The Advantage program is designed for sellers who intend to distribute their own work or large quantities of other books they are legally allowed to distribute. Unlike the other types of Amazon seller accounts, Amazon requires potential Advantage members to submit a special application. In order to participate, you will need North American distribution rights for any titles you enroll. The account you set up for an Advantage membership will require the same information as a standard selling account.  You will need to input your name, e-mail, password, mailing address, and bank account. You will also need a valid e-mail address, access to the Internet, and a U.S. bank account. To start the application process, navigate to the Advantage home page at: https://advantage.amazon.com/. Click on the “Apply” button to be directed to the application. Note that as a member of the Advantage program, you do not need to maintain a selling account or manage buying orders and feedback. Your Advantage account won’t be active until books are registered under it. Click on “Enroll” under your Advantage account, and type in the details of each book you’d like to sell through the program. Each title must have an ISBN, and each physical book copy must have a valid barcode. After you enroll a title through the Advantage account, you will receive an initial order e-mail with instructions on how to log in and confirm your order. To confirm an order, you will need to log into your member page and select the "Orders" tab. After clicking on the corresponding Order ID number, you will confirm the order and receive shipping instructions. You can print out these slips from your order confirmation page after you’ve confirmed the order. The packing slip should be included in the box along with the books you ship. Place the shipping label on the outside of the box using heavy-duty packaging tape. It’s your responsibility to send your books to an Amazon distribution center, but Amazon will handle shipping the books to the customers. Amazon will instruct you on which fulfillment center to send your books to, and the address will be on the shipping label. You will be notified when your order is received at the facility.  Amazon should have provided you with the distribution center’s address after you enrolled your book(s). If they didn’t, contact the Advantage program and inquire where your books should be shipped to. If you ship an order to an Amazon fulfillment center that does not meet its requirements, Amazon may ship it back to you at your expense. Amazon will take care of getting the books into the customers’ hands. You will receive payment (via direct deposit) from Amazon once customers have purchased your books. Under the Advantage program, the books are put up for sale under Amazon's name rather than your seller name. You will not receive feedback for the purchase or the condition of the book. Amazon will also handle any returns if customers are dissatisfied with the books. For this reason, the Advantage program is ideal for booksellers or publishers who prefer to have a hands-off approach to selling and shipping their own books.

Summary: Submit an Advantage application to join the program. Enroll at least 1 book title under your Advantage account. Print your shipping label and packing slip for each order. Mail your products to an Amazon shipping center for distribution. Let Amazon sell the books and ship them out to customers.


The vast majority of sore throats (cases of pharyngitis) are viral. However, some are indeed bacterial (called "bacterial pharyngitis"). The first step when it comes to treating your sore throat is determining the cause, and this cannot be done based on symptoms alone. You will also need to receive a throat swab from your doctor.  A throat swab can identify the presence of bacteria. It can also inform your doctor of what bacteria specifically is present, causing your sore throat. Throat culture has fallen out of favor due to delay in diagnosis, and rapid antigen detection tests have become popular.  Rapid antigen detection tests also know as “rapid strep test” is favorable because they are quick and have up to 90% sensitivity. Once the cause or your sore throat has been confirmed (and assuming that it is indeed bacterial), you will most likely be prescribed a course of oral antibiotics. The antibiotics will be tailored to the specific bacteria. For a Group A Strep infection, the most common treatment is Penicillin, although there are other choices of antibiotics that may be effective as well.  It is key that you complete the full course of antibiotics prescribed to you by your doctor. One of the main reasons to take antibiotics in bacterial pharyngitis is to prevent complications from the illness. Other medication that can be used in the treatment of strep throat other than penicillin include amoxicillin, ampicillin, clindamycin. cephalosporins, and macrolides.  For patients with hypersensitivity to penicillins, use cephalosporins for treatment. In addition to taking antibiotics to treat the cause of the infection, you may wish to take Acetaminophen to ease other symptoms. It can be purchased over-the-counter at your local pharmacy or drugstore. The usual dosage is 500mg every 4-6 hours as needed.  Acetaminophen can ease the pain of a sore throat by blocking pain receptors in the brain. Acetaminophen can also reduce fever. Your bacterial pharyngitis symptoms should begin to improve one to two days after beginning antibiotic treatment. If you do not notice an improvement, or if new or worse symptoms begin to appear, book a follow-up appointment with your doctor. Most people recover completely from bacterial pharyngitis within a week.  Bacterial pharyngitis that goes untreated poses the risk of complications, such as kidney problems and rheumatic fever. Therefore, it is key to have your infection promptly treated with antibiotics. Treatment is usually for 10 days; however, response to therapy usually take on a few days of time. Make sure you take the antibiotic as prescribed, and do not stop treatment early.
Summary: Have a throat swab to diagnose the specific cause of your sore throat. Take antibiotics for bacterial pharyngitis. Use Acetaminophen (Tylenol) to ease pain and fever. Be aware of the expected recovery time.