Amazon are piloting a new Simplify Global Selling programme to make it as easy to sell to overseas customers as it is to sell to those in the UK.
Amazon know that global selling can be complex for sellers. They try to make it easy for retailers to list on more Amazon sites with offers to translate listings and through the Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) programme with their European Fulfilment Network, Pan-European FBA, and Multi-Country Inventory offers. What Amazon can’t help with under these existing programmes are the legal complexities and cost of VAT registrations in multiple countries.
Now to simplify global selling and to remove the VAT obstacles, Amazon have created a new FBA pilot programme. To help win you international sales without any of the complexity of international transactions Amazon simply list your stock overseas and then Amazon themselves buy it from you to resell to the end consumer once they have a confirmed sale.
If Amazon purchases your inventory, your experience will be nearly identical to a domestic FBA sale. There are no additional fees to be part of the programme, Amazon simply purchases the product from you at the price you listed it at. This program has no impact on your sales to other domestic or out-of-country customers.
The only change to your experience will be related to invoicing but you don’t even have to raise an invoice. Amazon will self bill themselves and at the end of every month will email you the self billed VAT invoices that they generate on your behalf. Your only liability is to ensure that your billing details are bang up to date and of course to file your VAT and other tax returns as normal to include Amazon’s self billed invoice.
Put very simply, if you agree to opt in to Amazon’s ‘Simplify Global Selling’ pilot programme, you list on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon re-list your products on other sites around the world (currently within the EU). If they get a sale they buy a product from you on Amazon.co.uk, issue themselves an invoice from you and pay you for the product at the price you said you wanted for it. You’re liable for UK VAT and Amazon deal with all international VAT, taxes and shipping.
If at any point you decide that don’t wish to be part of the programme you can opt out at any time. Sadly, as it’s a pilot you’ll have to wait for an invitation to opt in.
16 Responses
This sounds a great idea. But if, for example, stock has already been moved to an overseas Amazon warehouse on a FBA basis, the sale to Amazon of that product would be a local sale for VAT purposes (ie where stock is) and might create a local VAT registration need, especially if stock is sold within that country by Amazon.
Thoughts?
everything the GSP from ebay isnt.
well dont again amazon, for knowing how to do ecommerce.
If you have your stock in UK FBA, then Amazon buys on behalf of a buyer on .de they then ship. But then that customer returns it, where would that returned stock sit? Back in UK FBA or in a European one? If it’s returned to say a German warehouse and then resold to another German buyer does that become a German sale?
I like it!
I’m guessing Amazon gets 20%+ markup by treating the sale as an export which covers the extra order fulfillment costs (and when you’ve got the best/biggest consumer logistics network in the world, why not?)
This seems like an extension of EFN. Bottom line, do I want extra sales? Yes, where do I sign up.
Is Simplify Global Selling currently limited to Europe-wide for European accounts? ie can I not opt to have my products listed worldwide by Amazon?
Bernard, pity their fulfilment network current has some major issues. Cannot send to buyer if taking 3 weeks to get item delivered to amazon.
When will this be rolled out?