Extending from UK FBA to FBA in Europe?
Dear All
I am UK based, and am not VAT registered.
I been selling FBM on amazon for some years, and 3 months ago transferred to FBA (in UK only). FBA is working well for me, so far.
Would it be straight forward for me to start to sell FBA in Europe, as opposed to UK only?
Thank you for any help.
Jo
26 replies
Seller_esvgLzKXw2YAl
You can sell FBA to the EU countries. At least up until you hit the various distance selling thresholds.
You just need to have your items listed on the other sites.
You can do this, with the build international listings tool.
But if your talking about storing your stock in the other countries, then you need to register for VAT in each country that you store stock in. So probably not worth the effort, if you haven’t even reached the UK threshold yet.
Seller_z6B2L9xab6HlP
You can use your UK stock to dispatch to European customers, but there are some issues with selling on Amazon.de:
- you need to comply with the German packaging law where the person/company that puts products on the German market needs to pay for the disposal of the packaging via a recycling scheme.
- there is some tax issue too; I can’t recall whether you just need to confirm to Amazon that you’re not liable for German VAT, or whether you need to get a certificate from the German tax authorities.
Seller_z0bYlAYzTI9rM
is it just a question of making my listings active in other countries under holiday settings here:
Seller_3ZpGQP0nhew7D
I gave up selling outside of the UK due to the requirements to offer returns at my expense. Just wasnt worth the faff
Seller_OFjSrssNgD9RS
No It would not. You need to be registered for VAT in 8 countries. Including this one.
I am not trying to stop you just making it nice and clear.
Amazon does offer ways to help you achieve all this.
good luck
Seller_ln2KbPnkQ5szA
Hello Jo,
As this is an open forum, soliciting open answers and/or opinions, I can only share my views and suggestions based on my selling experiences, all of which are ultimately perfect for my business and sanity, and which of course may not be necessary for yours.
DO NOT SELL FBA IN EUROPE!!
I find it hard enough dealing with the ‘rental service’ that is Amazon UK but after 2-years selling on all Amazon EU platforms, 9 out of 10 items were returned or refunded, whether used, abused, unwanted, or not yet even delivered. The inconvenience, cost, and emotional abuse of the system became too overwhelming and I closed ALL EU marketplace listings more than 2 years ago.
I only sold one unit every 1 or 2 weeks so I can’t imagine the suicidal inclinations of those that sell dozens or hundreds every day or week. I just don’t have the tolerance to deal with the absurdity of Amazon policies that protect their beloved end-buyer at all costs. All costs to us Sellers, mind you!!
That said, it hasn’t stopped customers in Germany (e.g.) ‘renting’ from the UK, creating further headaches when the product is returned within the Amazon rental window to a warehouse in Germany, at Amazon’s request. Suddenly, you are now invited to register for German VAT Requirement, through no want of yours!
Amazon will not store so much as a toothpick in an EU warehouse without then asking you to abide by the tax laws of that country or risk account suspension as if you chose to do so. I am not registered for PAN-EU, nor, again, have any EU listings, yet Amazon still asks European renters to return their ‘no longer needed’ product to an EU warehouse convenient for them. If a customer rented a product from the UK, the product should be returned to the UK.
The upshot of all that is I am suspended in Germany and I look forward to being suspended in all other EU marketplaces if it means Amazon will stop abusing me for the sake of their ‘beyond-reproach’ end-buyers!
Once again, this is only my opinion and practice relating to my business and welfare. You may ultimately find EU marketplaces are perfect for you Jo, but you will have to first jump through a succession of flaming hoops to deliver a pound of your flesh (unused) provided it comes with your birth-certificate and DNA sample to prove to Amazon that it is indeed your flesh!
Best Wishes Jo,
Luke
Seller_qCHuTn5dPLaer
FBA in Europe means you are storing your product in Europe. That means physical presence, and registering for VAT in Poland, Czech, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
Seller_qCHuTn5dPLaer
By the way - here is the Help section - https://services.amazon.co.uk/services/fulfilment-by-amazon/unified-account-and-efn.html
Merry Christmas everyone!
Seller_z0bYlAYzTI9rM
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice.
What I am looking to do is simply have my products stored in the UK and FBA to UK and to Europe too - as summarised by this graphic. (I think that this is not pan-European FBA inventory).
My understanding is that this will not require me to be registered for VAT in other countries (as I will not be storing products there).
I appreciate that there may be issues with returns, but I would like to give it a go.
My question is how do I tell amazon that I would like my products to show as available for shipping (FBA) to Europe?
Many thanks for any further help - or for pointing me to the help page I need, but cannot find!
