Skip to main content

Chapter 3.3: After approval: what to expect

What you'll learn: how payouts work, why you'll see "restricted" products, where to find your Seller ID, and how to get your new account ready for ArbiSource.

How and when Amazon pays you​

  • Amazon pays out on a regular settlement cycle, usually every 14 days.
  • Each sale's money is held until 7 days after the item is delivered to the customer. Amazon calls this "DD+7", and the hold can be longer in some situations.
  • Once a payout is sent, allow a few business days for it to reach your bank.

The details are in Amazon's payout and reserve policy. This delay is part of the cash cycle from Chapter 1, so plan for it.

"Restricted" products​

No seller account can sell everything. Some categories and brands need Amazon's approval first; sellers call this being gated. You'll see messages such as "You need approval to list in this brand", and ArbiSource will mark some products as restricted.

Restrictions affect every seller, new and established. A few things worth knowing early:

  • Restrictions are set account by account. Two sellers can get different answers for the same product.
  • Many brands open up over time as your account builds a sales history. Keep checking.
  • ArbiSource's restriction checks help you focus on the products you can sell from day one.
  • ArbiSource's Restriction Tracker (Pro and Premium) monitors the brands you're gated in and automatically tries to get you approved, re-checking regularly.

Chapter 22 (Gating, ungating and the Restriction Tracker) covers this in detail.

Finding your Seller ID​

Your Seller ID (also called a Merchant Token) identifies your seller account. You'll need it if you ever ask ArbiSource support to reconnect or move your Amazon link.

In Seller Central, go to Settings → Account Info → Business Information and look for Merchant Token.

Illustration of the Business Information page with the Merchant Token highlighted

Business Information with the Merchant Token (your Seller ID) highlighted. Simplified illustration – the real screen may look different.

Copy it carefully. One missing character means support can't find your account.

A new account and ArbiSource​

When you connect a brand-new seller account to ArbiSource, a couple of things can take a little while:

  • Give a brand-new account up to 5 days. Amazon can take up to 5 days to switch on the access that lets third-party software, including ArbiSource, work with a new seller account. Until then, anything in ArbiSource that relies on your Amazon connection (restriction checks, live Amazon data and so on) may not work. This is normal and resolves on its own: if things don't work straight away, give it up to 5 days and try again.
  • Clear any outstanding tasks in Seller Central. If it's been longer than 5 days, or Seller Central still needs something from you (a payment method, a verification step or the tax interview, for example), complete those first, then re-authorize from your ArbiSource Account page. There's nothing to reset in ArbiSource.
  • Data can take a short time to sync after you first connect. If things look empty, log out and back in, and give it a little time.

Checklist​

  • Account approved and on the Professional plan
  • I understand DD+7 payouts and that "restricted" messages are normal for every seller
  • I've found my Seller ID and saved it somewhere safe
  • Any outstanding Seller Central tasks are done