Hi All,

I wanted to share my experience with Amazon’s expansion opportunities in Europe. I'm a seller in the automotive parts category and had ambitious plans to grow my business by launching 50 new products across EU marketplaces.

I invested significant time, resources, and capital into this expansion but unfortunately, Amazon’s systems and support have been a major blocker rather than an enabler. I know many sellers face similar issues, and my aim here is to raise awareness and connect with others going through the same.

🚧 Issues with Amazon’s “Trusted Provider” AVASK and New Shipment Flow

My account was selected as a pilot for a new shipment process via AVASK, where I attempted to send stock from the UK to the EU. Amazon internal teams contacted me throughout, but the process was full of issues. It took over 2 months for my products to reach EU warehouses.

During this period, I incurred extra storage fees in the UK and was told that some AVASK-related costs could be refunded. Despite repeated follow-ups, no refund was issued, and I ultimately lost over £2,000 — including missed sales from the delayed launch.

📧 Unresponsive Amazon EU Teams

As part of the pilot, I had an email chain with multiple EU managers, but despite sending over a dozen emails and follow-ups, I received no meaningful support. Only one representative called me, but even she couldn’t help resolve the AVASK refund issue.

💶 Double VAT Due to Inventory Movement

I’m registered for German VAT and ship stock to Germany, but Amazon moved my items to Poland without my consent. This triggered double VAT charges (around £400).

While Amazon does offer an option to stop this type of inventory transfer, it should be opt-out by default to protect sellers from unexpected tax complications.

📦 Misleading “Trusted Fast Shipment” from China

I used Amazon’s trusted partners to air ship products from China to Germany. Although they arrived within 10 days, they were not made available for sale for another 2 months. Meanwhile, my sea shipment to the UK was processed in the same timeframe.

This “fast” shipment ended up costing me an extra £500 — with no real benefit.

💸 High Fees and Poor Case Handling in Europe

I store my stock in Germany and sell across all EU countries. However, the fees are extremely high. For example, on a £25 product sold in France, Amazon takes £17.50 in fees — leaving no room for profit.

I asked Amazon to review the fees for all my EU products. They only responded to the two products I gave as examples. Despite four follow-ups over two weeks, there has been no further response.

Product dimensions (for reference): Length: 36.5 cm Width: 28.09 cm Height: 7.8 cm Weight: 0.27 kg

❌ Support Giving Incorrect Information

My supplier mislabelled some stock — I sell both heated and unheated versions of the same mirror. I asked Amazon to check both UK and EU inventories. They said everything was fine — twice.

I later confirmed with test orders that the issue was real. Rather than resolving it or offering relabelling support, Amazon advised me to recall and relabel the stock myself — adding more time and cost.

📞 No Account Manager Support

I currently sell 100+ products in the UK, 50 in the EU, and 10 in the US, with over 500 unique listings across countries. I was assigned a US account manager, but she hasn't replied to emails and missed multiple scheduled calls.

I even raised a support case requesting a new manager. It’s been two weeks without a response.

🏷️ Chinese Sellers & Listing Manipulation

Some Chinese sellers are listing identical products under five different brands. This creates price manipulation and confusion for buyers — even though my listings have reviews and higher quality content.

I’ve reported this several times, but Amazon keeps sending irrelevant forms. Despite completing them properly, no action has been taken.

🛑 AVASK – Not Recommended

Although AVASK is an Amazon-trusted partner, I had numerous issues with their portal, delayed responses, and incomplete case handling. I even had to pay for extra consultations to resolve basic problems. Amazon has not provided an alternative or taken accountability.

⚠️ Account Verification Failure & Miscommunication from Support

I received a notification on my Amazon dashboard regarding account verification. I followed the instructions, completed all required fields, and uploaded the necessary business documents — multiple times. Despite this, the notification never disappeared from my portal.

I contacted Amazon Support to ask if there was an issue. They assured me that my account was already verified and I could safely ignore the message.

However, over two months later, my account was suspended without warning due to "incomplete account verification." As a result, all of my listings across the UK and EU were deactivated for 12 days.

This caused significant damage: Loss of revenue Drop in listing rankings Increased advertising costs (due to restarting from lower visibility)

All of this could have been avoided with accurate communication from Amazon Support and a functioning verification system.

⚠️ Final Thoughts

Amazon is fantastic for buyers, but for sellers, especially small businesses, the system is increasingly difficult. The fees are overwhelming, support is broken, and growth feels punished instead of supported.

If your product costs £2 and you’re trying to scale in the EU, you may still make no profit — even at 12X pricing. All due to platform inefficiencies.

Despite my efforts, I’ve incurred significant losses in the EU market, and as of May, I plan to shut down all my EU listings.

If you're planning to expand into Amazon EU, I highly recommend evaluating all these factors carefully before investing. And if you’ve had similar experiences, I’d love to connect and exchange insights.