Global Selling

How to sell internationally with Amazon Global Selling

Amazon provides sellers with a variety of tools and services that simplify all aspects of selling internationally.

Already selling on Amazon?

Expand internationally

 

New to Amazon?

Start Selling

 

4 steps to succeed at selling globally

1

Decide where and what to sell

Learn about the global sales opportunities you can get with Amazon. Learn where you can sell through Amazon, what is required—including taxes and regulations—and strategic considerations for entering a new marketplace.

How we can help

Learn more about why and how to expand to Amazon stores around the world:

Where you can sell with Amazon

Getting Started
Amazon operates online stores in 16 locations around the world. This lets you grow your business around the world, regardless of your location (see below for a list of online stores by region). With Amazon, you can quickly grow your business in other countries, introducing your brand and products to millions of customers in Amazon's marketplaces.
These marketplaces represent many of the world’s largest ecommerce opportunities. When you register to sell in one of these Amazon marketplaces, you gain immediate access to customers who know and trust the Amazon buying experience. If you sell across multiple Amazon marketplaces, you can take advantage of Amazon's brand power. You don't have to pay upfront costs to increase the visibility of your business in new sales regions.
Language support considerations
When you prepare to enter a new Amazon marketplace, one early consideration you’ll have is whether your business can operate in the local language. Proficiency in the local marketplace language is necessary for providing customer support for a particular marketplace (a requirement for selling in an Amazon marketplace) unless you use Fulfillment by Amazon. Local language proficiency is also helpful for conducting country-specific research and understanding how to best position your products. You might need to modify your products or reposition your marketing, copy, or packaging to better meet the needs of your new customers.

However, many sellers do successfully sell in Amazon marketplaces where they don’t have proficiency in the local language. You can mitigate problems caused by language barriers with the services and tools provided by Amazon.

Seller Central language switching feature
You don't need to learn English, French, German, Italian or Spanish to list in the US or Europe. With the language switching feature in Seller Central, you can manage business on Amazon marketplaces in any region in Japanese. With the familiar interface, you can quickly learn how to use it and promptly start selling internationally.

Amazon Europe Marketplaces Account
Business management for all Amazon online stores in Europe has been streamlined. The Amazon European stores account enables you to create and manage product offers in any and all of our online stores in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. You can manage your product listings, marketplaces, and business from the Business Seller Account screen.

For example, if you register a Business Seller Account on one of the Amazon Europe marketplaces such as Amazon.co.uk, you can use that seller account to sell your products on other Amazon Europe marketplaces such as Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es. No extra steps are required. Reach millions of international customers and let Amazon help you grow your international online business. All orders are managed in a single location, so transactions in Italy and the UK are processed the same way.

Customer support in local language
When selling on an Amazon Marketplace, you must provide customer support in the language of the specific marketplace. For instance, if you are selling on Amazon.com or Amazon.es, you’re required to provide customer support in English or Spanish, respectively. You can choose to do it on your own or have Amazon do it when you join FBA.
Taxes and regulations
When selling on Amazon's various marketplaces, you need to be familiar with local taxes and regulations. We recommend that you consult your tax and regulatory advisors before making decisions about how you will sell in other marketplaces.

Every country has legal and industry requirements concerning sales of products to consumers. In your home marketplace, there may be laws that pertain to intellectual property rights, product safety, environmental, and other applicable requirements. The same is true for all marketplaces. Do your research and understand your responsibilities. Some things to consider are tax and customs, intellectual property rights, parallel importation, export controls, marking and labels, environment, health, and safety, and product compliance.

Crafting a marketplace strategy

Getting Started
Deciding where and what to sell in another country's marketplace can be similar to making these determinations for your home marketplace. But there are a few more things to consider when selling in international marketplaces.

One way to think about selling strategies for international marketplaces is to use a marketing framework called “4P”. Product, Price, Placement, and Promotions. Let's review each through the lens of selling internationally on Amazon.
Products: Choosing what to sell
When you select an Amazon marketplace in which to sell, you’ll need to understand whether your product is appropriate for your target country. First and foremost, make sure you comply with all laws in each country. In addition, product standards differ across countries. For example, mobile devices operating on 110–220 V that use two-prong electrical chargers may not be appropriate for European marketplaces but could be appropriate for Japan. Likewise, the standard size of mattresses varies from country to country, so even if a down comforter sells well in the UK, it may not sell well in the United States.

The first time you are listing internationally on Amazon, you may want to start by thinking about products that sell well in your home marketplace. From your previous experience and from data in sales reports, what sells well? It's also important to ask yourself why you think these particular products do well. Will these same reasons hold true for the marketplace you are entering, or are there other fundamentals driving customer demand in the new marketplace, such as culture, climate, and demographics, including average age and income? Also think about how differences in marketplaces can benefit you. For instance, do you have seasonal inventory that you don’t know what to do with after the season has passed in one marketplace? You can extend its sale period by listing it internationally and making it visible to many customers.

Tip: List a wide range of products instead of narrowing it down to one or two products. If you have a large assortment of products, customers are more likely to see your entire listings when they search. You can also quickly determine which products are likely to sell well in that marketplace.

Even if you are not ready to stock up a large amount of inventory in another Amazon marketplace, you can maintain a large assortment of products and start gradually adding listings. If your sales spike, you can adjust your price or remove listings to mitigate stock-out risk, just like in your home Amazon marketplace. For an even smaller commitment, you can start by fulfilling orders yourself without holding inventory in another country. If you sell in another marketplace, that doesn’t mean you won't be able to manage the listings yourself.

When deciding what to sell in an Amazon marketplace, observe the marketplace itself to get important information. This sort of marketplace research should be very familiar to you from activities you likely conduct when selling in your primary Amazon marketplace. For this research, local language proficiency is extremely helpful. If you are trying to research a marketplace in a language unfamiliar to you, you may be able get some basic language interpretation from free online translator tools, but beware of relying too heavily on such tools.

In your target marketplace, review the Best Sellers, New Arrivals, and Featured Brand selections for your product categories. Read customer reviews to understand the strengths and weaknesses of sellers with similar products.

At this stage of product research, we encourage you to expand your research to e-commerce marketplaces other than Amazon. Use a search engine to find relevant ecommerce sites by country. Trade publications and online seller communities in each country can also provide a rich source of information as you prepare to list products in their locales.

Tip: Customers making purchases in a particular marketplace do not necessarily live in that country. In each marketplace there are customers who live in neighboring countries, prefer to shop in a certain language, are looking for products that are only available in certain marketplaces, or choose to make a purchase internationally. For example, an Amazon.de customer may reside in Austria.
Prices: Setting and adjusting your price
The following are potential new costs to consider when selling outside your primary marketplace. These additional costs may change your profitability calculation:
  • Shipping costs when you are shipping directly to international customers.
  • International return shipping costs, if you are fulfilling orders yourself.
  • Shipping costs to send your inventory to fulfillment centers abroad when you are using Fulfillment by Amazon.
  • Customer support costs if you are providing these services yourself in a local language or hiring a third-party provider to manage customer language support.
  • Conversion costs associated with getting paid in your home currency.
  • Translation costs for listing products in another language.
  • Taxes and duties.
As you can see, many of the variable costs change based on whether you decide to fulfill products yourself or use Fulfillment by Amazon.
Distribution: Optimizing your distribution channels
In addition to growing your international on-Amazon business, you can also consider growing your international business off-Amazon. The following are other services from Amazon that may be relevant for you to develop this international strategy:

Multi-Channel Fulfillment: If you already use Fulfillment by Amazon to fulfill Amazon customer orders, you can manage online sales from other channels using the same inventory pool. Use Multi-Channel Fulfillment—a feature within Fulfillment by Amazon—to fulfill orders that come from sales channels other than Amazon, including your own website, other third-party platforms, and even catalog or in-store sales.

Product Ads: Amazon Product Ads is an advertising service that makes it easy for Amazon customers to see products sold on non-Amazon websites. As an advertiser, you simply upload your catalog and set your cost-per-click bids and budget. Amazon will then display your ads to Amazon.com customers when they shop for your product or related products. Customers who are interested in buying your product can click through to your Web site and purchase the product directly from you.
Promotions: Making your listings more attractive
Amazon offers a variety of tools to advertise and promote your products. This is the same tool as the one provided in your main Amazon marketplace. Depending on the Amazon marketplace, you can use promotional tools such as free shipping, purchase discounts, Buy One Get One (BOGO), and External Benefits.

Another way to increase the visibility of your listings is with Amazon Sponsored Products. This is a cost per click advertising service. You can advertise your active products on Amazon.com with search advertising.

2

Register & list your products

Leverage Amazon tools to manage seller accounts globally and manage your listings across marketplaces. Translate your listings if necessary. Your products are now available for sale.

Build international listings

The Build International Listings tool (BIL) helps you sell globally by adding offers and synchronizing pricing across multiple marketplaces. BIL enables you to add numerous offers to additional marketplaces quickly. Then, based on rules you set, BIL manages pricing offers across marketplaces for you through automated updates.

Setting up your Amazon account

Getting Started
You will need to set up your Amazon seller account for the online marketplace where you want to sell. Even if you already sell in one Amazon marketplace, you will need to create a new seller account in another marketplace. For example, if you are selling in the United States or Japan and want to sell in the UK, you must create a new Amazon seller account on Amazon.co.uk.

However, this doesn’t hold true if you have already listed in a European marketplace such as Amazon.co.uk and now want to list in another European marketplace such as Amazon.de. In this case, you can use the Unified Account available for European marketplaces to sell from your current seller account.

In Europe, you can register online in the local language. You can register for Amazon.de in German, for Amazon.fr in French, for Amazon.it in Italian, and for Amazon.es in Spanish. If you do not speak these languages and are interested in selling in any of these marketplaces, register to sell on Amazon.co.uk in English and then create offers across any of the EU marketplaces with the Unified Account.

If you already have listings on Amazon, you should sell internationally as well. If you're new to Amazon, choose where you'd like to get started:
Already selling on Amazon?
New to Amazon?
North America registration requirements
When you register to sell in the U.S. on Amazon.com, you will need to provide a valid credit card, phone number, and tax information. For taxes, you will be required to go through an online step-by-step interview that will determine whether you will need to complete a W-9 form (as a U.S. taxpayer) or a W-8BEN (as a non-U.S. taxpayer). When you register to sell in Canada on Amazon.ca or in Mexico on Amazon.mx, you will need to provide a valid credit card, phone number, and tax information.

North America Unified Account: Business management has been streamlined for all North American marketplaces: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The North America Unified Account enables you to create and manage product offers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. You can manage your product listings and marketplaces on the Business Seller Account screen.

If you register a seller account on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, or Amazon.mx, you will be able to list your products on the other two marketplaces with that seller account. No extra steps are required. You can switch between marketplaces using the marketplace switcher in Seller Central. This allows you to list products and manage orders in each marketplace.

Professional sellers will only be charged a monthly subscription fee for the marketplace in which they originally registered their seller account. For example, if you registered to sell on Amazon.com, you will pay the subscription fees for that marketplace. If you then decide to sell on Amazon.ca, you will not pay additional subscription fees. However, if an item is sold, you will be charged a per-item fee that applies to each marketplace.

To sell in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, you need to add listings on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.mx, respectively. Please note that creating offers in the first marketplace where you register (e.g., Amazon.com) and begin selling does not automatically populate offers in the other marketplace (e.g., Amazon.ca). If you want to sell your products in all three marketplaces, you must list them in each marketplace.

Finally, when setting up a North America Unified Account, you must specify a bank account in one of the countries supported by Amazon. Currently, Amazon supports U.S., Canadian, and Mexican bank accounts, as well as bank accounts in other countries across the globe.
Europe registration requirements
You will need to provide a valid credit card, phone number, and tax information. You will also need to provide a VAT number. Although you can complete your registration without a VAT number, you will be required to provide one in order to sell in Europe. Click here for information on the handling of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

Europe Unified Account: Amazon has consolidated its European marketplaces into a single marketplace, so you can list and manage your products in one or more of these marketplaces: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.it, Amazon.es. You can manage your product listings, marketplaces, and business in Europe from the Business Seller Account screen.

When you register a seller account in one of the Amazon Europe marketplaces, that seller account will also allow you to sell in all other Amazon Europe marketplaces. No extra steps are required. All orders are managed in a single location, so transactions in Italy and the UK are processed the same way. However, you must adhere to Amazon seller rules that apply in each marketplace country. These are basic rules to ensure Amazon’s customers enjoy the best possible shopping experience. You’ll also need to be aware of the local and European tax and regulatory requirements, and it’s your responsibility to ensure that you comply with applicable requirements. When you sell in one of the Amazon Europe marketplaces, you must pay the applicable closing fee for each product sale. Closing fees vary by country.

To sell across Europe, you must list your products in each Amazon Europe marketplace where you want to sell your products. Please note that creating offers in the first European marketplace does not automatically populate offers in the other European marketplaces. You will need to create offers in each of the marketplaces where you want to sell. Click here for how to sell to Europe.

Finally, when setting up an Amazon Europe seller account, you must specify a bank account in one of the countries supported by Amazon. Currently, Amazon supports U.K. and U.S. bank accounts, as well as bank accounts in all Eurozone countries.
Japan registration requirements
Amazon.co.jp offers a seller account registration process in English and Japanese. Once you have set up your account, you can choose Japanese or English to manage your account in Seller Central. Click here for how to sell to Japan.
India registration requirements
Currently Amazon.in is only open to sellers with a locally owned business in India. If you meet these criteria and are interested in selling on Amazon.in, please contact us here .

Payments

Using a bank account in the marketplace
If you prefer to maintain a high level of control over your financial accounts, you can open a bank account in the country where you want to sell. This is typically a more complex process, as you may need to create a legal business entity in that country, so consult your legal, tax, and banking advisors.
Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers
If you’d prefer not to open an account in the country of another Amazon marketplace, you have the option of using Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS). With ACCS, you can be paid directly in your local bank account in local currency, provided you have a bank account in a country supported by Amazon. Regardless of your country of residence, you can only receive payments in bank accounts in the countries and currencies supported by ACCS.

Flow of ACCS: If you enter a non-US bank account, you must agree to the terms of use for receiving payments using ACCS with the bank account you entered. Every disbursement will automatically be transferred to your local bank in the local currency. If you are switching to another non-US bank, you will need to re-accept the ACCS terms of use when entering your new bank account details.

The following table lists the currencies supported by ACCS for each marketplace account.

Default = home currency
Category
.com
.ca
.co.uk
.de
.fr
.it
.et
.co.jp
.com.mx
EUR Euro
Default
Default
Default
Default
GBP Great British Pound
Default
USD United States 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 Philippines Peso
Note: If your bank is not based in one of the countries supported by Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers, ACCS will not be able to disburse payments to your bank account. You must open a bank account in one of the countries where an Amazon marketplace is located, or in a country supported by ACCS.

Read the “FAQ for Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers” on the Seller Central help page.

Listing creation

Getting Started
Once you’ve created a seller account in a new target marketplace, the next step is to create product listings in your new marketplace. Product listing requirements may be different depending on the marketplace, so be sure to refer to the guidelines in each marketplace’s Help pages. The following are the components of an Amazon marketplace listing:
  • Product Identifier: A global identification number such as a UPC, EAN, or ISBN number.
  • Product Name: A concise description of the product.
  • Bullet points and product description: Bullet points briefly list the top product features and catch the customer’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 that show as much detail as possible. Image size must be at least 500x500 pixels. 1000x1000 pixels are recommended to show the product in detail. Some categories may have different image size requirements, so refer to the guidelines in Seller Central.
  • Search terms: Keywords that someone looking for your product might enter in the Search field. You can provide several search terms.
Note: The quality of your listing will affect how often your item appears on searches and so the likelihood that your product is purchased. That’s why it’s important to invest time and effort in producing high-quality listings to improve your sales potential.
Listing your products
If stock is low (less than 100 items), it's easier to list products one at a time with the Add a Product listing tool. Alternatively, for sellers with Professional accounts and larger inventories, you can create an inventory file and load the inventory all at once with volume listing tools.

Listings need to be in the language of the Amazon marketplace where you intend to sell. For example, to sell on Amazon.de or Amazon.jp, your product listings need to be in German or Japanese, respectively. If you don’t know the language of the Amazon marketplace where you want to sell, there are many online resources that can help sellers professionally translate their listings. Here are a few links other sellers have found useful:
Build International Listings: The Build International Listings tool saves you time managing listings and enables you to create and update listings at the same time across multiple Amazon marketplaces with your Unified Account. Once you’ve launched and created listings in your primary “source” marketplace, you can then select these listings and identify a target marketplace in which you currently have no offers. Build International Listings performs the following automatic functions:
  • It creates listings in multiple target marketplaces based on products you are selling in the source marketplace.
  • Whenever you add a listing or delete a listing, it updates listings in the target marketplaces.
  • It adjusts prices in your target marketplaces based on changes you make to the source marketplace prices, according to pricing rules you set.
  • It adjusts prices in the target marketplaces to reflect exchange rate fluctuations with the source marketplace currency.

3

Ship and Fulfill

Amazon fulfillment services help you get products to customers promptly worldwide. Understand what’s involved in shipping and fulfilling in different countries, including costs, times, and requirements. Learn about Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) international solutions, or handle it yourself.

How we can help

If you ship your products to Amazon Fulfillment Centers around the world, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is available for picking, packing, shipping, and 24/7 customer service in the local language.

With FBA Export, Amazon fulfills export inventory to international customers. There is no additional cost for you in this process. With FBA Pan-EU, sell to customers in Europe at local fulfillment costs by letting Amazon handle your inventory distribution.

Fulfillment by Seller

Sending your products internationally direct to your customers
If your inventory is located in a different country than the marketplace where your customers placed their order, you need to ship the product internationally to your customer. Here is an overview of the process:
  1. The seller chooses a carrier that can ship internationally.
  2. Ship the product. The registered exporter is the seller himself/herself.
    Important: To ensure positive customer experience and maintain good customer reviews and seller performance ratings, ensure that fulfillment to customers is not delayed. Delays may be due to unforeseen costs associated with customs duties or other taxes imposed on the product. It is important that the seller takes care of such matters when shipping the product.
  3. The carrier acts as the broker by default, according to the terms and conditions on the freight bill. The carrier will collect duties from the buyer upon delivery of the goods.
It is also important to manage customer expectations. You should provide customers with accurate information about the country from which you are shipping your product. Specifically, you need to accurately state the 'shipping from' country in your seller profile and manage customer expectations by stating the actual shipping times from your country. You will be responsible to meet the shipping expectations for all orders you receive.
International shipping
International Shipping Charges
International shipping charges depend on the following factors:
  • Package dimensions and weight
  • Delivery time
  • Source (where you are shipping from) and destination (where you are shipping to). (Costs can be considerably higher for international destinations.)
  • Transperfect translation
In addition to the above charges, you should be aware of customs duties and taxes that will need to be paid. Amazon will not be responsible for any customs duties and taxes associated with FBA inventory. Any shipments arriving at an Amazon fulfillment center with customs duty charges due will be returned to sender.

The number of days it takes for international shipments
Shipping products internationally takes longer than domestic shipping. Shipping times are reflected in the offer detail and may make your offer less competitive relative to domestic counterparts.
Other Resources
There are also many online resources that can help sellers determine rates and that will make shipping easier. Here are a few links, organized by region, other sellers have found useful. Visit their websites directly to calculate the approximate shipping charges you can expect when fulfilling orders for the Amazon marketplaces you would like to list in:
Company
Company
United States
Europe

Fulfillment by Amazon

Getting Started
Seller is based
FBA fulfillment center location
Importation required?
Outside the United States
United States
Yes. Products need to be imported into the US.
Outside Canada
CA
Yes. Products need to be imported into Canada.
Outside Europe
European Marketplace countries (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain)
Yes, products need to be imported into the country where the FBA fulfillment center is located.
European Marketplace countries (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain)
No. Goods don't need to be imported intra-EU. If seller uses FBA, seller can use FBA international programs.
No. Goods don't need to be imported intra-EU. If seller uses FBA, seller can use FBA international programs.
Outside Japan
JP
Yes. Products need to be imported into Japan.
Outside Mexico
MX
Yes. Products need to be imported into Mexico.
An alternative way to fulfill your international orders is to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in the country corresponding to the Amazon marketplace where you are listing your products. Using FBA will require importing your products to another country for storage in an Amazon fulfillment center to sell them to customers in that marketplace. The one exception to this case is if you already sell in one of Amazon’s European marketplaces and fulfill with FBA in that marketplace. In that case, you can ship your order item from the other European marketplace with your current FBA account through the Pan-European FBA Program, European Fulfillment Network, or Multi-Country Inventory.
Sending your products internationally direct to your customers
If your inventory is located in a different country than the fulfillment center, you need to export your products from the source country and import them into the destination country. You will act as the exporter of record in the source country and the importer of record in the destination country, and must comply with all laws and regulations of the source and destination countries. You may be subject to import taxes, customs duties, and fees levied by the destination country. Amazon will not be responsible for any customs duties and taxes associated with FBA inventory. Any shipments arriving at an Amazon fulfillment center with customs duty charges due will be returned to sender. Here is an overview of the process:
  1. Create listings in Seller Central.
  2. Prepare a commercial invoice indicating that you are the importer of record.
  3. Choose a customs broker (this service may be offered by your carrier).
  4. Ship the products from the factory or warehouse to the port.
  5. Clear the products through customs for export.
  6. Load products onto a carrier for transport to the destination port.
  7. Ship products to the destination port and offload them.
  8. Clear the products through customs for import.
  9. Load products onto a carrier for transport to fulfillment center.
Read the Amazon help page for more information about the rules and regulations for shipping inventory to Amazon Fulfillment Centers, including requirements for floor loaded LTL/FTL shipments.
FBA exports
FBA Export in the United States is a program offered by Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). You can leverage this program to grow your business internationally. When you opt into FBA Export, your eligible products become available for export. When international customers place orders, Amazon picks, packs, and ships the product straight to the customer. At no additional cost, Amazon handles the complexity of shipping products internationally. Your product is searchable for and visible to Amazon.com customers. At checkout, the customer pays for the order, which includes international shipping, an import fee deposit (Duty), and the product cost. If a customer has any questions regarding the order, the customer can contact Amazon Customer Service. If the customer wants to return a product, the regular Amazon return process is used. Amazon Customer Service will guide the customer through the process of returning the item. No extra fees will be charged to sellers.
Fulfillment options in Europe
Selling in Europe offers an opportunity to leverage Amazon's fulfillment network. Not only is listing simplified with a single Amazon European marketplace account, but cross-border sales are also easier to manage with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). In Europe, FBA offers three international fulfillment programs: the Pan-European FBA Program, the European Fulfillment Network (EFN), and Multi-Country Inventory (MCI).

The Pan-European FBA Program: The Pan-European FBA Program allows you to serve orders from all European marketplaces from a single inventory pool. The European Fulfillment Network does not incur cross-border fulfillment fees charged per item. Amazon will distribute your inventory across the European fulfillment network at no additional cost. You can track your listings through the Pan-European FBA Program with all standard reports and tools of Seller Central.

You can enable the Pan-European FBA Program in your Fulfillment by Amazon settings in Seller Central Europe. Then, if you list the intended FBA product from the same inventory pool on each Amazon Europe Marketplace (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, Amazon.es) and register the ASIN for that product in the Pan-European FBA Program, the program will be applied to that product.

You will select the country in which ASIN products are fulfilled in the Pan-European FBA Program. Amazon may then move this inventory across European fulfillment centers at its discretion at no additional cost to you . This allows you to keep your inventory as close to customers as possible.

European Fulfillment Network (EFN): The European Fulfillment Network (EFN) is a simple way to store and ship inventory across all five Amazon Europe marketplaces. Here's how it works:
  1. You ship your products to fulfillment centers in your home or local marketplace in Europe—for example, in the UK.
  2. You list the products in one or more of the Amazon European marketplaces—for example, on Amazon.de (German language website).
  3. Customers across Europe will now be able to order your products. Order items are shipped from a single inventory pool on Amazon. For example, when a customer in Germany purchases your product on Amazon.de, the product is fulfilled by Amazon and shipped from your inventory pool in the U.K.
  4. When customers track their orders, they can see where it is shipping from and the expected arrival time.
Selecting the European Fulfillment Network: If you are registered for Fulfillment by Amazon, you’re able to use EFN with no additional registration or startup costs . Simply add your listings to each Amazon European marketplace where you want to sell. When those products sell, you pay a fee for each order shipped outside your home marketplace through EFN, in addition to your other FBA fees. Learn more about European Fulfillment Network fees .
Multi-Country Inventory (MCI): Use Multi-Country Inventory (MCI) to shorten the time it takes for customers to receive orders. Multi-Country Inventory is an optional international fulfillment program offered through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Increasing the competitiveness of your listings will help you grow your international business. With MCI, you send your most popular inventory directly to the countries where customers are buying, so the products are close to your customers. When a customer orders a product, Amazon will ship and fulfill the product quickly.

Even if you ship orders in Japan yourself, you can gain competitiveness in the international marketplaces where you sell by fulfilling locally using Multi-Country Inventory internationally. You can choose whether to fulfill all listings using Multi-Country Inventory or fulfill only top-selling products locally. There is no minimum quantity requirement.

Multi-Country Inventory Selection: To take advantage of Multi-Country Inventory, use Amazon's Build International Listings tool to sell on the Amazon Europe Marketplace. When you enable MCI, you will be able to select from the available countries to send products.

Importing and exporting product inventory

Getting Started
When you expand your business to an Amazon marketplace outside your home country and fulfill with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or a third-party fulfillment provider, you'll need to understand your obligations in the import/export process. Although you may want to handle some or all of these import/export steps yourself, it can be easier to hire a logistics provider such as a customs broker or a freight forwarder to handle the process for you. These providers may have the expertise and the time to make sure your inventory moves from one place to another in a timely and secure manner.

Tip: If you are using FBA in an international marketplace and plan to use the services of a logistics provider, we recommend that you contact the logistics provider immediately after registering with FBA. It can take a long time to complete the necessary paperwork, so you should act early to ensure that the products are delivered to the customer without delay.
If you move inventory from one country to another using the services of a customs broker or freight forwarder, you must enter into a contract directly with the merchant. You must also directly make the arrangements for establishing the importer or exporter of record. Amazon cannot act in this capacity or make arrangements on your behalf.

If you are contracting with a customs broker or freight forwarder to move inventory from one country to a fulfillment center in another country, you need to decide in advance who will assume the following responsibilities.
  • Exporter of record (EOR): Generally, the shipper is the exporter of record. Amazon will not act as the exporter of record. You may be able to contract with your customs broker or freight forwarder to act as the EOR.
  • Importer of record (IOR): The importer of record is responsible for ensuring that the shipment is successfully imported into the destination country. Responsibilities include filing legally required documents and paying assessed import duties and taxes. It is important to note that Amazon, including the fulfillment centers, will not serve as the importer of record for any shipment of FBA inventory. Any FBA inventory shipment attempting to make entry with Amazon as the IOR will be refused and returned at the shipper's expense— no exceptions.
Non-resident importer: In some countries, non-resident (foreign) importers of record can perform import customs clearance procedures for products. To become a nonresident IOR, please contact your customs broker or carrier for details.

IMPORTANT: You are responsible for complying with all import and export laws and ensuring that the imported goods comply with applicable laws and regulations. You may not import prohibited or restricted items without all required permits and authorizations. For example, the import of certain agricultural, food products, alcohol, plants and seeds, fish and wildlife products, or medication into the United States may be prohibited or restricted.
Arranging shipment with a customs broker or freight forwarder
A customs broker or freight forwarder may require you to complete the following forms:
  • Power of Attorney: When you sign a Power of Attorney, the customs broker or freight forwarder is authorized to act as your agent to get your inventory moved through the customs process.
  • Importer of Record Registration: Register as an IOR with customs authorities in the country where you are importing inventory. It is important to note that Amazon, including the fulfillment centers, will not serve as the importer of record for any shipment of FBA inventory. This applies to shipments of any size or value, regardless of origin and product. Any FBA shipment attempting to make entry with Amazon as the IOR will be refused and returned at the shipper's expense—no exceptions. no exceptions.
  • Terms and Conditions: The customs broker should spell out terms for you to help you understand who is responsible for the goods at every step of the shipment process.
  • Duties, taxes, and shipping costs: Amazon will not be responsible for or collect any 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 fulfillment center with collect charges, including any duties, taxes, or shipping costs, will be refused without further concession.
  • Ship to: An Amazon fulfillment center may be listed as the deliver-to party on your shipping documentation. Here are some examples of how this should appear on the shipping documentation:
  • Example 1
    Example 2
    Amazon.com.kydc
    [Seller legal name] c/o FBA
    1850 Mercer Drive
    Lexington, KY 40511 USA
    Amazon.com.dedc
    [Seller legal name] c/o FBA
    500 McCarthy
    Lewisberry, PA 17339 USA
    Please ensure your contact information is included on the shipping documentation in case there are questions regarding your shipment.
Ultimate consignee
Amazon will not serve as the importer of record, but you can list Amazon as the ultimate consignee in your shipping documentation. However, only if you note “ in care of (c/o) ” followed by Amazon's business name.

If you designate Amazon as the final consignee, the customs broker must contact Amazon (sellerimports@amazon.com) to obtain the Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Tax Identification Number required for customs clearance before shipping the inventory.
Commercial invoice
When your goods are ready for shipment from the manufacturer or distributor, the shipper prepares the commercial invoice. It’s critical that the commercial invoice be accurate to avoid delays clearing customs. The following information should be included on the commercial invoice:
  • The date of the invoice.
  • Name and address of the customer and seller. Amazon should not be shown as the buyer or the seller on the commercial invoice.
  • The name and complete address of the seller or manufacturer.
  • The shipper’s contact name, company name, address, and tax ID number.
  • Ship-to address. Here, enter "In care of," and then the name and address of the Amazon fulfillment center where you are shipping the goods.
  • Importer of record. This field must contain the shipper's name, if it is the same as the owner of the goods. Do not leave this field blank. If left blank, the shipment will be rejected and returned.
  • Mode of shipment.
  • Detailed description of the goods being invoiced. Include the following:
    • Customs Harmonized Codes, if known
    • Number of units
    • Unit values
    • Total value of each product. For samples or products with no commercial value, a nominal or fair-market value must be stated for customs purposes.
  • The type of currency of the transaction
  • The terms of the sale. Note that correct terms must be Delivered Duty Paid (DDP). The shipper or FBA seller should pay all applicable duty and taxes and be responsible for clearing customs before delivery to the Amazon fulfillment center. You are not authorized to import goods in the name of Amazon or to show Amazon as the declarant, or importer of record on the customs entry documentation.
  • Shipment tracking number. For shipments to Amazon fulfillment centers, include the Amazon FBA Shipment ID that you receive when you create the shipment in your Amazon seller account. The shipment tracking number can also be an air waybill number if you are sending the package via a carrier service such as FedEx or UPS.
  • Any certifications
  • Name of the carrier transporting the goods
  • Freight payment terms
  • Reason for export
Shipping best practices
Amazon fulfillment centers have requirements for the shipments they receive, including the size of the pallets and the type of truck that can deliver to the fulfillment center. The guidelines on how to deliver inventory to Amazon provide the information you need to prepare for shipment to the Amazon Fulfillment Center. Paying attention to these requirements and best practices will help avoid delays in getting your inventory to the fulfillment center and into your customers' hands.

Note: There are differences in pallets between the US, UK, and European marketplaces.

If possible, arrange your shipment to be put on a pallet before arriving at the fulfillment center. Amazon's fulfillment centers will accept floor-loaded shipments but only if you request it in advance when you set up your shipment to the fulfillment center. Additional charges may apply if a floor-loaded shipment requires extensive work.

Ensure that your shipment complies with Amazon's policies for inbound shipments. If Amazon refuses to accept your shipments, you are responsible for removing the shipment from the fulfillment center. For shipments that are less than a half pallet of loose cartons, each of which weighing less than 15 kilograms, you may find it better to ship your products through a courier service. The carrier you use may depend on the destination country because carrier services vary. If you do choose to ship your inventory to a fulfillment center via a carrier service, you should check with the carrier to verify that it can clear your goods through customs based on the commercial invoice you provide. If the carrier is unable to clear your goods through customs based on your commercial invoice, you will need to consult a customs broker.

Logistics companies and customs brokers: There are many resources online to check shipping charges and make shipping easier. The following are links to some companies some sellers have found useful. Visit their websites directly to calculate the approximate shipping charges you can expect when fulfilling orders for the Amazon marketplaces you would like to list in:

DHL: www.dhl.com
Expeditors International: www.expeditors.com
FedEx: www.fedex.com
Samuel Shapiro: www.shapiro.com
UPS: www.ups.com

Before shipping your inventory, we recommend that you check with your freight forwarder or international courier to confirm the charges and requirements.
Return of imports
Amazon is unable to return inventory stored in Amazon's fulfillment centers to an address outside of the original import country. Further, FBA does not support pick-up options for sellers at Amazon fulfillment centers. If you wish to remove your FBA inventory, you will need to enter the return address of the country of origin on the Disposal Order Form (sign-in required).

4

Managing your business

Provide customer support and local country returns, either yourself or through Amazon. Get paid in your preferred currency. Use Amazon’s tools and recommendations to grow your international sales and scale your business globally.

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Customer support

Getting Started
When you expand your business to an Amazon marketplace outside your home country and fulfill with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or a third-party fulfillment provider, you'll need to understand your obligations in the import/export process. Although you may want to handle some or all of these import/export steps yourself, it can be easier to hire a logistics provider such as a customs broker or a freight forwarder to handle the process for you. These providers may have the expertise and the time to make sure your inventory moves from one place to another in a timely and secure manner.
However, this does not hold true if you have already listed on one of the European marketplaces (for example, Amazon.co.uk) and are adding a listing on another Amazon Europe Marketplace (for example, Amazon.de). In this case, you can use the Unified Account available for European marketplaces to sell from your current seller account.

In Europe, you can register online in the local language. You can register for Amazon.de in German, for Amazon.fr in French, for Amazon.it in Italian, and for Amazon.es in Spanish. If you do not speak these languages and are interested in selling in any of these marketplaces, register to sell on Amazon.co.uk in English and then create offers across any of the EU marketplaces with the Unified Account.

Amazon.in (India) and Amazon.cn (China) each have their own registration and listing requirements for sellers based abroad. For more information, see the India Marketplace page and the China Marketplace page on this site.

Click the link below to create a seller account on Amazon Marketplace.
Customer support for fulfillment by seller
Customer support in local language: If you want to handle your order from the customer yourself, you will need to provide customer support in addition to picking, packing, and shipping to the customer. If you do not know the language used in the Amazon marketplace in which you are selling, you may struggle to provide customer support.

You may want to reply to email inquiries from international customers using an automated translation feature. However, machine translation may produce a suboptimal translation. This may reduce customer satisfaction and ultimately affect your performance rating. A better option, if you do not have in-house customer service capabilities in the local language, is to use third-party service providers to handle your customer support.

Timely responses: Customers expect prompt, helpful service when they have questions or concerns about your products. To maintain a healthy seller scorecard, you should have customer service specialists who understand your products, that know where the customer's product is and when it will be delivered, and who will be able to respond quickly (within 24 hours) to customer e-mail contacts in the local language. This may be challenging when selling in marketplaces that are in different time zones from your place of business, as the time differences will shorten the timeframe in which you can respond to customers during your regular business hours.

There are many online resources that can help sellers with customer support. Here are a few links other sellers have found useful organized by region:

Europe and America:Seller Engine
Europe:InterCultural Elements
Japan:Jumbo
Customer support for Fulfillment by Amazon
When you use FBA, Amazon will provide 24-hour customer support on your behalf in the local language of the relevant marketplace. For many sellers, this feature of FBA is critical to selling in international marketplaces successfully. With local language customer support already included in FBA, you can provide your customers with Amazon’s world-class customer service, and you can focus on growing and managing your business.

Customer returns

Customer returns for fulfillment by seller
When listing in an international marketplace and fulfilling items on your own, you must either provide customers with a local return address within the country of their Amazon marketplace website or offer them free shipment for returns. This is a requirement for selling on Amazon Marketplace.

Consider the following options when thinking about ways to return customer purchased items:
  • Use Fulfillment by Amazon: If you use FBA, Amazon will handle returns locally for FBA orders in eligible marketplaces. For this reason, you do not need to provide a local return address.
  • Apply a restocking fee and issue a partial refund: In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to charge the customer a restocking fee or issue a partial refund for the returned item. Restocking fees or partial refunds must comply with Amazon's policies on returns.
  • Contract with a third-party international carrier that supports returns: You can accept returns in the customer's country using a carrier suggested by Amazon which supports returns. Depending on your sales volume and unit price, international returns providers may offer solutions that reduce the costs you incur when customers in other countries return your products. For example, some providers will consolidate returns and ship them back to you or ship them to another customer.
Customer returns for Fulfillment by Amazon
When you choose FBA, Amazon will handle local returns 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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