Amazon puts Prime delivery on merchants' own sites at no extra fee

Among the merchants who tried it early, more than 40% of eligible orders shipped with Prime delivery, on average.

Amazon says the option comes without any additional costs beyond standard MCF fees. It is available to new and existing MCF merchants selling in the U.S., including the hundreds of thousands already using the service. Separately, ASCS launched the MCF Preferred Pricing Program. Under that program, sellers who use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) can cut their fulfillment fees by as much as 25% on orders that come in through their own websites, marketplaces and social media channels.

The detail that matters most for the person running a brand's ecommerce operations is where the Prime check happens. Amazon verifies membership after checkout, so the shopper never logs in to Amazon, and the merchant doesn't touch its payment processing, order management or store policies. The Prime badge now costs an MCF merchant nothing beyond the fulfillment fee it already pays, and the checkout page stays the merchant's own.

Two routes to a Prime checkout

Amazon presents the new option as a companion to Buy with Prime, its older program for putting Prime on outside websites. The two split along one line: who handles the customer once the order is placed.

Buy with Prime

When Amazon announced Buy with Prime, FreightWaves reported that it would start as invitation-only for FBA merchants. Participating merchants would pay service, payment processing, fulfillment and storage fees, but no fixed subscription.

Prime delivery through MCF

The new route keeps returns and customer service with the merchant. Amazon says merchants can turn it on more than 70% faster, on average, than standalone Buy with Prime.

The split suggests fairly clean sorting. The MCF option lets merchants keep their existing returns and customer service, while Buy with Prime pairs Prime delivery with shopper customer service and easy returns.

The early numbers, and how far they go

Amazon's named customer is Skinnies Instant Lifts. General manager Gabriella Luksander said in the release that sales rose nearly 10% after the company turned on Prime delivery, that orders leave in about a day and a half, and that "where is my order?" inquiries have nearly stopped. For a support lead, that last one is the easiest to check: count order-status tickets before and after switching it on.

The abandonment figures come from a 2025 Baymard Institute study cited in Amazon's own fulfillment guide. Shipping cost and delivery speed are two of the reasons carts get left behind.

There's a real limit here. The Prime member survey measures what people say they'd do, not what they bought. A brand whose customers mostly don't have Prime memberships could see a smaller effect.

A discount built to run out

According to PYMNTS, the Preferred Pricing Program combines discounts and credits, lowering fulfillment fees by 15-25% during a merchant's first six months. Sellers sign no long-term contracts, and once they enroll, the discounts take effect automatically.

Shopify first, APIs next

Amazon says merchants can enable Prime delivery in minutes through the Amazon MCF and Buy with Prime app for Shopify. PYMNTS notes that more integrations are planned through Amazon's Selling Partner API and third-party partners.

For now, merchants add the option through Amazon's MCF and Buy with Prime app for Shopify, with additional integrations planned through the Selling Partner API and third-party partners.