The Ultimate Guide to Selling on Amazon UK

If you sell products online, there is one tool you simply can’t ignore – Amazon. Amazon is the top eCommerce platform globally and is forecasted to see significant growth over the next few years.  

No doubt, Amazon attracts a huge audience of potential purchasers and provides a global shop window for product creators, distributors and home-based business owners.  The platform presents lucrative opportunities for small and micro business owners to drive sales revenue and business growth. Our Ultimate Guide to Selling on Amazon UK outlines how traders can list and sell their items, indicates how much it costs and explains the responsibilities involved.  

Key stats: 

• Amazon attracts over 200 million users per month  
• Amazon sellers sell over 4000 products per minute. 
• Customers trust Amazon  89 percent of buyers agree that they’re more likely to buy products from Amazon than other ecommerce site 
• FBA gives sellers a 30-50% increase in sales.  
• 9 out of 10 consumers price check a product on Amazon.  

Schemes for small business traders 

Amazon provides several schemes for small business owners to trade, advertise or earn commission: 

• Amazon Marketplace allows traders to list and sell their items directly on Amazon’s UK website, with Amazon handling payment and, if required, fulfilment. 
• Amazon Advantage is specifically for selling books, music, DVDs and video products.
• Amazon Product Ads and Amazon Sponsored Products offer traders two different ways to advertise their products on Amazon. 
• Amazon Associates is an affiliate marketing programme. Affiliates can generate revenue by referring visitors to Amazon product pages via ads on their own websites. 

Selling on Amazon UK Marketplace 

Amazon Marketplace is a fixed-price online marketplace that allows traders to sell new, used, collectable and refurbished items alongside Amazon’s own stock. When people browse Amazon’s website for goods, they are offered the choice of buying directly from Amazon or from a Marketplace seller. Marketplace sellers can set their own prices, and sell items that Amazon does not have in stock. 

Traders can sell a huge range of items via Amazon. Product categories include books, music, DVD and video, consumer electronics, video games, toys and games, DIY and tools, home and garden, and office products. Certain product categories require approval before they can be sold on Amazon; these include beauty products, jewellery and watches.  

Types of seller accounts 

In order to start selling on Amazon UK Marketplace, a trader must create a seller account. There are two types of seller account – Basic and Pro: 

• Basic is a pay-as-you-go account designed for traders who sell fewer than 35 items per month.

It allows items to be listed individually, and charges a per-item fee of £0.75 when items are sold (plus referral fees and variable closing fees). 

• Pro is a subscription account designed for users who sell more than 35 items per month. It allows items to be listed in bulk, and charges a monthly fee of £25 (plus VAT, referral fees and variable closing fees). 

Referral fees and variable closing fees 

In addition to the per-item fee (Basic account) or monthly subscription fee (Pro account), sellers must pay referral fees and variable closing fees on items sold. The referral fee is a percentage of the total sum paid by the buyer. The percentage varies depending on the item category. For example, for items in the consumer electronics category, the referral fee is 7%, with a minimum fee of £0.40. The variable closing fee is £0.50 for every media item (books, music, DVDs, video, video games and software) that is sold. 

For more details about fees, go to https://services.amazon.co.uk/services/sell-online/pricing.html.  

Setting up a seller account 

In order to set up a seller account, traders must register online via the Amazon website (https://services.amazon.co.uk/services/sell-online/how-it-works.html) and provide the following information: 

• Company registration details
• Main contact person address, telephone number and e-mail address.
• Credit card details (applicants must hold a credit card with a valid billing address).
• Bank account details.
• Information about the owner of the company.
• VAT number, if applicable. 

Listing items 

Once registered, traders can list their items and start selling on Amazon UK Marketplace. There are two ways to list an item: 

• Create a listing. This method is used for items that already exist in the Amazon catalogue.Traders can search Amazon’s catalogue from their seller account, or find the item via the Amazon.co.uk website. They can then create their own listing for this product by specifying price, quantity, condition and other details. Listings are published on Amazon.co.uk, where buyers can browse and purchase. 

• Create a product. This method is used for items that do not exist in the Amazon catalogue. Here, traders must submit full details of the item. The information required will vary by product category but will typically include the product name, unique product code (UPC), description and images, as well as price, quantity and condition. The details submitted will be used to create a product detail page, which will be added to the Amazon catalogue. 

Orders and deliveries 

When a buyer orders an item, Amazon notifies the seller by e-mail, and the seller must then arrange delivery of the item. Orders can be managed using the Amazon Seller Central online interface, which also allows traders to download packing slips and order reports. Payments are made into the seller’s bank account every 14 days. 

Amazon sellers are required to meet certain responsibilities, which include: 

• Dispatching items within two working days of order notification.
• Ensuring that listings are accurate.
• Agreeing to accept and process returns and refunds.
• Showing buyers the country the goods are shipped from. 
• Paying all necessary fees.

Amazon encourages buyers to rate and review Marketplace sellers. Maintaining a good feedback rating can encourage more people to buy from a particular trader. Meanwhile traders who fail to meet feedback standards can have their seller accounts suspended or cancelled. 

Fulfilment by Amazon 

As an alternative to packing and shipping their own products, traders can use the Fulfilment by Amazon service. Traders can send their products to Amazon, where they are stored. When an item is purchased, it is picked, packed and shipped by Amazon. 

As part of this service, Amazon also handles customer service and returns. Using the Fulfilment by Amazon service can also help traders make their products more visible and accessible to shoppers. For example, items sold by traders that use Fulfilment by Amazon are eligible for Amazon Prime delivery options. 

Fees for the fulfilment service vary according to the type of item, the weight and dimensions, and the shipping method. Traders must pay a fulfilment fee, a shipment fee, and a monthly storage fee. For more information about fees, go to https://services.amazon.co.uk/services/fulfilment-byamazon/pricing.html. 

International orders 

In addition to selling goods throughout the UK, seller accounts registered with Amazon.co.uk are automatically enabled to sell goods via Amazon’s other European marketplaces. Traders can also choose to sell globally by registering with Amazon’s North American and Asian marketplaces. However, traders are fully responsible for complying with the legal and tax requirements of each country in which they hope to sell their goods. It is vital that traders research and understand local regulations before entering a new marketplace. Considerations can include: 

• Consumer law
• Product compliance
• Product labelling
• Tax and customs duties
• Export controls
• Import quotas
• Intellectual property law
• Parallel imports
• Environmental requirements
• Health and safety requirements

For more information about selling goods in Amazon’s European marketplaces go to https:// services.amazon.co.uk/services/sell-online/one-european-account.html. For information about global selling via Amazon, go to https://services.amazon.co.uk/services/global-selling/overview.html. 

Amazon Advantage 

Amazon Advantage is a consignment programme; in other words, Amazon acts as retailer for the trader’s products. The Advantage programme can only be used for books, CDs, DVDs or videos. Items must be listed on the Amazon website before they can be included in the programme. Items included in the Advantage programme are kept in stock by Amazon, and appear more prominently on the Amazon website. When stock gets low, Amazon will automatically re-order, with the order volume based on previous sales. 

Amazon handles payment and fulfilment, and provides sales and inventory reports. It issues a payment report in the month after the sales are made. VAT-registered traders must submit a VAT invoice each month. Non-VAT-registered traders are not required to submit an invoice. 

Payment is made by bank transfer 30 days after the end of the month in which the VAT invoice is received or the payment report is issued. Annual membership of the Advantage programme costs £23.50 (including VAT). Members are also responsible for the cost of shipping their items to Amazon, and shipping returns if applicable. 

Amazon requires a fixed discount on Advantage items of 60% for books, 30% for music, and 35% for DVD and videos. For example, for a book with a sale price of £7.99, Amazon would require a 60% discount, and would pay the trader £3.20. More favourable discounts are offered if a trader’s turnover exceeds £50,000 over a 12-month period. For more details about discount rates go to http://advantage.amazon.co.uk/gp/vendor/public/discount. 

For information on signing up to Amazon Advantage go to http://advantage.amazon.co.uk/gp/vendor/public/join. 

Product Ads and Sponsored Products 

Amazon Product Ads and Sponsored Products are two methods of advertising products on Amazon. 

• Product Ads target people who are browsing Amazon for similar products, and link to product pages on the trader’s own website. 

• Sponsored Products also target people browsing or searching for similar products, but link to product pages on the Amazon website. (Advertisers should be aware that other traders may be selling the same product via the Amazon product page, and buyers may choose to order the product from them instead.)  

Costs 

Product Ads are pay-per-click ads, so advertisers only pay when people click on the ads. Cost per- click fees vary by product category and price. Higher bids receive more exposure. The advertiser sets the maximum cost-per-click price they are willing to pay, and can set maximum daily budgets. For more details on Product Ads, go to https://services.amazon.co.uk/services/advertising/overview.html.  

Sponsored Products also operate on a cost-per-click, auction-based pricing model, in which the seller bids the maximum amount that they are willing to pay when a prospective buyer clicks on an advertisement for their product. For more details, go to https://services.amazon.co.uk/services/sponsored-products/how-it-works.html. 

Amazon Associates 

Website owners can also generate revenue via the Amazon Associates programme. This is an affiliate marketing programme that rewards website owners for advertising Amazon products online. Affiliates can link to Amazon from their own websites, via social media, in e-mails and elsewhere. 

Links contain a tracking ID and if a sale is generated the affiliate earns a fee of between 1% and 10% of the purchase price, depending on the product type. Affiliates can link to any product or offer in the Amazon catalogue. Amazon provides online tools to build product links and banner advertisements. Affiliates can access reports showing link performance, orders, and earnings. 

In order to apply to the Amazon Associates programme, website owners must have a fully functional website that meets certain criteria, and must supply their telephone number and bank details. For more details, go to https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk. 

Hints and tips 

• Traders must dispatch Amazon orders within two working days, respond to customer enquiries with 24 hours, and deal with returns and refunds promptly in order to meet Amazon Marketplace requirements. 
• It is important for traders to keep their Amazon product inventory accurate and up to date.
• Traders can consider combining selling on Amazon Marketplace with Fulfilment by Amazon to provide a complete e-commerce solution. 
• An Amazon UK seller account also entitles traders to list and sell products in Amazon’s other European territories (France, Germany, Italy and Spain), but traders must take responsibility for complying with legal and tax requirements in other countries. 
• The Amazon sellers’ community forums provide opportunities to get answers and advice from other sellers, including help for new sellers. 

Further information 

We hope you have found all the information and top tips you need to start Selling on Amazon UK. For further information, see below: 

 Amazon provides advice and information for traders and affiliates. 

Website: http://services.amazon.co.uk 

Amazon sellers’ community forums:

Website: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/forums 

DISCLAIMER While all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher of this Ultimate Guide to Selling On Amazon UK makes no warranties that this information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information