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If you’ve been selling printed products for any length of time, you may have noticed that Amazon doesn’t work the way it used to, especially when it comes to books. Over the past year, Amazon has made quiet but significant changes that affect how new products can be listed on its marketplace.

We want to clearly explain what’s changed, what’s still allowed, and how creators can move forward.

Amazon Is No Longer Allowing New Book Listings in the Books Category

Amazon has changed how they manage the Books category on its marketplace. At this time, new titles cannot be added to the Books category through Amazon Marketplace.

This applies regardless of binding type, print-on-demand vs. products in inventory, or the seller history or longevity.

This is not a temporary error or a missing approval step. Amazon has tightened control over book listings and now limits how new books are introduced to the platform.

Why This Is Happening: Amazon is increasingly directing books into Amazon-controlled publishing programs rather than allowing third-party marketplace listings. While this shift hasn’t been clearly announced, it has affected many established sellers and publishers.  Even companies that have sold on Amazon for decades are seeing the same restriction.

What This Means for Print-on-Demand Books:  Vervante offers true print-on-demand, meaning books can be printed and shipped one at a time as orders come in. However, even with print-on-demand, Amazon is not approving new book listings in the Books category through Marketplace.  If Amazon were allowing new book listings, print-on-demand would work just fine. The limitation is Amazon’s category policy, not the printing or fulfillment model.

What Products Can Still Be Listed on Amazon:  While books are restricted, Amazon still allows certain non-book products to be listed in other categories.  Currently:

• Planners and Journals may be listed in the Office Products category
• Card decks may be listed in the Games category

These categories are not always an ideal fit, but they are the only options Amazon currently allows for these product types on the Amazon Marketplace.   Because category placement affects discoverability and search behavior, we always want customers to understand the tradeoffs before choosing this route.

Why Amazon Should Be a Secondary Sales Channel: Amazon policies change frequently and without much notice. For that reason, we encourage creators to think of Amazon as a secondary sales channel, not the foundation of their business.  Many authors and creators are shifting their focus to channels where they have more control, including branding and presentation, customer data and email lists, and long-term business growth.

Where Creators Are Selling Instead:  We’re seeing strong results for customers selling through direct sales and landing pages, online marketplaces like Etsy, TikTok Shop, and Faire, and event-based sales.

Our Commitment to Clear, Honest Guidance: We’ve sold products on Amazon for 25 years and continue to monitor their policies closely. If Amazon reopens access to the Books category or expands how products can be listed, we’ll revisit these options and update you.  In the meantime, we believe transparency matters. Our goal is to help you understand what’s possible today so you can make informed decisions about where and how to sell your products.

If you have questions about print-on-demand, fulfillment, or alternative sales channels, we’re always happy to help.