Going International with Your Amazon FBA Business
Going International with Your Amazon FBA Business – When selling through Amazon FBA, you will first need to sign up for an account. This is a relatively straightforward process, except for that very first bit: choosing which Amazon you want to sign up to!
That’s because there are three Amazon(s):
• Amazon UK (www.amazon.co.uk)
• Amazon US (www.amazon.com)
• Amazon India (www.amazon.in)
Amazon UK also serves other parts of Europe such as Germany, Italy, and France. Amazon US meanwhile will also cater to Mexico and Canada.
You can choose to sign up to all three of these, but it’s a good idea to start with just one – and Amazon recommends that you pick the one closest to you. Hopefully in future, Amazon can find a way to combine these sites for sellers and create a single portal. That would be much easier for affiliates too!
But it gets worse.
Sellers outside the US hoping to sell through Amazon.com will face other potential challenges as well. The US to GBP exchange rate offered by Amazon is very bad for example (around 3-4%) and companies will need to register for TAX in the US.
So even if your market is primarily based in the US, you will still need to pick the store that is closest to home in order to make this a viable business model. The good news is that if you live in the US, none of this is a problem!
But what if you don’t?
The Solution
So, what is the solution?
There are a few. One is to find a business partner in that country to work with that you can make an agreement with – they will act as your representative and will share the profits in some way.
Another option is to use an alternative fulfilment company. There are actually many companies that offer similar services, and a quick search will yield many working in your region.
You can still list on Amazon OR you can choose to sell direct through your own website via – say – an eCommerce Store. As long as you have an audience and a brand that people respect and are engaged with, then this can be a highly viable strategy that works extremely well!
Finally, you could always go back to basics and sell direct from your home. Doing this is tricky, but with a freight forwarder it is certainly possible and can help you take back full control of your business.