This post raises an interesting operational question for FBA sellers: whether to explore Vendor Central (1P/direct-to-Amazon) as a supplementary demand channel alongside your marketplace presence. A seller operating an active US Vendor account is offering to list products from other sellers through their 1P account, which touches on account strategy, cash flow, and risk diversification.
The 1P Opportunity for FBA Sellers
- Dual-channel approach without inventory duplication: Keep your FBA listing and operations intact; Amazon becomes an additional buyer through the Vendor account, removing your 3P marketplace involvement risk for that inventory
- Cash flow advantage: Vendor Central operates on payment terms (net ~30), reducing the working capital pressure of fronting marketplace fees and fulfillment costs
- Account termination recovery: Sellers who lost Vendor access still have inventory; partnering with an active Vendor account can unlock that stock without waiting for a new account approval
- Price independence: Since the Vendor account holder manages listing/pricing, 3P sellers maintain full control of their own FBA price and strategy
How Squatio helps
If you’re considering whether a secondary Vendor channel makes sense for your product line, Prospect (Product Database) helps you understand your category’s demand distribution and competitive density — data that informs whether splitting your inventory between 3P (FBA) and 1P channels is worth the operational lift. You can also use Reveal (Reverse ASIN) to see which competing SKUs are moving through Vendor Central vs. marketplace, giving you a clearer picture of channel opportunity.
A seller question
For those of you with strong FBA sales: have you considered or tested Vendor Central as a secondary channel, and if so, what changed your mind — or what made it work?
Source: Reddit