Key takeaways
- Treat the home page as a briefing, not a workspace.
- Learn the catalog, orders, advertising, reports and settings areas.
- Review settings and users on day one.
- Use Seller Central help pages as the source of truth.
The home page: your daily starting point
The home page summarizes recent sales, open orders, buyer messages, account health indicators and any announcements from Amazon. Treat it as a briefing rather than a place to work. Scan it each morning, note anything unusual and then move into the specific area that needs attention.
Layouts and widgets are updated from time to time, so use the principle rather than memorizing exact positions.
Catalog and inventory menus
Catalog and inventory are where you add products, manage listings and see stock levels. Here you will find tools for adding a product, managing existing inventory, reviewing listing quality and handling inbound shipments for FBA.
Spend time on the inventory management page early on. It is the central view of every listing, its status, price and quantity.
Orders, returns and customer messages
The orders menu shows what has sold and what needs shipping for merchant-fulfilled orders. Returns and refunds are handled here too. Buyer messages arrive in a separate area and have response expectations set by Amazon, so check them daily.
If you use FBA, many of these tasks are performed by Amazon, but you still need to monitor exceptions and returns.
Advertising, reports and performance
Advertising is a separate console for campaigns. Reports hold business reports, payments, inventory and fulfillment data. Performance covers account health, feedback and customer service metrics.
Make a habit of looking at reports weekly. They are where trends and problems appear before they reach the home page.
Settings and users
Account information, notifications, user permissions, shipping settings and returns settings live under settings. Review these when you start, because incorrect defaults can quietly cause problems later, such as a handling time that is too optimistic or notification emails going to a mailbox nobody reads.
A simple first-week routine
Use a short routine to build familiarity:
- Day one: review account information, users and notification settings
- Day two: explore manage inventory and filter by status
- Day three: open each business report and note what it shows
- Day four: read performance and account health pages in full
- Day five: write down questions to research in help pages
Use the built-in help carefully
Seller Central includes searchable help pages that describe current rules and processes. Use them as the source of truth for fees, policies and procedures, and bookmark the pages relevant to your category. Third-party articles can become outdated quickly, including this one, so verify important details before acting.
Your next three steps
Make your first week in Seller Central productive.
- Review account information, users and notification settings.
- Open each business report and note what it shows.
- Write the questions you still have and look up the help pages.
Frequently asked questions
What should a new seller check first each day?
Notifications, buyer messages, order exceptions and any account health warnings.
Is the layout the same in every country?
The structure is similar across marketplaces, but options and menu names vary, so check each marketplace you sell in.
This guide is general information. Amazon's fees, policies and program rules change and vary by marketplace, so confirm current details in Seller Central and, for tax or legal questions, with a qualified adviser.