GLOBAL SELLING
How to sell internationally with Amazon Global Selling
Amazon offers sellers a variety of tools and services that simplify all aspects of international sales.
4 steps for successful global selling
1
Decide where and what to sell
Discover the importance of international sales on Amazon as an opportunity for your business. Find out where you can sell through Amazon, what the requirements are (including taxes and regulations) and which strategic considerations are involved in entering a new marketplace.
How we can help you
Learn more about why and how to expand into Amazon marketplaces around the world.
Where you can sell with Amazon
Overview
Amazon operates 16 online marketplaces around the world (listed by region below) and helps you expand internationally, regardless of where your business is located. With Amazon, you can watch your business grow rapidly in other countries and present your brand and products to millions of customers in Amazon marketplaces.
These marketplaces offer the most valuable e-commerce opportunities in the world. When you sign up to sell on one of these Amazon marketplaces, you immediately have access to customers who already know Amazon and who trust the shopping experience. By expanding your sales into one or more Amazon marketplaces, you can leverage the Amazon brand to your advantage and avoid the upfront costs of establishing your business name in a new sales environment.
Language support considerations
As you prepare to enter a new Amazon marketplace, one of your first concerns may be whether you can run your business in the local language. In order to be able to provide customer support in a given marketplace (a requirement for selling in an Amazon marketplace), you must know the language of the local marketplace, unless you use Fulfilment by Amazon. Knowing the local language is also useful for carrying out country-specific research and studying how to best position your products. You may need to make changes to your products, reposition your marketing, or copy or package goods better to meet the needs of new customers.
However, many Selling Partners are successful in Amazon marketplaces even though they have no knowledge of the local language. Amazon offers a number of services and tools that help you overcome the obstacles posed by language barriers:
Language selection in Seller Central
The good news is that you don't need to know Spanish, French or Japanese to sell in North America, Australia and Japan. Thanks to Seller Central's language selection feature, you can manage your transactions in all these Amazon marketplaces using English and thus conduct your business internationally using a familiar, fast and intuitive interface.
Amazon accounts for North American marketplaces
In North America, just as in Europe, we have simplified the management of your business activities across all of the Amazon online marketplaces. With a North American Amazon account, you can create and manage your product listings on our marketplaces in the United States, Canada and Mexico. You can stay in control of what and where you sell and manage your business through a single seller account interface.
When you register as a seller on a North American marketplace, such as Amazon.com, your seller account is automatically enabled to sell on all the other North American Amazon marketplaces, i.e. Amazon.com.mx and Amazon.ca. Showcase your listings to millions of international customers and let Amazon help you grow your online business internationally. All your orders will be handled from the same place, so you can trade in Canada in exactly the same way as in the United States.
Customer support in the local language
When you sell on an Amazon marketplace, you must offer customer support in the marketplace's local language. For example, if you sell on Amazon.jp or Amazon.com.mx, you must offer customer support in Japanese and Spanish, respectively. When you sign up for Fulfilment by Amazon, you can decide whether to do it yourself or let Amazon handle it.
However, many Selling Partners are successful in Amazon marketplaces even though they have no knowledge of the local language. Amazon offers a number of services and tools that help you overcome the obstacles posed by language barriers:
Language selection in Seller Central
The good news is that you don't need to know Spanish, French or Japanese to sell in North America, Australia and Japan. Thanks to Seller Central's language selection feature, you can manage your transactions in all these Amazon marketplaces using English and thus conduct your business internationally using a familiar, fast and intuitive interface.
Amazon accounts for North American marketplaces
In North America, just as in Europe, we have simplified the management of your business activities across all of the Amazon online marketplaces. With a North American Amazon account, you can create and manage your product listings on our marketplaces in the United States, Canada and Mexico. You can stay in control of what and where you sell and manage your business through a single seller account interface.
When you register as a seller on a North American marketplace, such as Amazon.com, your seller account is automatically enabled to sell on all the other North American Amazon marketplaces, i.e. Amazon.com.mx and Amazon.ca. Showcase your listings to millions of international customers and let Amazon help you grow your online business internationally. All your orders will be handled from the same place, so you can trade in Canada in exactly the same way as in the United States.
Customer support in the local language
When you sell on an Amazon marketplace, you must offer customer support in the marketplace's local language. For example, if you sell on Amazon.jp or Amazon.com.mx, you must offer customer support in Japanese and Spanish, respectively. When you sign up for Fulfilment by Amazon, you can decide whether to do it yourself or let Amazon handle it.
Taxes and regulations
Find out about taxes and local regulations when selling on the various Amazon marketplaces and engaging third parties. We recommend that you consult tax and legal advisors before making decisions about how to sell on other marketplaces.
Each country has legal and regulatory obligations that govern the sale of products to consumers. Your home marketplace may have laws that govern intellectual property rights, product security, the environment and other requirements. The same applies to all marketplaces. Find out what your obligations are. Some issues to consider are: tax and customs regulations; intellectual property rights; parallel imports; export controls; trademarks and labels; environment; health, safety and product compliance.
Each country has legal and regulatory obligations that govern the sale of products to consumers. Your home marketplace may have laws that govern intellectual property rights, product security, the environment and other requirements. The same applies to all marketplaces. Find out what your obligations are. Some issues to consider are: tax and customs regulations; intellectual property rights; parallel imports; export controls; trademarks and labels; environment; health, safety and product compliance.
Creating a marketplace strategy
Overview
When deciding where and what to sell on another country's marketplace, the same considerations apply as for your home marketplace. However, when selling internationally, there are a few additional considerations to take into account.
One way to assess an opportunity to enter an international marketplace is to follow the 'four P's' marketing strategy: Product, Price, Placement and Promotions. Let's explore each of these elements with respect to the objective of selling internationally on Amazon.
One way to assess an opportunity to enter an international marketplace is to follow the 'four P's' marketing strategy: Product, Price, Placement and Promotions. Let's explore each of these elements with respect to the objective of selling internationally on Amazon.
Product: Choose what to sell
When selecting an Amazon marketplace on which you want to sell, you must first investigate whether your product is eligible for sale in the target country. First of all, make sure that you comply with all the laws in force in each country. In addition, product standards may vary from country to country. For example, mobile devices operating at 110–220 V using two-pin electrical chargers might not be suitable for European markets, but might be suitable for Japan. Similarly, feather mattresses that sell well in Italy would probably not sell in the US, because standard mattress sizes are different in each country.
When selling internationally through Amazon for the first time, it's natural that your first thought goes to the products that you sell most in your home marketplace. Based on your past experience and sales report data, what sells well? It's also important to ask yourself why these particular products sell well. Do the same motivations apply to the marketplace you are about to enter or are there other factors driving customer demand in the new marketplace, such as culture, climate and demographics (including average age and income)? Also, think about how you could benefit from the differences between marketplaces. For example, do you have seasonal inventory and don't know what to do with it now that the season is over in one marketplace? You can extend the sales season by offering your product abroad, where you might find a new audience for it.
Tip: Create large, multi-product listings rather than specialised listings for one or two products. Why? With a broader selection of products, your listings will have more general exposure to customer searches. A broad range of listings can help you quickly sound out which products seem most promising in a given marketplace.
You can still keep a broad range of listings, even if you're starting slowly and not ready to tie up a significant part of your inventory in another Amazon marketplace. If sales spike, you can adjust the price or remove your listings so you don't run out of stock, just as you would do on your home Amazon marketplace. If you prefer even less commitment, you can start by handling the orders yourself instead of sending the inventory to the other country. Remember that selling on another marketplace doesn't mean losing control of your listings.
When deciding which products to sell on an Amazon marketplace, you naturally have another important source of information: observation of the marketplace itself. You should already be used to observing the marketplace, because you're probably already doing it for your home Amazon marketplace. For this type of research, knowing the local language is extremely useful. If you're researching a marketplace in a language that you don't know, you might want to try using one of the free translation tools available online, but be careful not to put too much trust in them.
Browse the Bestseller, New Arrivals and Featured Listings sections for your product groups on the target marketplace. Read customer reviews to understand your competitors' strengths and weaknesses.
During this phase of product research, you might also find it useful to expand your search to e-commerce marketplaces outside of Amazon. Use a search engine to identify the most prominent e-commerce sites in a given country. Industry publications and online seller communities in each country can also be valuable sources of information when preparing your product listings for local contexts.
Tip: Bear in mind that potential customers on a given marketplace may not necessarily reside in the target country. Each marketplace has customers who reside in a neighbouring country or who prefer to shop in a particular language, and also those who are looking for products that are only available on a particular marketplace or who choose to buy products outside their own country. For example, an Amazon.com buyer might be based in Mexico.
When selling internationally through Amazon for the first time, it's natural that your first thought goes to the products that you sell most in your home marketplace. Based on your past experience and sales report data, what sells well? It's also important to ask yourself why these particular products sell well. Do the same motivations apply to the marketplace you are about to enter or are there other factors driving customer demand in the new marketplace, such as culture, climate and demographics (including average age and income)? Also, think about how you could benefit from the differences between marketplaces. For example, do you have seasonal inventory and don't know what to do with it now that the season is over in one marketplace? You can extend the sales season by offering your product abroad, where you might find a new audience for it.
Tip: Create large, multi-product listings rather than specialised listings for one or two products. Why? With a broader selection of products, your listings will have more general exposure to customer searches. A broad range of listings can help you quickly sound out which products seem most promising in a given marketplace.
You can still keep a broad range of listings, even if you're starting slowly and not ready to tie up a significant part of your inventory in another Amazon marketplace. If sales spike, you can adjust the price or remove your listings so you don't run out of stock, just as you would do on your home Amazon marketplace. If you prefer even less commitment, you can start by handling the orders yourself instead of sending the inventory to the other country. Remember that selling on another marketplace doesn't mean losing control of your listings.
When deciding which products to sell on an Amazon marketplace, you naturally have another important source of information: observation of the marketplace itself. You should already be used to observing the marketplace, because you're probably already doing it for your home Amazon marketplace. For this type of research, knowing the local language is extremely useful. If you're researching a marketplace in a language that you don't know, you might want to try using one of the free translation tools available online, but be careful not to put too much trust in them.
Browse the Bestseller, New Arrivals and Featured Listings sections for your product groups on the target marketplace. Read customer reviews to understand your competitors' strengths and weaknesses.
During this phase of product research, you might also find it useful to expand your search to e-commerce marketplaces outside of Amazon. Use a search engine to identify the most prominent e-commerce sites in a given country. Industry publications and online seller communities in each country can also be valuable sources of information when preparing your product listings for local contexts.
Tip: Bear in mind that potential customers on a given marketplace may not necessarily reside in the target country. Each marketplace has customers who reside in a neighbouring country or who prefer to shop in a particular language, and also those who are looking for products that are only available on a particular marketplace or who choose to buy products outside their own country. For example, an Amazon.com buyer might be based in Mexico.
Price: Setting and adjusting your prices
Below are the potential new costs to consider when selling outside your home marketplace. These additional costs may affect your profitability calculation.
- Shipping costs when shipping directly to international customers.
- Shipping costs for international returns, if you manage orders yourself.
- Shipping costs for sending your inventory to overseas fulfilment centres when using FBA.
- Customer support costs, if you offer this service yourself in the local language or if you have engaged a third-party language service provider for customers.
- Conversion costs associated with receiving payments in your home currency.
- Charges for translating listing ASINs into another language.
- Taxes and duties.
As you can see, many costs will vary depending on whether you decide to handle the products yourself or use FBA.
Positioning: Optimising distribution channels
In addition to expanding your business internationally on Amazon, you might also want to consider expanding outside of Amazon. Below are some other services offered by Amazon that may be useful to you in developing your international strategy.
Multi-Channel Fulfilment: If you already use FBA to fulfil orders from Amazon customers, you can also fulfil online sales from other channels using the same inventory base. Use Multi-Channel Fulfilment, a function within FBA, to handle orders from sales channels other than Amazon, such as your own website, other third-party platforms and even catalogue or in-store sales.
Product Ads: Amazon's Product Ads advertising service is designed to help Amazon customers easily access products available on external websites. As an advertiser, all you need to do is upload your catalogue and set your cost-per-click bids and budget. Amazon will show your ads to Amazon.com customers when they are looking to buy your product or related products. Customers interested in buying your product can click to visit your website and purchase the product from you directly.
Multi-Channel Fulfilment: If you already use FBA to fulfil orders from Amazon customers, you can also fulfil online sales from other channels using the same inventory base. Use Multi-Channel Fulfilment, a function within FBA, to handle orders from sales channels other than Amazon, such as your own website, other third-party platforms and even catalogue or in-store sales.
Product Ads: Amazon's Product Ads advertising service is designed to help Amazon customers easily access products available on external websites. As an advertiser, all you need to do is upload your catalogue and set your cost-per-click bids and budget. Amazon will show your ads to Amazon.com customers when they are looking to buy your product or related products. Customers interested in buying your product can click to visit your website and purchase the product from you directly.
Promotion: Increase the appeal of your listings
As is already the case on your home Amazon marketplace, you have all of Amazon's tools at your disposal to advertise and promote your products. The promotional tools available vary by Amazon marketplace and can include free delivery, money off, buy one get one and external benefits.
Another way to increase your listings' exposure is to use Amazon Sponsored Products, a pay-per-click advertising service that allows you to promote the products that you sell through keyword-targeted ads.
Another way to increase your listings' exposure is to use Amazon Sponsored Products, a pay-per-click advertising service that allows you to promote the products that you sell through keyword-targeted ads.
2
Register and list your products
Take advantage of the tools offered by Amazon to globally manage your seller accounts and listings across all marketplaces. Translate your listings, if necessary. Your products are now available for sale.
Create international listings
The Build International Listings tool allows you to sell globally by adding listings and synchronising prices across multiple marketplaces. The Build International Listings tool allows you to quickly add additional listings in other marketplaces. Then, based on the rules you set, the Build International Listings tool manages listing prices across all marketplaces for you, through automatic updates.
Setting up your Amazon account
Overview
You'll need to set up your Amazon Seller Account on the online marketplace where you want to sell. Even if you already sell on an Amazon marketplace, you'll need to create a new seller account on a new marketplace. For example, if you already sell in the United Kingdom or the United States and want to sell in Japan, you must create a new Amazon Seller Account on Amazon.co.jp.
The only exception is if you already sell on a North American marketplace, i.e. Amazon.com, and want to sell on another Amazon marketplace in North America, i.e. Amazon.ca. In this case, you can use your current seller account, as Amazon offers a unified account for all North American marketplaces.
In some countries, Amazon has online registration procedures in the local language; for instance, Spanish on Amazon.com.mx. If you don't speak these languages and are interested in selling on one of these marketplaces, sign up to sell on Amazon.com in English and then create your Mexican marketplace listings with your unified account.
If you already sell on Amazon, you can expand internationally. If you're new to Amazon, choose where you want to start.
The only exception is if you already sell on a North American marketplace, i.e. Amazon.com, and want to sell on another Amazon marketplace in North America, i.e. Amazon.ca. In this case, you can use your current seller account, as Amazon offers a unified account for all North American marketplaces.
In some countries, Amazon has online registration procedures in the local language; for instance, Spanish on Amazon.com.mx. If you don't speak these languages and are interested in selling on one of these marketplaces, sign up to sell on Amazon.com in English and then create your Mexican marketplace listings with your unified account.
If you already sell on Amazon, you can expand internationally. If you're new to Amazon, choose where you want to start.
Do you already sell on Amazon in Europe?
Are you new to Amazon?
Registration requirements for North America
When you sign up to sell in the United States on Amazon.com, you must provide your tax information, a valid credit card number and a telephone number. For the IRS, you'll have to go through a step-by-step online interview to determine whether you need to file Form W-9 (for US resident taxpayers) or Form W-8BEN (for non-US resident taxpayers). When you sign up to sell in Canada or Mexico, on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.mx, you must provide your tax information, a valid credit card number and a telephone number.
Unified account for North America: In North America, we've made it easy for you to manage your business across marketplaces in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The North America unified account allows you to create and manage your product listings in the United States, Canada and Mexico. You can control what you sell and where through a single seller account interface.
When you sign up to sell on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.mx, your seller account is automatically enabled to sell in all marketplaces. You can switch between marketplaces using the marketplace switcher in Seller Central. This allows you to list products and fulfil orders in each marketplace.
If you are a Pro seller, you'll only pay the subscription costs related to the marketplace where you first registered. For example, if you signed up to sell on Amazon.com, you'll pay the subscription fees for that marketplace. If you choose to sell on Amazon.ca, you won't have to pay additional subscription fees. However, for all sales per item you'll have to pay the fixed closing fees of the marketplace where the item was sold.
To sell in the United States, Canada and Mexico, you'll need to create your listings on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.mx. Please note that when you publish your listings on the first marketplace where you register (e.g. Amazon.com) and start selling, your listings do not automatically appear on the other marketplaces (e.g. Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.mx). If you want to sell on all three marketplaces, you must create listings on each of them.
Finally, when setting up a unified account for North America, you must provide details of a bank account in a country supported by Amazon. Amazon currently supports US, Canadian and Mexican bank accounts, as well as those in European countries.
Unified account for North America: In North America, we've made it easy for you to manage your business across marketplaces in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The North America unified account allows you to create and manage your product listings in the United States, Canada and Mexico. You can control what you sell and where through a single seller account interface.
When you sign up to sell on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.mx, your seller account is automatically enabled to sell in all marketplaces. You can switch between marketplaces using the marketplace switcher in Seller Central. This allows you to list products and fulfil orders in each marketplace.
If you are a Pro seller, you'll only pay the subscription costs related to the marketplace where you first registered. For example, if you signed up to sell on Amazon.com, you'll pay the subscription fees for that marketplace. If you choose to sell on Amazon.ca, you won't have to pay additional subscription fees. However, for all sales per item you'll have to pay the fixed closing fees of the marketplace where the item was sold.
To sell in the United States, Canada and Mexico, you'll need to create your listings on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.mx. Please note that when you publish your listings on the first marketplace where you register (e.g. Amazon.com) and start selling, your listings do not automatically appear on the other marketplaces (e.g. Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.mx). If you want to sell on all three marketplaces, you must create listings on each of them.
Finally, when setting up a unified account for North America, you must provide details of a bank account in a country supported by Amazon. Amazon currently supports US, Canadian and Mexican bank accounts, as well as those in European countries.
Registration requirements for Japan
Amazon.co.jp has an online seller registration process in both English and Japanese. Once you've set up your account, you can choose to manage your account in Seller Central in either Japanese or English. Guidelines for expanding into Japan.
Payments
Using a bank account for the marketplace
If you prefer to have a higher level of control over your financial accounts, you can open a bank account in the country where you wish to sell. This is generally a more complex procedure, as you may need to create a business entity in that country. Therefore, speak to your legal, tax and banking advisors.
Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers
If you prefer not to open an account in the country of another Amazon marketplace, you have the option of using Amazon's Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS). With ACCS, payments can be credited directly to your local bank account, in your local currency, as long as you have a bank account in a country supported by Amazon. Regardless of the country in which you live, you can receive payments to only one bank account in a country and currency supported by ACCS.
How ACCS works
When you enter your bank account information, you must accept the terms and conditions of use of ACCS in order to receive payments to that bank account. Each deposit will be transferred automatically to your local bank, in your local currency. If you change banks, you must accept the ACCS terms and conditions of use again when you enter your new bank account information.
The following table lists the currencies supported by ACCS for each marketplace account.
How ACCS works
When you enter your bank account information, you must accept the terms and conditions of use of ACCS in order to receive payments to that bank account. Each deposit will be transferred automatically to your local bank, in your local currency. If you change banks, you must accept the ACCS terms and conditions of use again when you enter your new bank account information.
The following table lists the currencies supported by ACCS for each marketplace account.
Category
.com
.ca
.co.jp
.com.mx
EUR (euro)
✓
✓
✓
✓
GBP (British pound)
✓
✓
✓
✓
USD (US dollar)
Default
✓
✓
✓
AUD (Australian dollar)
✓
✓
✓
✓
NZD (New Zealand dollar)
✓
✓
✓
✓
INR (Indian rupee)
✓
✓
✓
✓
HKD (Hong Kong dollar)
✓
✓
✓
✓
CAD (Canadian dollar)
✓
Default
✓
✓
BGN (Bulgarian lev)
✓
✓
✓
✓
CZK (Czech koruna)
✓
✓
✓
✓
HRK (Croatian kuna)
✓
✓
✓
✓
DKK (Danish krone)
✓
✓
✓
✓
HUF (Hungarian forint)
✓
✓
✓
✓
NOK (Norwegian krone)
✓
✓
✓
✓
PLN (Polish zloty)
✓
✓
✓
✓
RON (Romanian leu)
✓
✓
✓
✓
CHF (Swiss franc)
✓
✓
✓
✓
SGD (Singapore dollar)
✓
✓
✓
✓
PHP (Philippine peso)
✓
✓
✓
✓
Note: If your bank is not located in one of the countries supported by the Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS), payments cannot be credited to your bank account. You'll need to open a bank account in one of the countries supported by Amazon, so in one of the countries where Amazon has a marketplace or one of the countries supported by ACCS.
Visit the Seller Central help page to read frequently asked questions about the Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS)
Visit the Seller Central help page to read frequently asked questions about the Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS)
Creating listings
Overview
After creating a seller account for a new target marketplace, the next step is to create product listings on the new marketplace. Product listing requirements may vary by marketplace – read the guidelines on the help pages for each marketplace. The elements of an Amazon marketplace listing are as follows.
- Product ID: A global identification number, such as a UPC, EAN or ISBN.
- Product title: A brief description of the product.
- Bullet-point list and product description: the bullet-point list briefly describes the product's main features to attract the buyer's interest. The product description provides detailed information about the product. Use a third-party currency conversion service.
- Product images: Clear photographs of the product, showing as much detail as possible. Images must be at least 500 x 500 pixels, although a resolution of 1,000 x 1,000 pixels is recommended for detailed viewing. Some product groups may have different image size requirements, so refer to the instructions in Seller Central.
- Search terms: keywords that could be entered in the search field by someone who is looking for your product. You can specify various search terms.
Note: The quality of your listing will affect how often the item appears in searches and therefore the likelihood of the product being purchased. That's why it's important to devote time and energy to creating well-crafted listings so as to improve your sales potential.
Product listing
If you have a small inventory (less than 100 products), you might find it easier to use the Add a product listing tool and list one product at a time. Alternatively, sellers with a Professional account and larger inventories can create an inventory file template and upload their entire inventory in one go with the bulk listing tools.
Listings must be in the language of the Amazon marketplace in which you intend to sell. For example, to sell on Amazon.de or Amazon.jp, your listings must be in German or Japanese, respectively. If you don't speak the language of the Amazon marketplace in which you want to sell, there are many online resources that help sellers translate their listings professionally. Here are some links that other sellers have found helpful.
Listings must be in the language of the Amazon marketplace in which you intend to sell. For example, to sell on Amazon.de or Amazon.jp, your listings must be in German or Japanese, respectively. If you don't speak the language of the Amazon marketplace in which you want to sell, there are many online resources that help sellers translate their listings professionally. Here are some links that other sellers have found helpful.
Build International Listings
The Build International Listings tool allows you to manage your listings quickly and easily, as well as creating and updating your listings in different Amazon marketplaces at the same time through your unified account. Once you have created and published listings on your "home" marketplace, you can select them and identify a target marketplace where you currently have no listings. The Build International Listings tool performs the following automatic tasks.
The Build International Listings tool allows you to manage your listings quickly and easily, as well as creating and updating your listings in different Amazon marketplaces at the same time through your unified account. Once you have created and published listings on your "home" marketplace, you can select them and identify a target marketplace where you currently have no listings. The Build International Listings tool performs the following automatic tasks.
- Create listings on multiple target marketplaces based on the products that you are selling on your home marketplace.
- Each time that you add or delete a listing, it's automatically updated on the target marketplace.
- Adjusts prices in the target marketplaces in line with price changes on the home marketplace, following the automated pricing rules that have been set.
- Adjusts prices on the target marketplaces to reflect fluctuations in the exchange rate of the home marketplace currency.
3
Ship and fulfil
FBA services help you send your products to customers around the world. Learn about what shipping and fulfilling orders in various countries involves, including costs, times and requirements. Learn about international FBA solutions, or do it yourself.
Fulfilment by seller
International shipping of products directly to customers
If your inventory is located in a country other than the marketplace where your buyers place their orders, you must arrange for international shipment of the product to the customer. An overview of the procedure is provided below.
- The seller orders a carrier who can ship internationally.
- The seller ships the product and is the exporter of record.
Important: To ensure a good customer experience and manage buyer reviews and seller performance ratings, it's vital to avoid subjecting customers to delays caused by customs or unexpected expenses associated with duties and taxes levied on their products. Sellers must deal with these issues when shipping the product. - The carrier acts as an intermediary by default, based on the terms stated on the packing slip. The carrier will collect duties from the buyer upon delivery of the goods.
It's also important to manage customer expectations. You must ensure that your customers are provided with accurate information regarding the country from which you ship the product. In particular, you must accurately indicate the country of origin of the shipment on your seller profile and manage customer expectations, indicating the actual delivery times from your country. You must respect the commitments that you make in relation to delivery for all orders that you receive.
International shipments
International shipping costs
For international shipping, charges vary based on several factors, including:
For international shipping, charges vary based on several factors, including:
- Package size and weight
- Delivery times
- Origin (where the shipment starts from) and destination (where the shipment is going to). The costs for international destinations can be significantly higher.
- Transperfect Translations
In addition to the above costs, you need to know which taxes and customs duties apply. Amazon is not responsible for any taxes or customs duties that may be associated with FBA inventory. All shipments arriving at an Amazon Fulfilment Centre on which customs duties are payable will be returned to the sender.
International delivery times
Fulfilling an international order is more time-consuming than a national shipment. Delivery times, which are stated in the listing details, could make your product less competitive than domestic competitors.
International delivery times
Fulfilling an international order is more time-consuming than a national shipment. Delivery times, which are stated in the listing details, could make your product less competitive than domestic competitors.
Other resources
There are also many online resources that can help sellers to determine rates and make shipping easier. Here are some links, broken down by region, that other sellers have found helpful. Visit these websites first, so that you can calculate the approximate shipping costs for fulfilling orders from the Amazon marketplaces where you wish to publish your listing.
Fulfilment by Amazon
Overview
Seller is based...
FBA fulfilment centre
Import required?
Outside the United States
USA
Yes, the products must be imported into the United States
Outside Canada
Canada
Yes, the products must be imported into Canada.
Outside Europe
European marketplace countries: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy or Spain
Yes, the products must be imported into the country where the FBA fulfilment centre is located.
In Europe
EU marketplace countries: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy or Spain
No, the goods do not need to be imported into the EU. If a seller uses FBA, they can use Amazon's international fulfilment programmes.
Outside Japan
Japan
Yes, the products must be imported into Japan.
Outside Mexico
Mexico
Yes, the products must be imported into Mexico.
An alternative way to fulfil your international orders is to use FBA for the Amazon marketplace country where you want to list your products. In order to use FBA, you must import your products into another country and store them in an Amazon Fulfilment Centre, which allows you to sell them to customers from that marketplace. The only exception to this process is if you are already selling on one of Amazon's European marketplaces and use FBA to fulfil your sales from that marketplace. In this case, you can fulfil your orders from other EU marketplaces using your current FBA account, through the Pan-European FBA programme, the European Fulfilment Network or International Inventory.
International shipping of products directly to customers
If your inventory is located in a different country from the fulfilment centre, you must export the products from the country of origin and import them into the destination country. You must act as an exporter of record in your home country and as an importer of record in the destination country, and you'll be required to comply with all relevant laws and regulations in the countries of origin and destination. You may be subject to import taxes, customs duties or any other fees imposed by the destination country. Amazon is not responsible for any taxes or customs duties that may be associated with FBA inventory. All shipments arriving at an Amazon Fulfilment Centre on which customs duties are payable will be returned to the sender. An overview of the procedure is provided below.
- Create listings in Seller Central.
- Draft a sales invoice declaring that you are the importer of record.
- Choose a customs broker (this service may be offered by your carrier).
- Ship the products from the factory or warehouse to the port.
- Clear the products through customs for export.
- Load products onto a carrier for transport to the destination port.
- Ship the products to the destination port and unload them.
- Clear the products through customs for import.
- Load products onto a carrier for transportation to the fulfilment centre.
For more details on the rules and regulations for shipping inbound inventory to an Amazon Fulfilment Centre, including requirements when shipping less than truckload (LTL), full truckload (FTL) or full container load (FCL), please refer to the following Amazon Help section.
Inventory import and export
Overview
When you decide to expand your business to an Amazon marketplace outside your country and leave the fulfilment to FBA or a third-party logistics provider, you need to know which parts of the import/export process are your responsibility. While you may prefer to handle some or all of the import/export stages yourself, you can make your life easier by hiring a logistics provider as a customs broker or freight forwarder to do the paperwork for you. These providers will find the means and time to ensure that your inventory is transferred from one location to another quickly and safely.
Tip: If you use FBA for a marketplace outside your home country and want to use a logistics provider, it's best to contact one as soon as you sign up for Fulfilment by Amazon. The process for completing the necessary paperwork can take some time, and you don't want the process to delay getting your products into customers' hands.
If you make use of the services of a customs broker or freight forwarder to transfer your inventory from one country to another, you must appoint them directly. In addition, you must make arrangements with them directly to designate the importer or exporter of record. Amazon cannot assume that role, nor can it make arrangements for you.
Before contacting a customs broker or freight forwarder to help you transfer inventory from one country to a fulfilment centre in another country, you must decide to whom you will assign certain responsibilities.
Tip: If you use FBA for a marketplace outside your home country and want to use a logistics provider, it's best to contact one as soon as you sign up for Fulfilment by Amazon. The process for completing the necessary paperwork can take some time, and you don't want the process to delay getting your products into customers' hands.
If you make use of the services of a customs broker or freight forwarder to transfer your inventory from one country to another, you must appoint them directly. In addition, you must make arrangements with them directly to designate the importer or exporter of record. Amazon cannot assume that role, nor can it make arrangements for you.
Before contacting a customs broker or freight forwarder to help you transfer inventory from one country to a fulfilment centre in another country, you must decide to whom you will assign certain responsibilities.
- Exporter of record: Usually, the exporter of record is the sender. Amazon does not act as an exporter of record. You could make arrangements with the customs broker or freight forwarder and appoint them to act as the exporter of record for you.
- Importer of record: The importer of record is responsible for ensuring that the shipment is imported successfully into the destination country. Responsibilities include filing legally required documents and paying import duties and taxes. It is important to note that Amazon and its fulfilment centres will not act as an importer of record for FBA inventory shipments. Any FBA inventory shipments with a declaration that Amazon is the importer of record will be rejected and returned to the sender at the sender's expense, without exception.
Non-resident importers
In some countries, a non-resident (foreign) importer of record may manage the entry of goods. To become a non-resident importer of record, ask your customs broker or carrier for more details.
Important note: It is your responsibility to comply with all import and export laws and to ensure that the imported goods comply with applicable laws and regulations. Importing prohibited items or restricted items without the necessary authorisations and permits is prohibited. For example, importing certain agricultural products, foodstuffs, alcohol, plants and seeds, fish and wildlife products and medicines may be prohibited or restricted in the United States.
In some countries, a non-resident (foreign) importer of record may manage the entry of goods. To become a non-resident importer of record, ask your customs broker or carrier for more details.
Important note: It is your responsibility to comply with all import and export laws and to ensure that the imported goods comply with applicable laws and regulations. Importing prohibited items or restricted items without the necessary authorisations and permits is prohibited. For example, importing certain agricultural products, foodstuffs, alcohol, plants and seeds, fish and wildlife products and medicines may be prohibited or restricted in the United States.
Arrange shipment with a broker or freight forwarder
Bear in mind that the carrier that ships your products to the United States will have their own procedures to follow, but they may also ask you to take the following steps.
- Power of attorney: When you sign a power of attorney, the customs broker or freight forwarder that you have appointed is authorised to act as your inventory clearance agent.
- Importer of record registration: Register as an importer of record with the customs authorities of the country to which you are importing inventory. Amazon and its fulfilment centres will not act as an importer of record for any FBA inventory shipment. This applies to shipments of any size or value, regardless of origin and product. Any FBA inventory shipments with a declaration that Amazon is the importer of record will be rejected and returned to the sender at the sender's expense, without exception.
- Terms and conditions: The customs broker should specify what terms and conditions apply, clarifying who is responsible for the goods at each stage of the shipping process.
- Duties, taxes and shipping costs: Amazon is not responsible and will not collect duties, taxes or shipping costs associated with FBA inventory. All shipments are required to use Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping terms. Any shipment arriving at an Amazon Fulfilment Centre requiring the payment of charges (including duties, taxes or shipping costs) will be rejected unconditionally.
To determine the estimated shipping cost before you know the exact address of a particular US fulfilment centre, we recommend that you give the carrier the examples below (one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast) to get an quote.
Example 1
Example 2
Breinigsville, PA 18031
Phoenix, AZ 85043
Make sure that your contact information is on the shipping documents, should there be any questions about shipping.
If you are struggling to find a carrier that meets your needs, we recommend that you use our Service Provider Network, which includes third-party providers with experience in managing Amazon shipments around the world.
If you are struggling to find a carrier that meets your needs, we recommend that you use our Service Provider Network, which includes third-party providers with experience in managing Amazon shipments around the world.
Final recipient
Although Amazon cannot be the importer of record, it can be indicated as the final recipient on the shipping documents, but only by entering "c/o" in front of the name of the Amazon entity.
If you declare Amazon to be the final recipient, your customs broker must contact Amazon at sellerimports@amazon.com before shipping any inventory, in order to obtain the EIN or tax code necessary for clearing customs.
If you declare Amazon to be the final recipient, your customs broker must contact Amazon at sellerimports@amazon.com before shipping any inventory, in order to obtain the EIN or tax code necessary for clearing customs.
Sales invoice
When the goods are ready to be shipped by the manufacturer or distributor, the sender prepares a sales invoice. The sales invoice must be accurate to avoid any customs delays. The sales invoice must include the following information:
- The date of the invoice.
- Buyer and seller names, including addresses (Amazon must not be used as a buyer or seller on the sales invoice).
- The name and full address of the seller or manufacturer.
- The sender's contact name, company name, address and VAT number.
- Shipping address. Here you can enter "c/o" followed by the name and address of the Amazon Fulfilment Centre to which you are shipping the goods.
- Importer of record. This field must contain the name of the sender, if it is the same as the owner of the goods. Do not leave this information blank; this will result in the shipment being refused and returned to the sender.
- Shipping methods.
- Detailed description of the goods invoiced. Include the following information.
- Standardised customs codes, if known.
- Number of units
- Unit values
- Total value of each product. For samples or products with no commercial value, a nominal value or fair market value is required for customs purposes.
- Currency of the transaction.
- Terms of Sale. Note: the appropriate terms must be DDP (Delivered Duty Paid). The shipper, or the FBA seller, must pay all applicable duties and taxes and handle customs clearance before the goods are delivered to the Amazon Fulfilment Centre. You are not authorised to import goods on Amazon's behalf, nor can you list Amazon as a declarant or importer of record on inbound customs documents.
- Tracking number. For shipments to Amazon Fulfilment Centres, include the FBA tracking number that you receive when you create the shipment in your Amazon Seller Account. The tracking number can also be the air waybill number, if the package is sent via a carrier like FedEx or UPS.
- All certifications.
- Name of the carrier carrying the goods.
- Terms of payment for shipments.
- Reason for export.
Shipping best practices
Amazon Fulfilment Centres have specific requirements for incoming shipments, such as the size of the pallets and the type of truck that can deliver to the fulfilment centre. The guidelines on how to ship inventory to Amazon provide the information that you need to prepare your shipment to an Amazon Fulfilment Centre. By paying attention to these requirements and best practices, you can avoid delays when moving your inventory to the fulfilment centre and delivering products to customers.
Please note: There are differences between the pallets used in the United States, the United Kingdom and European marketplaces.
Arrange for your shipments to be palletised before their arrival at the fulfilment centre whenever possible. Amazon Fulfilment Centres will accept container shipments, but only if you request this in advance when arranging the shipment to the fulfilment centre. Additional charges may apply if shipping by container involves extensive handling.
Make sure that your shipments comply with Amazon's policies for inbound shipments. If Amazon refuses to accept your shipment, you must remove it from the Fulfilment Centre. For shipments that are less than half a pallet of loose boxes, with each weighing less than 15 kg, it could be better to entrust the shipment of the products to a carrier. The choice of carrier may depend on the destination country, as carrier services vary. If you decide to ship your inventory to a fulfilment centre using a carrier, you must ensure that the carrier can clear the goods through customs using the sales invoice that you provide. If the carrier is unable to clear the goods through customs using the sales invoice, you may need to use a customs broker.
Logistics companies/customs brokers: There are also many online resources to help sellers determine rates and simplify shipping operations. Below are the links to a number of companies that some sellers have found helpful. Visit these websites first, so that you can calculate the approximate shipping costs for fulfilling orders from the Amazon marketplaces where you wish to publish your listing.
First Choice Shipping: www.firstchoiceship.com
Samuel Shapiro: www.shapiro.com
FedEx: www.fedex.com
Regional Express: www.regionalexpress.co.uk
We recommend that you contact your freight forwarder or carrier in advance, before shipping any inventory, to get an idea of the rates and requirements.
Please note: There are differences between the pallets used in the United States, the United Kingdom and European marketplaces.
Arrange for your shipments to be palletised before their arrival at the fulfilment centre whenever possible. Amazon Fulfilment Centres will accept container shipments, but only if you request this in advance when arranging the shipment to the fulfilment centre. Additional charges may apply if shipping by container involves extensive handling.
Make sure that your shipments comply with Amazon's policies for inbound shipments. If Amazon refuses to accept your shipment, you must remove it from the Fulfilment Centre. For shipments that are less than half a pallet of loose boxes, with each weighing less than 15 kg, it could be better to entrust the shipment of the products to a carrier. The choice of carrier may depend on the destination country, as carrier services vary. If you decide to ship your inventory to a fulfilment centre using a carrier, you must ensure that the carrier can clear the goods through customs using the sales invoice that you provide. If the carrier is unable to clear the goods through customs using the sales invoice, you may need to use a customs broker.
Logistics companies/customs brokers: There are also many online resources to help sellers determine rates and simplify shipping operations. Below are the links to a number of companies that some sellers have found helpful. Visit these websites first, so that you can calculate the approximate shipping costs for fulfilling orders from the Amazon marketplaces where you wish to publish your listing.
First Choice Shipping: www.firstchoiceship.com
Samuel Shapiro: www.shapiro.com
FedEx: www.fedex.com
Regional Express: www.regionalexpress.co.uk
We recommend that you contact your freight forwarder or carrier in advance, before shipping any inventory, to get an idea of the rates and requirements.
Return of imports
Amazon is not able to return inventory stored in Amazon Fulfilment Centres to an address outside the original import country. In addition, FBA does not support pickup options for sellers at Amazon Fulfilment Centres. If you would like to request the return of your FBA inventory, you can find more information on the process here.
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Service Provider Network: Everything from taxes and compliance to international shipping and advertising optimisation.
Customer support
Overview
When you decide to expand your business to an Amazon marketplace outside your country and leave the fulfilment to FBA or a third-party logistics provider, you need to know which parts of the import/export process are your responsibility. While you may prefer to handle some or all of the import/export stages yourself, you can make your life easier by hiring a logistics provider as a customs broker or freight forwarder to do the paperwork for you. These providers will find the means and time to ensure that your inventory is transferred from one location to another quickly and safely.
Create a seller account on an Amazon marketplace by clicking on one or more of the links below.
Create a seller account on an Amazon marketplace by clicking on one or more of the links below.
Customer support for Fulfilment by seller
Local language customer support: When you choose to fulfil customer orders yourself, you don't just need to handle picking, packing and shipping to customers: Amazon expects you to also handle customer support. All of this can be complicated if you're selling on an Amazon marketplace where you don't know the language.
It may be tempting to use machine translation tools to respond to requests for information that you receive via email from your international customers. However, you run the risk of poor quality machine translations, resulting in an unsatisfactory experience for your customers. This in turn leads to poorer overall assessments of your seller performance. A better option, if you do not have in-house customer support capabilities in the local language, is to use third-party service providers to handle your customer support.
Timely responses: Customers expect quick and helpful answers when they have questions or concerns about your products. To protect your seller reputation, you might want to employ customer support experts who know your products, can tell buyers where their product is located and when it will be delivered, and who are able to respond promptly (within 24 hours) to customer emails in the local language. This can be challenging when you're selling on marketplaces that are in different time zones from your place of business, as the time differences will shorten the time frame in which you can respond to customers during your regular business hours.
There are many online resources that help sellers with customer support. Here are some links that other sellers have found useful, broken down by region:
North America: Seller Engine
Europe: InterCultural Elements
Japan: Jumbo
It may be tempting to use machine translation tools to respond to requests for information that you receive via email from your international customers. However, you run the risk of poor quality machine translations, resulting in an unsatisfactory experience for your customers. This in turn leads to poorer overall assessments of your seller performance. A better option, if you do not have in-house customer support capabilities in the local language, is to use third-party service providers to handle your customer support.
Timely responses: Customers expect quick and helpful answers when they have questions or concerns about your products. To protect your seller reputation, you might want to employ customer support experts who know your products, can tell buyers where their product is located and when it will be delivered, and who are able to respond promptly (within 24 hours) to customer emails in the local language. This can be challenging when you're selling on marketplaces that are in different time zones from your place of business, as the time differences will shorten the time frame in which you can respond to customers during your regular business hours.
There are many online resources that help sellers with customer support. Here are some links that other sellers have found useful, broken down by region:
North America: Seller Engine
Europe: InterCultural Elements
Japan: Jumbo
Customer support for Fulfilment by Amazon
When you use FBA, Amazon provides round-the-clock customer support in the language of the local marketplace. For many sellers, this FBA feature is crucial to selling on international marketplaces successfully. With the local language support included with FBA, you'll be able to offer your customers Amazon's excellent customer support and all you need to worry about is managing and expanding your business.
Customer returns
Overview
When you use FBA, Amazon provides round-the-clock customer support in the language of the local marketplace. Many sellers find this FBA feature crucial to selling on international marketplaces successfully. With the local language support included with FBA, you'll be able to offer your customers Amazon's excellent customer support and all you need to worry about is managing and expanding your business.
Customer returns for Fulfilment by seller
When listing items on an international marketplace and fulfilling the orders yourself, you are required to provide customers with a local address for returns in the same country as the Amazon marketplace or, alternatively, you must offer them free shipping for returns. This is a requirement to be able to sell on Amazon marketplaces.
When considering how your customers will return items that they purchase from you, please keep the following options in mind:
When considering how your customers will return items that they purchase from you, please keep the following options in mind:
- Using FBA: When you choose FBA, Amazon will handle local returns on your behalf for FBA orders in that marketplace, so you don't have to worry about providing a local return address.
- Implementing restocking fees and offering partial refunds: In certain situations, it might be appropriate to charge the buyer a restocking fee or to offer a partial refund for the returned product. Restocking fees or partial refunds must comply with Amazon's return policies.
- Engaging a third-party international returns provider: we've created a list of returns providers that can accept returns in your customers' countries. Depending on the volume of sales and the unit price, international returns providers can offer solutions that reduce the costs incurred when customers in other countries return products. For example, some providers consolidate returns and ship them to you or send them to another buyer.
Customer returns for Fulfilment by Amazon
When you choose FBA, Amazon will handle any local returns in that marketplace on your behalf, so you don't have to worry about providing a local return address or changing your pricing to incorporate international returns shipping.
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