Everything for Amazon Sellers—in One Base.

Whether your product is an FDA medical device depends mainly on what you claim it does, not on what it is made of. FDA’s own determination page says to start by defining your product’s intended use and indications for use, then compare them against the device definition in section 201(h) of the FD&C Act and search for an existing classification (FDA, How to Determine if Your Product is a Medical Device, content current as of 09/29/2022, data checked 2026-10-14). ...

To trademark a brand name for Amazon, you file a federal application with the USPTO through its online Trademark Center, and it moves through four stages: application, examination, publication, and registration. You choose a filing basis: use in commerce, if you already sell under the brand across state lines and can show a specimen, or intent to use, if you have not launched. If your domicile is outside the United States, a US-licensed attorney must file for you. A pending application is already enough to enroll in Amazon Brand Registry. ...

Under FTC advertising rules, every claim on an Amazon listing has to pass three tests: it cannot mislead a reasonable shopper about something that matters to the purchase, you need objective evidence for it before it goes live, and any qualifier it depends on has to be clear and conspicuous. Customer reviews usually do not count as that evidence for health or safety claims, or for any other claim that requires objective evaluation, and a money-back guarantee does not either. A qualifier in fine print, or one that contradicts the headline claim, does not fix a claim that is false. ...

Under US law, whether a beauty product is a cosmetic or a drug depends on its intended use, and the first way FDA lists for establishing intended use is “Claims stated on the product labeling, in advertising, on the Internet, or in other promotional materials”—which covers your Amazon title, bullets, A+ content, and images (FDA, Is It a Cosmetic, a Drug, or Both? (Or Is It Soap?), content current as of 09/11/2024, data checked 2026-10-14). ...

Copyright registration for Amazon sellers starts from a point most sellers miss: your product photos, listing copy, A+ images, and instruction manuals are already protected by US copyright the moment they are created in fixed form, with no filing. What copyright never covers is your product name, brand name, title, or slogan; those belong to trademark law. Registration with the US Copyright Office is optional, but for US works it is the step you need before you can sue for infringement, and registering early unlocks extra remedies. ...

Two federal flammability standards apply to mattresses sold in the US. 16 CFR part 1632 is a cigarette test: each cigarette location passes only if the char is no more than 2 inches (5.1 cm) from the nearest point of the cigarette. 16 CFR part 1633 is a 30-minute open-flame test: peak heat release must stay at or under 200 kW and total heat release in the first 10 minutes at or under 15 MJ. CPSC’s business guidance says mattresses “are subject to both” parts, while mattress pads are subject to part 1632 only (CPSC, data checked 2026-10-13). ...

The CPSC window covering cord rule is a Section 15(j) determination: blinds, shades and other window coverings that fail the applicable sections of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018 are a substantial product hazard because of the strangulation risk cords pose to young children. Stock window coverings must have operating cords that are cordless (motorized counts), 8 inches or shorter, or inaccessible; stock and custom products alike need inner cords that cannot form a hazardous loop and a permanent manufacturer label in or on the headrail or roller tube. The rule took effect December 28, 2022 for products distributed in commerce or imported on or after that date (CPSC and Federal Register, data checked 2026-10-13). ...

A CPSC tracking label is the set of permanent marks that every children’s product and its packaging must carry, to the extent practicable, under section 103 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The marks must make four things ascertainable: the manufacturer, importer or private labeler; the location and date of production; batch, run or other cohort information; and any other information that helps pin down the product’s specific source (CPSC, data checked 2026-10-13). The information may be coded, the marks need not sit on one label, and the tracking label is not cited on your Children’s Product Certificate. ...

The CPSC phthalates rule, 16 CFR part 1307, prohibits making for sale, selling, distributing or importing any children’s toy or child care article that contains more than 0.1 percent (1,000 ppm) of any of eight phthalates: DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIBP, DPENP, DHEXP and DCHP. The limit applies to each accessible plasticized component part. Covered products need third-party testing at a CPSC-accepted lab unless the material is on a CPSC exempt list, and a Children’s Product Certificate citing “16 C.F.R. part 1307 – Phthalates” (CPSC and 16 CFR, data checked 2026-10-13). ...

The CPSC lead limit for children’s products is 100 parts per million (ppm) of total lead content in every accessible part of a product designed or intended primarily for children 12 and younger. Paint and similar surface coatings on children’s products face a separate, tighter limit of 0.009 percent, or 90 ppm. Both apply to children’s products made in or imported into the United States, both require testing at a CPSC-accepted laboratory, and a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) is required even when every part is inaccessible or made of a material CPSC has determined does not exceed the limit (CPSC, data checked 2026-10-13). ...

A self-employed Amazon seller with no employees can open either a SEP-IRA or a one-participant (solo) 401(k); both cap the employer-side contribution at 25% of compensation, which for a sole proprietor works out to 20% of net earnings after the deduction for one-half of self-employment tax. The difference is that a solo 401(k) adds employee elective deferrals on top, up to $24,500 for 2026, while a SEP allows no elective deferrals and no catch-up contributions (IRS, data checked 2026-10-12). For 2026 the IRS overall defined contribution limit for either plan is $72,000. ...

The CPSC magnet rule, codified at 16 CFR part 1262, is the mandatory federal Safety Standard for Magnets. It covers consumer products designed, marketed or intended for entertainment, jewelry (including children’s jewelry), mental stimulation or stress relief that contain one or more loose or separable magnets. Every such magnet that fits entirely within the small parts cylinder must have a flux index of less than 50 kG² mm², and the rule applies to products manufactured after October 21, 2022 (CPSC, data checked 2026-10-12). ...