Amazon launched its third-party Amazon Marketplace in 2000.
The service allowed independent merchants to offer products alongside Amazon’s own inventory on Amazon’s website. This expanded the company’s catalog without requiring Amazon to purchase and stock every listed item itself.
Amazon Marketplace became a major part of the company’s retail model. Sellers could use Amazon’s product pages, customer traffic, payment systems, and later fulfillment services. The arrangement also introduced more competition between sellers offering the same products.
Amazon Marketplace is sometimes confused with Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA. Marketplace is the selling platform, while FBA is a separate logistics service that stores inventory and ships orders for participating merchants. Amazon later expanded Marketplace internationally and added professional seller tools, advertising, and automated fulfillment options.