Chinese sellers on Amazon have taken the majority of the top 10,000 spots, while US sellers retain the highest-value positions and 93.2% of top-100 GMV.
Amazon’s top seller ranks are becoming more competitive without becoming dramatically less stable. Chinese sellers on Amazon are filling more of those positions as older seller cohorts thin out, but the revenue picture shows that seller count alone does not determine who holds the strongest position.
US brands still account for most of the GMV generated by the top seller group and an especially large share of sales among the 100 highest-ranked businesses. The figures suggest that factors such as brand recognition, buyer confidence, and the ability to maintain higher prices remain important advantages for sellers competing beyond cost.
Chinese Sellers on Amazon Gain Ground in Top Seller Ranks
The makeup of Amazon’s leading sellers has shifted sharply since July 2020, according to Marketplace Pulse data. During that period, Chinese sellers added 1,342 positions within the top 10,000, while US sellers gave up 1,320, moving the respective shares from 42.5% to 55.9% for Chinese sellers and from 53.7% to 40.5% for US sellers.
The pace at which sellers move in and out of the top 10,000 has changed little compared with seven years ago. About 68.6% of the sellers holding those positions today were in a similar spot one year ago, compared with 67% in 2019, while 49.6% had remained in the top ranks for three years compared with 41% at the time.
The age profile of the leading seller group has also shifted, with businesses that joined Amazon before 2019 now making up half of the top 10,000. That compares with more than 60% a year earlier, pointing to a smaller share of long-established sellers among the marketplace’s leading businesses.
The revenue picture remains different from the seller count, with US sellers generating 65.3% of GMV among the top 10,000 compared with 28.6% for Chinese sellers. The Amazon top 100 shows an even wider gap, as US sellers represent 81.4% of positions and 93.2% of GMV, giving Amazon agency and its seller clients a clear reason to watch both Amazon seller rankings and the revenue value attached to each position.
Supply Chain and AI Tools Reshape Competition Among Amazon Sellers
The competitive gap is shifting as Chinese sellers on Amazon use manufacturing proximity, direct factory relationships, export support, and AI tools to compete with established brands. ECDMA reports that these advantages have reduced the protection once provided by listing quality, review history, account age, native-English copywriting, and brand presence.
| Seller Tier or Metric | US Sellers | Chinese Sellers |
|---|---|---|
|
Top 100 average selling price
|
$47.62
|
$22.03
|
|
5,001-10,000 seller share
|
34%
|
66%
|
|
One-year position retention
|
68.6% overall
|
|
|
Three-year position retention
|
49.6% overall
|
|
|
2019-2021 sellers in top 10,000
|
17.5% overall
|
|
The price difference also shows how Chinese vs US Amazon sellers can reach strong rankings through different business models, with lower prices, higher volume, and tighter margins supporting Chinese sellers while established US brands benefit from stronger brand equity and customer trust. For businesses selling on Amazon, the data suggests that competing on price alone can create a different path to rank than building a brand that supports higher selling prices.
Seller longevity remains an advantage, but it is becoming less common among the highest-ranked businesses, with sellers registered before 2019 now making up 50% of top positions and the 2019-2021 cohort accounting for just 17.5%. The shift is gradual rather than sudden, as newer sellers fill positions vacated by older operators while sponsored placement becomes more important than the organic rankings and review history that once shaped visibility.
For sellers competing in the 5,000-10,000 range, factory-direct businesses with leaner cost structures can put added pressure on margins and advertising budgets. At the top, however, brand equity remains a key advantage because established names can attract buyers who return, trust the product, and accept higher prices, creating a different competitive path from the volume-focused model.
Amazon's Top Seller Ranks See a Shift in Seller Tenure
Amazon’s leading seller group now includes a larger mix of newer businesses, while the proportion of long-standing operators has declined. Sellers that joined before 2019 account for 50% of the current top 10,000, compared with more than 60% in the previous year.
Businesses that registered between 2016 and 2018 make up 27.4% of the group, while those that joined before 2016 represent 21.9%. Newer operators are also taking a sizable share, with sellers that registered from 2022 through 2024 accounting for 26.9% and those that entered within the past 18 months representing another 6.3%.
Chinese Sellers Now Outnumber US Sellers in Amazon US Top 10,000 for the First Time by Ebrun“From July 2020 to the present, Chinese sellers have gained 1,342 spots in the Top 10,000, increasing their share from 42.5% to 55.9%.”
The 2019-2021 group represents the smallest registration period, making up 17.5% of today’s top 10,000. These sellers entered during the pandemic-era surge in Amazon traffic and have since faced competition from both newer entrants and more established businesses.
For businesses selling on Amazon, the shift shows that reaching a high position does not guarantee long-term retention as the seller base changes. Chinese sellers on Amazon are increasingly represented among newly rising sellers, while the broader Chinese vs US Amazon sellers split continues to change as newer operators enter the marketplace.
