How to Sell on Amazon UK from the US: A Comprehensive Guide

Amazon permits US sellers to enter the European market seamlessly. Let's go through how to become a seller on Amazon.co.uk (and all of Europe) from the US.

Why should you sell on Amazon.co.uk from the USA?

• Easily sell across all of Amazon’s EU marketplaces (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es).
• Ship to nearly every country in Europe.
• Store your inventory in Europe.

Get Started Selling on Amazon.co.uk from the US

1. Use your existing LLC or Register for a UK Limited Company.
2. Apply for a VAT number if Required
3. Register for Amazon.co.uk
4. European Fulfillment Network or Multi-country Inventory

Step 1: US LLC or UK Limited Company

There are two options if you want to proceed to sell on Amazon.co.uk from the US:

1. Use your existing LLC
2. Register for a UK Limited Company

OPTION A: Use your current LLC

Using your current LLC may be the simplest way to start your business on Amazon.co.uk. But there are two important considerations to make before you decide:

1. You will have to register for VAT to ensure that you have an EORI number to import goods into the UK/EU.
2. Amazon merges your US and UK accounts (where selling privileges are removed from one account, both accounts may be banned).

VAT registration as a Non-UK registered company:

Once you become an international seller, the law states that you are bound to pay and collect VAT if you have set up inventory or are sending it to the EU.

If at the moment you are not a registered business in the UK but wish to sell your goods on Amazon UK and other non-EU countries from the USA, you should proceed to obtain VAT registration. This registration would provide you with your EORI number. The EORI number would permit you to land and sell your products within the UK and surrounding EU nations.

Once you make a sale, you must collect and then pay the VAT amount to the HRMC. This means you must include an additional 20% to your selling price. In order to simplify the complicated process, there is a Flat rate VAT.

OPTION B: REGISTER A UK LTD COMPANY

Setting up a UK LTD company to bring your trading on Amazon UK/EU would confer two benefits:

1. Your central Amazon.com account would remain independent from your other Amazon UK/EU. This enhances your account’s security and minimizes the scenario where all your accounts would get shut down simultaneously.
2. Amazon requires registration only when the sales you make becomes greater than the VAT level set for each country.

Step 2: Apply for a VAT number if Required

After submitting the registration, head to www.gov.uk and obtain your unique VAT number.

Upon successful completion of the UK VAT registration, your certificate of registration should come within 14 days.

Step 3: Register for Amazon.co.uk

Once you obtain your VAT registration certificate number, you have the option to apply for a seller central account in any marketplace of your preference. This would be different from your Amazon.com seller account.

In order to obtain a UK seller central account, you require the following information:

• Any valid credit or debit card.
• A valid phone number of any country.
• Tax information – EIN (or similar if you are not based within the US), and a VAT registration number.
• A bank account from your original country. You can also use a Payoneer account to act as an intermediary with the bank.

Step 4: European Fulfillment Network or MultiCountry Inventory

Upon the arrival of your inventory to Amazon’s FBA warehouse in Europe, you have two options to proceed with fulfillment, it could be either European Fulfillment Network (EFN) or Multi-Country Inventory.

• European Fulfillment Network: EFN permits FBA-registered sellers in countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and the UK to maintain their inventory within a single country’s FBA center and ship throughout Europe.
• Multi-country Inventory: The other option is to store inventory in each country and then offer to ship from these FBA centers to other countries.

After opening your Amazon UK seller central account, you will be able to ship to any country in Europe!