Seller of Record on Amazon · Your Brand, Your IP · Written Terms First
On Amazon, the seller of record is the legal seller of every listing. A Merchant on Record arrangement puts GrowithAmazon into that seat, so your products sell from our seller account while your brand, trademarks and intellectual property stay yours. You supply the products and the brand; we run the seller side: listings, compliance, customer service, returns and marketplace operations. Terms are written before onboarding starts, and critical issues get a response within 2 hours.
The seat
A Merchant on Record arrangement is one in which a merchant of record agency becomes the seller of record on Amazon for a brand's products. Three terms are worth separating before anything else, because the industry uses them loosely.
Seller of record is the legal seller of the listing. It carries the sales-tax position, appears on the invoice and holds the product-liability exposure. This page is about that seat.
Merchant of record is the payments term. On Amazon, Amazon is the party that takes the customer's payment. The two terms get confused constantly, and the confusion is why we say "seller of record" in plain words.
Brand of record is the brand owner: the holder of the trademark and of Brand Registry. Under a properly written arrangement, the brand of record never changes hands.
Read down the Merchant on Record column: the seller seat moves, and the brand's registry and IP do not. Inventory title is written per contract.
The seller seat moves in two columns: to Amazon in wholesale, and to us in Merchant on Record. In no column does the brand's registry move. That is why a merchant of record agency should be read as a seller-side service with a different seat, not as a variant of account management. For the brand-as-seller lane, see the seller central management page; for the wholesale lane, see the Vendor Central management page.
The split
Every arrangement lives or dies on one page: the ownership split. We write it before onboarding, line by line. Anything that is not on the ledger does not transfer.
The brand keeps its name, its marks and its registry. We take the seller seat and run it: the account, the listings, the compliance, the customer conversations and the returns. The split is a ledger, not a slogan. Each row says who does the work and who holds the asset, and the open row says the inventory question is settled per client in the agreement, not in a sales page.
Brand Registry stays with the brand. The agency is granted listing rights under the agreement, and the exact delegation is set out in writing before any product goes live. If the arrangement ends, the registry is already in the brand's name; there is nothing to hand back that was never theirs.
Buyer data is governed by Amazon's own terms. The agreement sets what we may use for order handling and marketplace compliance, and what the brand sees in reporting. Nothing is promised beyond what the marketplace allows, and the brand is never asked to accept a wider data grant than the one written down.
The money path
Under a revenue-share arrangement the customer pays Amazon, Amazon credits our seller account, and proceeds reach the brand after the deductions the agreement names. Every step is a line in the contract, not a number in the marketing.
The customer buys on Amazon. The order is placed with our seller account as seller of record.
Amazon takes the customer's payment, as it does on every marketplace order.
Proceeds land in the seller account. Reporting shows each order against its contract line.
The agreement names every deduction and the order it applies in. Nothing is taken outside that order.
Paid on the cadence and reserve terms written into the agreement, with the statement attached.
Payout cadence, reserves and deduction order are contract items. They are named in the agreement and they are not estimated on a sales page, because they depend on the category, the volume and the operational complexity of the product. The first conversation is where those terms get set, and the written agreement is where they stay.
Cash-flow timing is the part most arrangements get wrong. A brand should know, before signing, when the money arrives and what sits in reserve. That is why the payout terms are the first line of the proceeds statement, not the footnote.
Returns and recoveries sit inside the same statement. A returned unit appears as its own line, with the refund and any recovery shown separately, so the brand can see what came back and what it took to handle it.
The trade
Three problems bring brands to this arrangement. Each has a downside on the other side, and the page names it before a risk explainer does.
Running an Amazon seller account is a daily operating load: listings, compliance, customer service and account health. The arrangement moves that load to our seller account.
A new marketplace usually needs a local entity, tax registration and a responsible person for product safety. Each has to be named before a listing goes live, and each is set out per market.
Some brands want the ease of a wholesale relationship without giving up every lever. The seller seat moves; the brand keeps its registry and its IP. Compare the 1P wholesale model for the difference in who owns the retail side.
On the marketplace, we are the seller of record. Customers see our seller name on the listing.
Customer conversations on Amazon run through our desk. The brand sees the reporting and approves escalations.
Retail terms are set within the agreement, not by the brand alone. Changes go through the written approval route.
The trade is real, and a brand should weigh it before signing. A brand that wants to own its account, its customer conversations and every retail decision should run its own seller account, with help from the account management service or the seller central management page. The merchant of record route is for a brand that prefers the seller seat to be run for it.
The sequence
Onboarding runs in four gates. Each one ends in a written artifact, and each one states what we will not do until the gate before it is signed off.
We review the products, the brand position, the margin structure and the target marketplaces.
Artifact: the brand evaluation memo
Won't do: onboard any product before the memo is agreed
The ownership ledger, the proceeds terms, the market owners and the exit terms are written and signed.
Artifact: the signed ownership ledger and terms
Won't do: open a listing before the agreement is signed
Listings are created, compliance is checked, and the customer-service protocol is switched on.
Artifact: the launch plan with the protocols attached
Won't do: open a market that has no named owners
Sales, inventory, advertising and proceeds are reported monthly against the contract lines.
Artifact: the monthly performance and proceeds report
Won't do: change a contract term without written approval
The timeline is set by the gates, not by a day-count. A simple category with a confirmed market can move quickly; a regulated category or a new market takes longer, and the readiness check says so before the clock starts.
Before the first gate opens, the brand supplies its trademark registration, its Brand Registry status, the product list with compliance documents, and one named person who can approve decisions. Missing items pause the clock. They do not move the signature date, and they do not get filled in by assumption.
Anonymised cases
Three arrangements, described by problem, mechanism and what the brand still owned. The clients are not named, and no results are promised or implied.
Entering the US without a US entity, tax setup or an operating team.
A Merchant on Record seller account, with the ownership ledger signed before the first listing.
The brand, its marks, its IP and its registry.
A brand with strong products and no team to run the seller side day to day.
Operational management under our seller account, with monthly reporting against the contract lines.
The product roadmap, the brand voice and the customer-facing content decisions.
A category with complex compliance rules and a local launch to get right first time.
A compliance-first onboarding gate, with the category checks completed before any listing opened.
The product specification, the brand, the trademark and the decision to launch.
Anonymised. Cards publish only once each client has given written consent. No results are promised or implied.
The way out
Exit is written before entry. If you decide to run your own seller account, we transition the listings and help you set it up independently. Each rung of the ladder has a written timeline in the agreement, never an implied one.
Written notice from either party, with the reasons and the effective date set out.
Listings move to your seller account, with catalogue data and images handed over complete.
Listing rights under the agreement end. The registry is confirmed in your name.
Remaining stock is returned or handled as the agreement sets out, with a written count.
Sales, returns and proceeds records are handed over, so the next operator starts with a complete history.
The reasons
A seller of record is only as good as the desk behind it. Four reasons we would take the seat, and one bench that backs them.
Every market we serve has one named owner on the ledger, so a compliance question always has a person to go to.
Sales, inventory, advertising and proceeds arrive in a monthly pack, each line tied to a contract term.
Our seller accounts have established performance history, which accelerates growth and reduces launch risk.
We provide Merchant on Record services across all Amazon marketplaces. Each one has its owners named in writing before its first listing.
35,000+ ASINs of working context across our desks, including catalogue maintenance and product listing.
Read more about why GrowithAmazon works this way, or see the case studies, anonymised and consent-based.
Questions
A Merchant on Record arrangement puts GrowithAmazon into the seller of record seat on Amazon. Your products sell from our seller account, under our listings and compliance, while your brand, trademarks and intellectual property remain yours. You supply the products and the brand; we run the seller side.
With agency management, the brand owns the seller account and we operate it inside that account. With Merchant on Record, we are the seller of record and the account is ours. If you want to own the account, the account management service is the right lane.
Inventory title is set per client in the written agreement, not on this page. Some arrangements keep title with the brand; others transfer it. Whichever applies, the ownership ledger names it before onboarding begins.
Revenue share is structured per client, based on category, volume and operational complexity, and written into the agreement. Proceeds are paid to the brand after the deductions the agreement names, in the order it sets out. Split terms are not published on this page.
Yes. You keep your trademarks, your intellectual property and your Brand Registry. Listing rights are granted to us under the agreement, and they end when the agreement does.
Yes. We transition the listings and help you set up your own seller account. The timeline, the listing handover, the Brand Registry hand-back and the inventory return are written into the agreement before you start.
We provide Merchant on Record services across all Amazon marketplaces. Each one has its seller of record, tax owner and responsible person named in writing before its first listing.
Each market has a named tax owner and a named responsible person for product safety, both written into the agreement. Neither role is left implied.
It fits brands with proven products and sound margins that want Amazon sales without running a seller account, or that want to enter a market without a local entity. It is the wrong fit for a brand that wants to own its account, its customer conversations and every retail decision.
The onboarding gates set the timeline, not a day-count. A simple category in a confirmed market can move quickly; a regulated category or a new market takes longer. The readiness check says so before the clock starts.
Next step
The written MOR assessment lands with five named parts: a brand evaluation memo, a proposed ownership ledger, a marketplace scope with named tax and responsible-person owners, an exit outline, and the proceeds terms in principle. Read it, act on it yourself, or take it to another provider. It is yours either way. Scope exists only if the assessment supports it.
Written assessment — terms first
Send the products and the brand story. The written assessment names the ownership split, the proceeds terms in principle, the markets that are ready, and the exit outline, yours to act on with us or without us.
Written terms first. No scope before the assessment.
