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We usually recommend that sellers offer all their eligible US selection in Europe. With Amazon’s Build International Listings (BIL) tool, it’s easy to add your US listings across Europe, get them translated, and set pricing rules. However, you’ll need to make sure that you have the appropriate distribution rights and that your products are compliant with local European regulations. For example, a US plug won’t work in all EU countries.

If you plan to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to fulfill in Europe, you may want to start with a “wide and thin” approach. Start with your full catalog but just a few units per ASIN to see what sells. Then, once you identify your top-selling products, you can send in larger replenishment shipments. Get more guidance on product details in the marketplace entry strategy section.

Choose where to begin based on your business’s specific situation, taking into consideration your product category, distribution rights, resources, and other factors. Many sellers have successfully launched immediately across all of Amazon’s European stores. Amazon tools and services, like Build International Listings (BIL) and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) services in Europe, make selling across all European marketplaces much simpler.

Of course, if you’re not comfortable selling across all five marketplaces yet, or if your distribution rights don’t cover all marketplaces, you can start with one or just a few of them.

Germany and the UK represent some of the largest ecommerce countries in Europe. There is high demand for fast deliveries for German shoppers who care about speed & efficiency of deliveries. Then in the UK the marketplace language is English (Note: Consider differences in British English versus American English). A common initial entry strategy involves sending inventory to Germany and UK fulfillment centers. Then, you can use the BIL tool to translate and synchronize your listings to start selling in the remaining marketplaces. Based on Germany’s geographical location it is a major hub for delivery efficiency helping you sell across Europe. With fulfillment programs like European Fulfilment Network or Multi-Country Inventory (MCI), your products will be closer to customers across Europe if you store in Germany and the UK meaning they’ll benefit from faster delivery options. You can also expand easily across the entire EU with Pan-European FBA.

Yes. Amazon’s Fulfillment Center (FC) network in Germany relies on the additional FC capacity in Poland and the Czech Republic. If you choose to place in Germany only, we will require an additional €0.50 outbound fee (the “Choice of Placement” fee) on every unit outbound from DE. To take full advantage of local Germany placement, we recommend that you also enable placement in Poland and the Czech Republic. Note that enabling placement in Poland and the Czech Republic triggers local VAT obligations for which you will be responsible.

The FBA Export program on Amazon.com allows customers from around the world—including Europe—to buy your products on the US marketplace. However, European customers are more likely to shop on their local European Amazon marketplaces because they’re in their local languages and offers faster delivery.

There is also an FBA Export program for the EU, so that when you sell on Amazon’s European marketplaces, Amazon will export your eligible products to buyers with postal addresses in 26 European countries. Learn how to sign up for FBA Export for EU.

Getting started selling in a new geographic region such as Europe is a serious undertaking. However, for many sellers, the initial time they invest in researching and handling requirements can pay off in sales to millions of additional customers. Amazon provides a variety of tools and services that simplify launching in Europe.

Just like when you started selling in the US, your success in Europe will vary based on factors unique to your business, including product category, margins, and regulatory requirements. It’s important to take the time early in the process to fully consider all the pros and cons involved in selling in a new marketplace. Our guide to crafting a marketplace entry strategy can help.

When you import goods into the EU, you’ll need to comply with EU customs laws, as well as laws and regulations that are applicable to the EU country of import.

If you store or sell goods to customers in an EU country, you may be required to register for VAT in that country. While each Amazon seller is solely responsible for being VAT compliant, Amazon can provide resources and tools for your VAT registrations and filings in EU countries. The time it takes to become VAT registered can vary. To avoid delays, we recommend that you start the process as soon as you register your EU seller account.

Find out more about VAT services in Amazon
Learn more about how to handle VAT

Amazon requires that listings and customer support be provided in a marketplace’s local language. However, you don’t need to be fluent in any of the European languages to sell across Europe. Many sellers handle European language requirements through a mix of Amazon’s translation support and external translation providers.

Amazon regularly translates listings from one language to another. If your product listing doesn’t exist in certain European marketplaces, and you are unfamiliar with that marketplace’s language, learn more about how to handle languages.

If you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon will provide local customer support for all delivery-related issues, which make up most support requests. For product-related questions, you’ll be expected to provide local language support.

For your European translation and language needs, consider hiring external translation providers through Amazon’s Solution Provider Network.

When your business is ready, consider hiring staff with European language skills. Their local language proficiency can be helpful for conducting country-specific research and understanding how to best position your products. They can help you to modify your products, marketing materials, or packaging to better meet the needs of your new customers, as well as provide local language customer support.

No. You can keep using your US business entity and bank account. Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers helps you convert British pounds and euros to your preferred local currency.

No, you’ll need to register a European account. Go here to register, and see below for details.

No, you only need one European account. Your European Unified Account will allow you to create and manage product offers across all of Amazon's online European stores (e.g., Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, Amazon.es, Amazon.nl). You control what you sell and where, and you manage your European business from a single seller account.

When you register to sell in any of Amazon’s European marketplaces, your seller account is automatically enabled to allow you to sell in all other Amazon European marketplaces. All your orders will be managed in a single place. However, Amazon’s seller rules apply to all the countries where you sell. These are basic rules to ensure Amazon’s customers enjoy the best possible shopping experience. You’ll also need to be aware of the local and EU tax and regulatory requirements; it’s your responsibility to ensure that you comply with all applicable requirements. When you sell in any of Amazon’s European marketplaces, country-specific Amazon fees will apply per item sold.

Yes. The Build International Listings (BIL) tool helps you sell globally by adding offers and synchronizing pricing across multiple marketplaces. BIL enables you to add numerous offers to additional marketplaces quickly. Then, based on rules you set, BIL manages pricing offers across marketplaces for you through automated updates.

To transfer your Amazon.com listings across European marketplaces with BIL, you’ll need to link your accounts. Linking your accounts is the foundation to managing your cross-regional business, enabling you to see your business information across marketplaces in one location. Link your North American and European accounts.
Once you have linked your accounts, use BIL to set the US as your “source” marketplace. Next, set the European marketplaces that you wish to sell in as your “target” marketplaces.

BIL does not create new product listings (ASINs). It adds offers if the product listing already exists in the new marketplace. If it doesn’t exist yet, the offer will not be added. BIL also does not manage inventory. To make the offer buyable, make inventory available for that marketplace. Learn more about BIL.

Listings must be in the local marketplace language. For example, listings on Amazon.de must be in German, listings on Amazon.fr must be in French, etc. Using the local language makes it easier for customers to understand your listings and buy your products.

Your product listings may already exist in the European marketplace. When you use BIL to add offers in Europe, the tool will tell you if the product listing already exists in specific European marketplaces. In that case, you do not need to translate the listing. BIL will automatically synchronize that listing.

Once you have linked your accounts, use BIL to set the US as your “source” marketplace. Next, set the European marketplaces that you wish to sell in as your “target” marketplaces.

If the product listing doesn’t exist in certain European marketplaces, and you are unfamiliar with that marketplace’s language, you can learn more about how to handle languages.

For any product that is ingested or applied to the skin, instructions and ingredients must be in the local language on the product. For other products, it is not required, but is recommended to ensure customers have the best possible experience with your product.
For your European translation and language needs, consider hiring external translation providers through Amazon’s Solution Provider Network.

Compliance regulations in Europe change regularly. If you sell products in the consumables, beauty, or consumer electronics categories, you’ll want to be particularly vigilant in reviewing local regulations and ensuring compliance. Amazon has a number of external solution providers that can help with product compliance.

Yes, but only initially. If no customer reviews exist for an ASIN in a non-US marketplace, recent reviews from the US marketplace (Amazon.com) will be shown. These imported reviews remain visible until the ASIN begins receiving local marketplace reviews, after which they will no longer be shown. When you use the Build International Listings (BIL) tool to transfer product listings from the US into Europe, customer reviews will carry over on the product detail page but not the search results page or best-seller ranking.

No, not usually. Product ASINs are “global” and are different only if the product is materially different from the original ASIN. For example, if you had three product versions that varied by the type of outlet plug—Europe versus UK versus US—each version would have its own ASIN. However, if the products are not materially different (e.g., color variations), then each version would not have its own ASIN.

Yes, you will likely need to be approved again for Europe because different countries have different regulations. You will be prompted to provide the appropriate documents during the application process.

Yes. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) cannot fulfill your European marketplace orders with inventory stored in US fulfillment centers.

Yes.

For detailed guidance on shipping products to Europe, get advice on how to ship to Europe.

Shipping, duties, and customs costs can vary depending on the size, weight, and contents of the shipment. Amazon has a number of providers for European FBA and self-fulfilled shipping that can help with freight quotes. There is not currently a preferred carrier program. For self-fulfillment, most international carriers, such as DHL, FedEx, and UPS, can facilitate shipments, duties, and customs as well.

FBA in the US is very similar to FBA in Europe. Just as in the US, FBA in Europe will help you deliver products to customers, manage customer service, and handle returns on your behalf. When you use FBA in Europe, you will get Prime badging, increasing your listing’s attractiveness to the millions of European customers who appreciate Prime’s fast delivery options. FBA offers also have a higher chance of winning the Buy Box. FBA fees vary by marketplace and category, as do Prime customer delivery times. Learn more about European FBA.

When selling in Europe for the first time, a natural approach is to think about your best-selling products in your home marketplace. From your previous experience and from data in sales reports, what sells well? Ask yourself why these products do well. Will those reasons hold true for the marketplace you are entering, or would other factors, such as culture, climate, and demographics, influence customer demand in the new marketplace?

Consider how differences in marketplaces can benefit you. For instance, do you have seasonal inventory that you don’t know what to do with after the season has passed in one marketplace? You could extend your selling season by selling abroad where the product may find a new audience. Use our Europe holiday calendar to make the most of European peak shopping periods.

Tip: List a wide range of products (with less inventory) rather than just a few products (with a lot of inventory). A broader selection of products means more customers overall will see your listings, and you’ll be able to quickly gauge which of your products can succeed in a particular marketplace.

Maintaining a broad selection doesn’t mean you have to commit a lot of your inventory to another Amazon marketplace right away. If your sales spike, you can adjust your price or remove listings, just as you can in your home Amazon marketplace. For an even smaller commitment, you can start by fulfilling orders yourself rather than sending inventory to a fulfillment center in another country.

In deciding which products to sell in an Amazon marketplace, you, of course, have another key source of information available to you—observations of the marketplace itself. This sort of marketplace research should be very familiar to you from activities you likely conduct when selling in your primary Amazon marketplace. For this research, local language proficiency is extremely helpful. If you are trying to research a marketplace in a language unfamiliar to you, you may be able get some basic language interpretation from free online translator tools, but beware of relying too heavily on such tools.

In your target marketplace, review the Best Sellers, New Arrivals, and Featured Brand selections for your product categories. Read customer reviews to understand your competition’s strengths and weaknesses.

Trade publications and online seller communities in each country can also be rich sources of information as you prepare to list products in their locales.

Tip: Keep in mind that our marketplaces get customers from all over the world. For example, someone living in Sweden might shop on Amazon.co.uk, while someone living in Austria might shop on Amazon.de.

Yes. Just like in the US, Amazon’s European Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) service helps you grow your European business both on Amazon and on other sales channels by giving you access to Amazon’s world-class fulfillment network for all of your orders, from wherever they’re placed. Learn more about European Multi-Channel Fulfillment.

Sales conversion begins with listings that are easy to find and offers that are compelling. Just like selling in the US marketplace, there are different ways to boost initial sales. Amazon provides several tools to help, including advertisements and promotions.

Amazon Sponsored Products advertising can help increase exposure to your offers across European marketplaces. Sponsored Products is a cost-per-click advertising service that helps you promote the products you sell through keyword-targeted ads.

For brand owners enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry who are looking to promote their brand and product portfolio, consider Headline Search Ads (HSAs). HSAs are banner ads that promote your products right on top of search results, prime real estate on the Amazon search results page. Learn more about Headline Search Ads.

The promotional tools available vary by Amazon marketplace and may include Free Delivery, Money Off, and Buy One Get One (BOGO). Visit the Promotions help page for more details on the types of promotions available. To see the steps to creating a promotion, visit Creating a Promotion.

Amazon offers a currency conversion service that helps you convert currency from British pounds and euros to your preferred local currency. Currency is exchanged at the time of deposit to your account, with a roughly 3% conversion fee.

When you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon will provide 24-hour customer support for delivery-related questions, which comprise the majority of overall customer contacts, on your behalf in the local language of the relevant marketplace. For many sellers, this FBA feature is critical to selling successfully in Europe. With local language customer support already included in FBA, you can provide your customers with Amazon’s world-class customer service, and you can focus on growing and managing your business.

When you choose to fulfill customer orders yourself, Amazon requires that you handle customer support for delivery and product-related customer contacts.

If you don’t possess in-house customer service capabilities in the local languages, automated computer translators can help you respond to email inquiries from European customers. While you’re just getting launched in Europe, these machine translations offer a free method of handling customer contact in languages you are not familiar with. As your business grows, however, the quality of translations from these solutions may not suffice. For better-quality service, consider using a third-party service provider to handle your customer support. Visit Amazon’s Solution Provider Network for translation services.

Customers expect prompt, helpful service when they have questions or concerns about your products. Customer service specialists who understand your products, know where the buyer’s product is and when it will be delivered, and can respond quickly to email contacts in the local language can help you maintain a healthy seller scorecard.

When you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon will handle returns on your behalf, so you don’t have to worry about providing a local return address or changing your pricing to incorporate international returns shipping.

Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) returns are the responsibility of the seller. You must pay for a return label and provide a local return address, or provide a refund and let the buyer keep the product. To learn more, visit Customer Returns for International Sales.

There is no connection between your US and European accounts in terms of seller performance metrics. Metrics are measured separately for each account.