If you’re reading this, you probably just sold your Amazon FBA business or planning to sell.

And now you’re trying to figure out whether transferring ownership of an Amazon Seller account to someone else is possible.

But what are your options for transferring to an Amazon Seller account?

While Amazon officially says Seller Central accounts cannot be transferred, there are still ways to transfer the business itself.

This blog post will explore the primary method for transferring an Amazon FBA account after it has been sold. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, this information will be invaluable if you consider a transfer of ownership.

Let’s get started.

Can you transfer an Amazon seller account?

Amazon generally doesn’t allow you to transfer your Seller Central account. However, if you’re selling the whole business, then there are ways to transfer ownership, as the seller account is also a part of that business.

How do you transfer ownership of an Amazon seller account?

Migrating an Amazon FBA business is not as complicated as it may seem, but it does require some preparation and communication with Amazon and the buyer.

Notify Amazon about the business migration

Communication is key to a successful Amazon FBA account transfer process.

Once you’re ready for migration, send a formal written communication to Amazon, letting them know about the upcoming changes in your account.

Here’s an example of a written message to Amazon:

“The legal entity is changing on my Seller Central account, and I will be changing the bank account details, email id, phone number, credit card details,  EIN number, payment information, authentication details, and SSN of the account.”

Wait a few days for Amazon to acknowledge your message and send you an email with step-by-step instructions on how and what you need to do to transfer your account smoothly.

Similarly, if the buyer already owns a storefront, they must inform Amazon that they will open a new Amazon account soon.

But, if the buyer doesn’t own any seller central account, there’s no need to inform Amazon.

Change your Amazon account details

Once Amazon gives the go-ahead for the migration, you can update the Amazon seller central account details with the new buyer’s information.

This includes adding:

• New email address,
• Login information,
• Phone number
• Bank account,
• Credit card details

Along with that, US sellers need to provide Amazon with the

• W-9 or W-8BEN form for tax identification
• Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN)

For non-US sellers:

• Form W-8BEN to get exemption from U.S. tax reporting requirements

While giving the information, ensure that these credentials have never been linked with any other accounts on Amazon.

Note: Using the same IP address to change the information you used to run your account is recommended. Failing to do that may trigger fraud alerts on Amazon.

Special bonus: 

• We recommend that you remain an admin on your seller central account for at least a month after transferring ownership to the buyer. If any issues arise or the account gets banned, you can still help the new owner resolve the problem by speaking directly with Amazon.

• When migrating the account, using a Gmail or Outlook email address for the buyer may cause problems. To avoid this, switching to an email address that includes your brand name, such as “hello@yourbrand.com,” is a good idea before transferring ownership.

That way, you won’t have to change the email address associated with the seller central account; you can simply provide the buyer with the login credentials for the new email address. This process is much faster and less cumbersome.

Transfer assets to the buyer

Once the information is changed in the Seller Central account, transfer the other brand assets to their names as well. For example,

• Business subscriptions,
• Social media accounts,
• Trademarks,
• Email lists,
• Supplier information,
• Trade logins

Note: Please keep in mind that US trademarks can take up to 60 days to finalise, so be sure to save the receipt after applying for seamless asset transfer in the future.

Begin the evaluation process

Now that the buyer has everything they need to run your Amazon FBA account. In the next step, they’ll evaluate the performance of all your revenue-generating assets.

They will analyse your sales, profits, inventory, and any other revenue-generating assets you have listed for sale. They will verify your claims and check the accuracy of your financial statements to ensure that those are consistent with the performance of your account.

This process typically takes 14 to 30 days, depending on your contract agreement.

The evaluation process protects you as the seller, ensuring the buyer cannot return later and claim that you sold them a faulty store.

During the evaluation period, the buyer mustn’t make any changes to your seller central account. Any changes made will void the contract and lose the buyer an opportunity to negotiate or get a refund for the deal.

Finalise the transfer of ownership

Once the buyer is satisfied with the evaluation, both parties can finalise the deal. The seller can secure the funds and exit the Amazon seller central account.

At this stage, no information from the seller should be associated with any of the assets in the seller’s central account.