Amazon is growing at an exponential rate and has been expanding worldwide. There is no denying the opportunities of the US Amazon market reaching millions of American shoppers every day. The good news is selling on Amazon US is not just limited to US residents.
The Benefit of Selling on Amazon US
The major benefit to breaking into the US market is the huge potential population you can reach. This North American market is almost 20x the size of the Australian market, providing your business with exposure to a much larger customer base, which can help either grow your current business or create new business opportunities.
One of the biggest draws of Amazon is their Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) program. This means that Amazon takes care fulfilling each individual order that a customer places for your products. You basically import your products to one of Amazon’s fulfilment centres in the US where Amazon then stores them, packs and ships each individual customer order. Through the FBA program Amazon also handles a lot of the operational legwork for you as well as customer services and returns.
As an international seller, this is the exact same service that the US sellers have access to. This means that you can have easy access to that huge US consumer base without having to build your own warehouse team or any other infrastructure in America.
How to Get Started
The first step of course is to set up an Amazon account. There are a couple of different options when doing this. First, you will have to choose between an FBA or a merchant fulfilled account. You of course will be choosing FBA as you are going to be using that Fulfilment by Amazon program as you are an international seller.
You will also have to choose between a professional or individual selling plan. Choosing the professional plan you will get access to more tools such as advertising. It also makes economic sense if you are going to be selling more than 40 units per month.
Business and Tax Questions
It is highly recommended to set up a Proprietary Limited Company (Pty Ltd) in Australia rather than a US company as overall you will save on income tax. BDWelsh can help set up an Australian Pty Ltd company in under 24 hours. Also without required US residency documents, it is a hassle to get a US bank account for your business. When you set up a US Amazon account they will ask you to fill out a form called the W8-BEN. This basically certifies that you are exempt from US tax reporting requirements. Of course, you should also consult with a tax professional in Australia about what this income will mean for your business or personal tax situation in Australia.
How to Import your Products to the US
Becoming an importer is not that much different for an international person or business as it is for someone located in the US. Time zone is going to be your biggest challenge. Working with an experienced freight forwarder is definitely recommended because navigating customs bonds, importer numbers, clearing your goods through customs is best left to the experts and all the additional legwork may not be worth the expense that you would save by doing it yourself
Payment
One of the benefits to selling on Amazon is they will automatically convert your sales to Australian dollars and pay you every 2 weeks. You get paid into your local bank account with no additional wire or transfer fees. It is highly recommended to have a local accountant to handle this process for you and your business.
So there you have it that’s how you can get started selling on Amazon.com from Australia. Over one hundred million people buy from Amazon in America so this is a pretty easy way to access a consumer base that is 20 times larger than Australia.
If you need a little bit more help to get started, contact us at BDWelsh, we help international brands launch their products on Amazon.
Please Note: Many of the comments in this publication are general in nature and anyone intending to apply the information to practical circumstances should seek professional advice to independently verify their interpretation and the information’s applicability to their particular circumstances.