Global Selling Fulfilment Options

Fulfilling customer orders can be one of the biggest challenges of selling globally. Amazon offers solutions that can help you, whether you fulfil orders yourself or choose to have Amazon fulfil them for you with Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).

Fulfilling orders on your own

If you want to fulfil your own orders, and you decide to deliver orders to another country, be aware of the relevant customs requirements. The orders that you deliver to another country may be subject to import taxes, customs duties and fees charged 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 fulfilment centre with customs duty charges due will be returned to sender.

You can choose to use a private carrier, or you can send packages through the postal system. Whichever carrier you select, contact them to find out about delivery costs as well as any size, weight or other restrictions.

Even if you handle your own packaging and postage, Amazon provides tools and services to help you to streamline your business and to provide your buyers with a positive experience.

• Seller Central. Just like when you sell in your home Amazon marketplace, the Seller Central portal provides access to the tools that you need to manage your orders. You can see at a glance such information as how many orders you have to deliver, your feedback rating and your payments summary. The Amazon Selling Coach provides information that can help you to manage your inventory and to increase your sales.
• Business analytics. Amazon provides reports for you to view and to download. You can use these reports to keep track of sales trends, unshipped orders, inventory status and more.
• Buyer order communications and payment management. Amazon takes care of basic communications related to the customer order, such as confirming delivery with the buyer after you have confirmed to Amazon that you have dispatched the order, collecting payment from the buyer and crediting your account.
• A-to-z Guarantee. In the event that a buyer requests reimbursement because an order never arrived or was different from what they expected, the A-to-z Guarantee programme facilitates communication between you and the buyer to help to make things right. The programme helps to increase customer satisfaction.

Fulfilling orders by using Fulfilment by Amazon

If you've determined that you can sell your product in a given marketplace but prefer not to fulfil customer orders yourself, Amazon can do it for you. Sign up for Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), and Amazon will pick, pack and dispatch inventory on your behalf. FBA can help you to increase your online sales by providing greater exposure to your products and offering fast delivery to your Amazon customers – a highly attractive benefit. In addition, all of your FBA orders are backed by Amazon's world-class customer service in the language of the local marketplace to answer customers' questions about their orders. With FBA, Amazon also takes care of returns handling for the orders that we dispatch for you.

Amazon currently offers FBA services to sellers in Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

If you already use FBA in your primary marketplace, it does not automatically extend to another Amazon marketplace when you begin selling internationally. For example, if you currently sell on Amazon.com and want to sell on Amazon.co.uk, you must create a new seller account for Amazon.co.uk, and then convert your listings to FBA in that UK marketplace account. However, if you are already selling in one Amazon European marketplace, such as Amazon.de, and want to sell in another Amazon European marketplace, such as Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it or Amazon.es, you can use the same Seller Central account. Review Register and Launch for step-by-step instructions.

Benefits of choosing FBA when selling internationally include:

• Higher visibility and sales. FBA is a fulfilment solution that can also increase your sales. How does FBA help give you a competitive edge? In countries where the Amazon Prime programme is available, many Prime members will filter product searches based on eligibility for Prime delivery, so they may not even see your offers if they are not in FBA.
• Around-the-clock, local-language customer support. Amazon's world-class customer service is included as part of FBA for orders placed on Amazon, which helps you maintain high levels of customer satisfaction. Customer support is provided in the local language of the marketplace where you are selling your products.
• Scalability. FBA is scalable with your business' growth and helps you to handle peaks during busier times of the year. FBA can accept a single unit or thousands of units of a product. You decide how many units you send through FBA at any given time. This flexibility is particularly helpful when you are entering a new marketplace.
• Delivery satisfaction. In addition to customer support, your FBA products receive the trusted Amazon delivery experience that customers value – from a wide range of fast, often free delivery options to package tracking and gift wrapping options.
• Increased delivery speed. As your inventory could be stored in the country in which you are selling, we may be able to deliver your order to local customers faster than you would be able to directly from your current location.

Deciding on a fulfilment option

There are many factors in determining whether you want to fulfil international orders yourself or through Fulfilment by Amazon, such as your business' cost structure, how hands-off you want to be with fulfilment and whether you can provide local-language customer support independently. Either method comes with a different set of cost considerations, so set your pricing strategy according to the economics of the your chosen fulfilment option.

One key difference between the two fulfilment methods lies in handling international customer returns. When you sell in any Amazon marketplace, you'll need to provide a local return address for your customers or offer them free shipping on returns. When you use FBA in a particular marketplace, FBA will provide the local return address and will take care of receiving returns on your behalf. In contrast, when you sell in a marketplace outside your home country and fulfil those customer orders yourself, you provide your own local address for returns – or you will need to reimburse the customer for international delivery charges. If you expect to reimburse customers for international delivery charges, you may want to build the expected rate of product returns into your product pricing so you can absorb this cost. Learn more in Customer Support and Returns.

Before deciding on a fulfilment option, be aware that storing your inventory in another country – such as when you use FBA in a particular marketplace – may incur tax implications for your business. Learn more in Taxes and Regulations.