Merch by Amazon Signup Page – How To Sign Up And Get Accepted

In case you have been living under a rock OR are landing on this article because you have not signed up for Merch by Amazon yet, the sign up page has changed! It has not changed by much, but with the new application process, this should cut down on people who are looking to abuse the system.

So how did they do this? They require your personal information, banking information, and tax interview to be complete BEFORE you finish the application. This is different in that you used to be able to enter this information in after you got admitted. With the change, they will now be able to check on you to see if you are who you say you are as well as make sure that you are not applying for your 43rd account (abuse!).

Let’s go over the application process and how you can sign up and stand the best chance at getting accepted!

Note: Following this guide does not mean you will be accepted, but rather you stand a higher chance by giving the Merch by Amazon team more information to look over.

Merch by Amazon Application

The first step is to head over to https://merch.amazon.com/landing and click on the request invitation button. You can read around and see exactly how the entire process works.

It will then ask you to sign in to your Amazon.com account. If you do not have one, you will need to create one:

In order to fully fill out the application, you will need a few things. These include your business contact information, your bank account details (account number/routing number), as well as be prepared to fill out a tax questionnaire.

Once you have that information in front of you, click on begin application and get started!

As you can see in this screenshot, you are going to fill out 3 pages. These are the company profile, payment & banking, and tax information.

If you do NOT have a company set up, that is just fine! You will be putting your personal name instead.

Enter in your REAL details here. Remember, Merch will check to make sure you are who you say you are so fill out the form honestly.

Enter in your bank details and then take the tax questionnaire.

If you are not from the USA, you may need want to avoid the 30% tax withholding. You can read more about that here:

Avoid The 30% Tax Witholding For Non-US Amazon Sellers

Once all those are filled out correctly, we get to the actual form to fill out to apply for Merch by Amazon:

You are going to be asked a few questions here.

1: Industry Type: You will be asked what type of business you run. If you DO have a business, I would recommend putting that you are a small business. If you used your personal name, select novelty t-shirt business.
2: Organization Name: If you are using a business name (LLC/S Corp/C Corp), then enter the name here. Otherwise, enter in your personal name.
3: Additional Information: This is where you are going to make your case to the Merch team on why they should accept you.

Have you put any effort into the print on demand industry before? If so, this is where you will want to provide links to your work. If not, consider getting a few desigins up on OTHER platforms before you apply for Merch by Amazon! They want people that will make them money, remember that. If you show that oyu have put in the effort, they are more likely to accept you.

If I were to make a recommendation, I would get 10 designs created (you can create these yourself, or hire them out). From here, upload them to any of these platforms:

  • Teespring
  • Redbubble
  • TeePublic
  • Zazzle
  • Spreadshirt
  • Teefury
  • Sunfrog

There are many others, but uploading to one of these is both recognizable and shows you have put in some effort.

In the additional information box, put anything else that is relevant to you and what you plan on doing with the MBA process.

Do you own a trademark? That would be EXCELLENT! Add it in this box.

Have you licensed an artist? PERFECT! Add that to this box.

Do you have formal training in graphic designs? Even better! Add that here.

Note: If you do not have any of these things at all, I would highly recommend strictly being honest. Honesty is the best policy and I know plenty of people who simply told Merch that they are simply learning graphic designs and are looking for an outlet to sell their expressive art.

4: Website: It tells you that the website is optional but I would HIGHLY recomend you create one for your soon to be or existing portfolio. This both shows an amount of effort that other people are NOT willing to do (putting you ahead of the curve), but it also gives you an outlet outside of Amazon to make sales in the future.

We have a video on how to get started on that here:

Once you have finished up that page, submit it!

They then direct you to download some templates to get started. If you are in this for the long term, you should already have had some designs created or create them yourself but if not, this is the point where you will want to download these templates and get to work!

Wrapping It Up

If you were not accepted or get denied the first time you apply for Merch by Amazon, take a minute to think about your application. Often times you may have used the same bank account that someone else did (if a spouse has an account), or that you applied a long time ago and forgot.

Make sure you fill in all the information honestly, and then apply again. There has been many instances that when people found out what they did wrong the first time, they filled it out and got accepted on their second run.

Merch by Amazon wants to give everyone the opportunity to be a successful seller on their platform, they just want to make sure they are accepting quality people. For this reason, make sure to fill out your profile and give them as much information as possible to show that you would be a great asset. If they see that, you will be accepted in no time!

Comments
  • “Make sure you fill in all the information honestly, and then apply again.”
    Not noted in the article: If you’re rejected, there’s no re-application process using the same details. The only way to re-apply is to create a brand new Amazon Account tied to a new email address – which is another reason to create a website dedicated to your designs. Most hosting platforms give you a nearly unlimited number of emails, so if your application using [email protected] isn’t accepted, you can create a new account and apply with [email protected] – but if Amazon is matching banking details across accounts…then a new Amazon account with the same banking details won’t help you. =(

    • Excellent info! I know some people have been denied from the same household (spouse), so even though they had formal training, I assume they might have gotten caught up in the same bank account. You make an excellent point about having your own website but you can always open up another bank account separate from anyone in your house in about 5 minutes. Some banks even allow it online so it would be worth a shot!

  • This is spot on. I first applied in April of 2017. At the beginning of this month, I received an email requesting that I reapply. I did and was approved within a week. I do not have a website or any experience to show, but I gave all the info they asked for. Good luck to those still waiting!

  • I just applied for MBA and am waiting for my approval.
    I entered a business name that I will be calling my t shirt company but it’s not a formal business in any sense yet (like being a registered DBA or LLC). I also have my name written down for my bank account which is tied to my SSN. Do you think the way I filled it out would be problematic? Also, while I have no real design background I have a strong background in the apperal and fashion businesses and put that down. Thanks.

  • Sadly, I was denied twice. I have over 10 years experience in graphic design. I included a different website each time I applied, as well as different email and bank account. Plus a rather detailed description of my experience and the kind of designs I’d like to make. I’m frustrated reading about other people with no design experience or website of work and yet they get accepted. Perhaps bad designs sell better on MBA and they’re not interested in designs made my experienced designers? I dunno.

    • I would keep applying! We know of a few graphic artists that were denied up to 6 times before they were finally accepted.

      • Thanks for the encouragement, Neil. I applied a third time and got denied again. They must really not like me. Weird, considering my design experience and decent social media following on IG and Pinterest. At least I heard back quickly. . . only three days! Anyway, I’m going for it again. Funny, I can’t help but imagine a room full of minimum wage people reviewing applications and rejecting people for arbitrary reasons. I mean, how can they possibly know who will or will not crush it on their platform?

        • I’ve tried 3 times using 3 different websites, & my son has tried twice. All applications rejected within a few days. I think Amazon have stopped taking people on perhaps.

      • Neil, I got denied a fourth time. It’s so baffling. Someone on Reddit suggested that Amazon tracks IP addresses of people who sign up for Merch and get denied, then automatically deny them again. Wondering if that’s true. Perhaps I should sign up from a different location. Elsewhere I read that some people found success by sending a follow-up email expressing their excitement after signing up, and that seemed to help them get finally accepted. Anyway, when I finally get accepted, I might end up holding the record for the most rejections!

        • I also just got denied few hours ago! I’m so disappointed! I feel like maybe they are stoping people going in anymore… Anyway i will try it again as much as possible, different IP and new email & account. H

  • Me again. Now, I’ve been rejected 6 times. I got a reply in 48 hours. This time, I didn’t say anything about my graphic design background, and I didn’t leave any website info. I thought maybe this would work since it’s worked for others. People in merch facebook groups who applied with simple one-sentence statements and no website got approved. But not me 🙁 It’s getting comical at this point. I’m convinced that my name or IP address is blacklisted. Neil, if you ever get a chance to talk to an Amazon Merch exec, ask them why legit artists and designers are getting denied. It’s dumbfounding.

  • I really want to do this but am very hesitant to give out so much financial information., especially my SSN. Any thoughts?

    • This is how companies report earnings to the government so that you pay taxes on them. This is all above board.

  • Hi Neil,
    If I am a regular seller on Amazon (both 3rd party) and FBA, is it ok for me to also be a Merch By Amazon seller?
    Would I do anything different or just include some links to my products on Amazon or my regular company websites.

    • They want motivated sellers so this would not be a problem at all. That being said, I would make sure to put up some designs outside of Amazon like is recommended and use those links in your application.

  • Hello Neil, it really hurts a lot to say that i have been rejected for 3 times.As told i included my redbubble’s portfolio link, but still it didn’t work for me. I had done 10 designs.I felt my designs were quite good. Is that d reason behind my rejection

  • Wow Neil
    Great article and good advice, I’m a fine Artist with limited graphic experience, I just keep it simple. was accepted in less than a week, maybe less is better.
    Thanks
    Eyad

  • Hey nice article! But i don’t understand how people can reapply? I got denied but they say i can’t reapply.
    Make a new amazon account with different email/bank? I thought they would see that this name already applied, also with the tax info and so on?
    Please help 🙂
    Kind Regards!

  • Hi Neil
    I have been a small business FBA seller in the UK for 4 years but would also like to sell on Merch, is it possible to have a separate Merch account in my own name ?

    • Yes! You just need to apply with your information under a different email. You can only have a single merch account though.

  • Hi Neil. I just got my first rejection. I wish I had the sense to read reviews on how to get accepted. I somehow felt that it was going to be super easy getting accepted. And I had a lot of faith in my brand, even though its in its infancy. My message is positive, so I am baffled, but one thing I did lack, going by your article, is the fact that I only have 1 tshirt design on my website, and thats my logo on a shirt.

  • Hi Neil;
    I was rejected by Merch by Amazon, this morning, after applying for an account a couple of weeks ago. I am an Amazon seller and my Merch application was associated with that bank account, email, and name. I have a healthy account with no complaints from customers.
    I would like to re-apply, but it appears MBA has put systems in place to prevent re-application. After reading everything I can, it seems I should be able to re-apply legitimately. But, I don’t understand how to do it?
    Any advice?

  • They are no longer allowing re-submissions. My application was rejected a month ago, and I keep going back in to re-apply. It does’t give me a way to re-enter information, so I went into the FAQ’s and it is stated that you cannot re-apply. I am trying to figure out a way around….

  • Hello everyone,
    I’m not from the US and I’ve been denied some times already, from Merch by Amazon.
    I’ve been following all the recommendations on how to answer to the interview, I’ve a website, I already have other accounts in other platforms, the only thing that could be a problem is the citizenship.
    I’ve researched, and it seems like for non American it’s harder to be accepted.
    Anyone have any suggestions to give me on this topic.
    I’ll be deeply grateful for any kind of help
    Thanks in advance

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