If you haven’t logged into Seller Central for a bit, you’ll encounter a few minor annoyances before you can get into your account. In order to log in and do actual business, you’ll need to set up two-step verification (2SV), which has become mandatory and goes into full effect Wednesday, November 1. If you haven’t already done so when you log in, you might as well set it up now so that if you hit any snags with Amazon or your third-party connected services, you can sort them out ASAP. Rest assured that Seller Labs is ready for the move to 2SV. We’ve done ample testing and we anticipate no issues. Should we encounter any, know that we will fix them quickly.

What Two-Step Verification Means

In a word, better security. Nothing on the Web is totally secure, but two-step verification (not to be confused with two-factor authentication) helps by making the user go through back-to-back security passes rather than simply logging in with one’s email and password. Amazon encourages it for both buyers and sellers and has been offering it to the former since November 2015 though it remains optional rather than mandatory.

Amazon puts it succinctly: “Instead of simply entering your password, two-step verification requires you to enter a unique security code in addition to your password during sign in.” The first login remains the same as before, but the second entails using a time-sensitive code sent via text message, voice call, or authenticator app to a second device such as your cell phone. Once you set this up, you can adjust settings so you needn’t do that second step on trusted computers that you routinely use.

Why Now?

As I wrote, Amazon first rolled out optional 2SV to shoppers in November 2015. It did so in an effort to enhance security in time for the holidays. This mandatory rollout for sellers is similarly timed and purposed. With scams and security breaches on the rise of late and increasingly dangerous, now is an excellent time to embrace two-step verification and any efforts that may prevent phishers from compromising sellers’ accounts.  

What Else Do You Need to Know?

• Two-step verification is an easy set-up and it is a good security measure. Embrace it.
• Your Seller Labs apps and data is secure and you shouldn’t experience any complications as a result of Amazon making 2SV mandatory as of November 1.
• If you use third-party, Amazon-connected services other than those provided by Seller Labs and those providers have not reached out about how 2SV affects their products, you should contact them lest you find yourself locked out of any accounts, unsecured, or experiencing delays or data loss.