasses
- Tires
- Watches
Tip: To check which categories you’ve been ungated in log into seller central
Click on Inventory Tab > Select Add A Product > Select – Selling Application Status
Instant Approval Categories (no receipts required)
Some categories require a small amount of effort and no more than the answer to 5 – 10 questions. These categories are: Automotive & Powersports, Jewelry, Tires and Watches.
Amazon will ask you to answer a few questions and most applications are instantly approved for these categories. Take action and apply for these categories right now, you won’t require any service to get approved for these categories.
Semi Difficult Categories To Get Ungated (no receipts required)
Good news you won’t require any invoice or receipts to get approved for Clothing & Accessories, Luggage & Travel Accessories and Shoes, Handbags & Sunglasses. But you will need to provide Amazon with Flat Files to get ungated to sell in these categories.
Tip: Call Amazon and speak to support, tell them you don’t understand how to fill out the flat file and they will walk you through it on the phone. You’ll fill it out on the phone together.
Difficult Categories To Get Ungated
The most difficult categories to get approved in are Beauty, Groceries, Health Care & Personal. You’ll need to provide Amazon with invoices showing purchases with multiple quantities.
What’s worked for us are the following steps:
- Go to any big name chain (we suggest Walmart, CVS, Target) store and take out your Amazon Seller App on the menu select Scan
- Pick up any item and scan the barcode, make sure the item appears in Amazon and that it’s in the category you want to get approved for.
- Once you confirm the item is the in category you want to get approved for purchase at least 10 units of the product (don’t worry how much they cost, you’ll be returning them all for a full refund)
- Make a copy of the receipts, then marked the prices off the copy.
- Hand write your seller account name/store name, address, phone, and email.
- Write the Amazon ASIN and SKU next to each product.
- Scanned and submited at night (Higher chance of approval during the night).
- Once you’ve submitted the receipt to Amazon you can take back all the items with your receipt. You don’t need to wait for Amazon to approve you
Gold luck and try getting approved before using any service. If you’re bootstrapped and just getting started with Amazon Private Label that money could go to something more useful.
