Planning on selling on Amazon EU? You might have already heard that the European market is rapidly growing and if you’re an established Amazon seller in the US, expanding your business into Europe is something you might have already been considering. If so, here are some simple yet quite important things you need to know to start right.
VAT (Value Added Tax) Legislation compliance
VAT is something you shouldn’t be afraid of but you need to ensure that you get your taxes in order before you move full steam ahead with selling in the EU. With a right tax advisor, completing the whole registration as well as the filings would be a lot less worry-some. Keep in mind that as an “overseas seller”, VAT registration is required immediately. So if you don’t want to be in trouble with the EU government, better have it as a top priority.
Conduct a market research before start selling
Do a separate market research and don’t just copy and paste your entire US e-commerce business strategy into the EU market. It would be important to note that these are totally different markets which means a product that is selling well in the US, might not do the same in the EU. So do your research and know what the EU people need and want. In addition, below are some more aspects that you need to investigate:
- Shipping
- Pricing
- Translations
- Warehousing
- Labeling
- Trademarks
- EORI
Know what fulfillment options are available
There are several options available to you if you plan on selling in the EU. Top on the list is completing your fulfillment from one European country known as Amazon EFN (European Fulfillment Network). This allows you to decide where you want your inventory stored and enables you to fulfill orders across the rest of the EU marketplaces from one country which means all sales will be subject to the VAT of that specific country. It is advisable for sellers who are just starting to sell in the EU because only one VAT is required initially.
Fulfillment by Merchant is another option you can consider. You can hire an independent warehousing or fulfillment provider or even do the fulfillment yourself.
Your third and last option is PAN-European Fulfillment Program. With this program, sellers ship their inventory to UK fulfillment centers and let Amazon distribute it throughout the rest of their EU fulfillment centers. This means faster shipping times (which buyers love!) and lower delivery costs. However, it means you’ll have to face additional VAT obligations in each country. Despite this additional requirement, PAN- European fulfillment is something you should consider at a certain point.
Hire a local expert to manage your EU VAT obligations
Handling taxes in your home country is difficult enough. Much more if it’s in another continent and in another language. Just like all else, EU legislation is subject to constant changes which can be a pain. A local expert can help you be on top of the legislation and ensure that your business is fully compliant which is crucial in maintaining your European Seller Account. Besides, spending less time dealing with VAT related issues means more time to spend on your core business.
For more details on selling on Amazon Europe, check out Amazon’s official website.
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