Selling on Amazon can be a great business opportunity for budding entrepreneurs.
However, running an Amazon business can be stressful at times and there may come a point where you decide your seller accounts are no longer needed.
If so, you may be wondering if you can close an Amazon seller account.
The short answer is yes, but in this article we’ll first guide you through exactly how to do it, and also give some potential alternative options so you can make sure it’s the right decision for you and your business.
Let’s get started!
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How to close an Amazon seller account permanently
Before you can close your Amazon seller account, you’ll need to complete three action items.
Fulfill all orders
First of all, you need to fulfil or cancel any orders that haven’t been shipped yet.
If you’re using the Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) service then your orders will automatically be fulfilled. If you’re fulfilling the orders yourself, you’ll need to make sure each one is sent out.
If instead you decide to cancel orders, go to Manage Orders in Seller Central, select the relevant orders and cancel them one by one.
Remove all inventory
Next, you need to remove all your products from Amazon.
To remove a product, go to Inventory in Seller Central and select the drop-down menu next to the relevant product.
Then click on the ‘Create removal order’ button. You’ll be asked to confirm where the inventory should be sent, so confirm those details and the process will begin.
The removal order process can take up to 45 days and arrive in many different shipments if your products are stored in multiple FBA warehouses.
It’s important to do this process before deleting listings as otherwise, you may end up with ‘stranded inventory’ – products Amazon is holding that they can’t link to a listing.
Clear your balance
Finally, you’ll need to make sure your balance is $0.00 as Amazon can’t make payments to or receive payments from closed accounts.
If you currently have a negative balance you will need to make a payment to Amazon, or if you are in credit you will need to supply current bank account details and arrange for a final payment from Amazon.
Once you have completed each of these steps you can proceed to closing your account.
Step-by-step instructions to close your account
Once you decide closing your account is definitely the right step for you, all you need to do is head to your Seller Central account and follow these steps:
Step 1: Navigate to Account Info inside Seller Central
Step 2: Click on Close Account
Step 3: Confirm you want to permanently close your account
Amazon recognizes that closing your account is a big step.
As such, they give you one final chance to double-check check this is the decision you want to make.
So, make double sure it’s the right decision for you by reading the rest of this article.
If it is, click confirm and the closing process will begin.
What happens when I close my Amazon seller account?
When Amazon sellers close their eligible accounts, the following things happen:
- You will no longer be able to access your account or Seller Central. This means you won’t be able to view your sales reports, messages, or contact customer service.
- If you close your North America unified account it will also close your Canada and Mexico accounts.
- If you close your Amazon Europe marketplaces account it will close your account Europe-wide.
- You will no longer be able to sell any products on Amazon.
- Any stored data associated with your account will be permanently deleted.
The account closure process can take up to 90 days as Amazon will want to leave enough time for any potential returns or refunds.
As you can see, when you cancel your Amazon seller account it’s a big decision with several consequences.
Before you do, it’s important to consider some alternatives which might be a better fit for your current situation.
Alternative options to closing your seller account
If you’re not ready to close your Amazon seller account permanently, there are a few other options you can consider that may be more suitable:
- Explore new selling strategies
- Downgrade to the free plan
- Delete old listings
- Pause or put the account on vacation mode
- Sell your Amazon account
Let’s take a brief look at each one so you can see if there is a good option for you.
Exploring new selling strategies
Selling on Amazon isn’t the walk in the park some make it out to be.
However, just because you have faced some challenges in your FBA journey it doesn’t mean you have to throw the towel in just yet.
I often get asked to look at Amazon product listings when they aren’t making the number of sales a seller thinks they should be.
Sadly, often there are many fundamentals that haven’t been addressed such as good Amazon listing optimization, clear product videos and engaging A+ Content to help conversion rates.
These are the foundational elements that need to be right in order to succeed on Amazon and this is exactly the kind of thing we teach inside Brand Builder University.
Just like doctors, accountants, and lawyers need training and mentoring to build a successful career (in fact, they wouldn’t dream of attempting to start without training), so too do eCommerce brand owners.
So, before you close your Amazon account, why not consider investing in yourself and your business and joining us inside BBU?
How to downgrade to a free seller account
If you find that you’re no longer selling enough to justify paying for a professional seller account, then you can downgrade to a free individual account.
This means you can keep your account open whilst you study successful selling strategies and carry out further product research but aren’t paying a monthly subscription fee.
To do so, simply follow these steps:
- Log into your Seller account
- Click on ‘Settings’, then choose ‘Account Info’
- In the ‘Your Services’ section, click on the ‘Manage’ link
- Finally, click the ‘Downgrade’ button.
You’ll be given some final information such as when your Professional plan will end.
Hit the ‘Proceed to Downgrade’ button and the downgrade will be actioned.
Once your professional plan expires you won’t need to pay any monthly subscription fees but will instead need to pay a small fee each time a product is sold.
Related: For a more detailed guide, see our dedicated article on downgrading your Amazon seller account.
How to delete old product listings
Instead of deleting your entire account, you can always just delete product listings you don’t want or need to be active anymore.
Once you have sold through all inventory for a particular listing, it can be deleted so it’s no longer visible in your account or available to purchase on Amazon.
To do this, simply follow these steps:
- Go to ‘Inventory’ and then ‘Manage Inventory’ in your Seller Central account
- Find the listing you wish to delete and click on the dropdown next to it
- Click on the ‘Delete product and listing’ option
- Confirm you want to delete the listing by clicking ‘OK’.
The listing will then be removed from your inventory.
If you change your mind, you can always create the listing with the same ASIN and all information and reviews will be restored.
Related: Worried about closing a listing? Check out our guide on how to (safely) close or delete an Amazon listing.
How to pause an Amazon seller account temporarily
If you need to take a break from selling on Amazon for a little while, you can put your account on vacation mode.
When in vacation mode, your listings will remain active but customers won’t be able to purchase any items. You can also choose to have orders already placed automatically cancelled or fulfilled.
To put your account into vacation mode, simply follow these steps:
- Go to ‘Settings’ and then ‘Account Info’ in your Seller Central account
- On the ‘Listings Status’ section, click on ‘Going on holidays?’
- Choose whether to make one marketplace or all marketplaces inactive whilst you take a break
- Click on the ‘Save’ button
Whilst your listings will be inactive, customers will still be able to message you and Amazon will continue to manage you customer response time. You should endeavor to reply to all customer messages within 24 hours where possible to maintain good account health.
How to sell your Amazon account
Before you close your Amazon account permanently, it’s worth exploring if the account can instead be sold.
As an actively traded business, you would generally expect to achieve 3-6x annual profits for an Amazon FBA business.
This means that a business with annual profits as low as $20,000 could still be worth 6 figures when sold.
There are a number of Amazon aggregators and private buyers looking to buy businesses in this space and as such your business could be worth more than you expected.
Even if your business isn’t making a profit and all that can be sold is an Amazon account with some history, there are usually buyers in the market for it.
So, rather than closing your account and walking away, why not try and make something back?
Selling any kind of asset is a big decision, so to explore your options we’d highly recommend reaching out to a specialist eCommerce broker.
Making the right decision for your business
Whilst selling on Amazon is a great opportunity to build a location-independent business, it’s not for everyone.
If you are unsure about your future selling on Amazon, try one of the temporary solutions we’ve given such as putting your Amazon Seller Central account on vacation mode.
However, if you are certain that deleting your Amazon account is the best option, you can follow the steps laid out in this article.
If at a later date in the future you want to create a new Amazon seller account, just be sure to reach out to Amazon seller support first to make sure you don’t come across any duplicate account issues.
