GLOBAL SELLING
Expand into North America
Why expand to North America?
Access the world’s largest economy
Strengthen your cash flow and take advantage of the US holiday season and sales peak events. Don’t miss out on hundreds of millions of new customers! All without the need to set up a business entity in the US.
Unified Account
With a North America account, you can easily switch between the selling tools of Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.com.mx in Seller Central to list products in multiple marketplaces and manage orders. You can list products in one, two, or all three available North American marketplaces.
Let Amazon handle the details
Take advantage of our world-class logistics, powerful tools, and customer service to simplify global sales. This allows you to fully focus on expanding your business.
Learn how sellers successfully expanded to North America
Together with Amazon Global Selling, we can make our dream of everyone in the world wearing our Snocks come true.Felix Bauer and Johannes KlieschFounders, Snocks
Services Provider Network
Get help with global expansion from third-party service and software solutions
United States Holiday Calendar
Use this calendar to plan for the peak shopping periods in the US.
FAQ
Get answers to the frequently asked questions about selling in North America.
Overview
What products can I sell in North America?
It depends on the product, the category and the brand. Some categories are open to all sellers, some require a Professional Seller account, some require approval to sell and some include products that cannot be sold by third-party sellers.
To sell branded products protected by copyright, trademark, or patent, you must be the legal owner of the brand or an authorized reseller.
To sell branded products protected by copyright, trademark, or patent, you must be the legal owner of the brand or an authorized reseller.
Should I start in just the US or sell across all North America marketplaces?
Decide where you want to start based on your business’s current situation. Consider your product category, distribution rights, resources, and other factors. Many sellers have successfully launched immediately across all of Amazon’s North American stores. Amazon tools and services, like Build International Listings (BIL) and Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) services in North America, make selling across all North American marketplaces much simpler.
Of course, if don’t want to sell across all three marketplaces yet, or if your distribution rights don’t cover all marketplaces, you can start with one or two of them.
With a North America account, you can easily switch between the selling tools of Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.com.mx in Seller Central to list products in multiple marketplaces and manage orders. You can list products in one, two, or all three available North American marketplaces. When managing your Amazon inventory across Amazon’s United States, Canada, and Mexico marketplaces, it is important to understand the difference between the Global SKU and the marketplace-specific SKU in Seller Central. You can find more information on these topics here.
Of course, if don’t want to sell across all three marketplaces yet, or if your distribution rights don’t cover all marketplaces, you can start with one or two of them.
With a North America account, you can easily switch between the selling tools of Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.com.mx in Seller Central to list products in multiple marketplaces and manage orders. You can list products in one, two, or all three available North American marketplaces. When managing your Amazon inventory across Amazon’s United States, Canada, and Mexico marketplaces, it is important to understand the difference between the Global SKU and the marketplace-specific SKU in Seller Central. You can find more information on these topics here.
What are the differences between selling in Europe and selling in the US on Amazon.com?
Amazon has designed its marketplaces around the world in such a way that the process of selling is consistent and similar, no matter where you’re selling. Many services and processes that you’re familiar with in Europe, such as Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), Prime, and Sponsored Products, work similarly on Amazon’s North American marketplaces.
However, due to differences in regulations, culture, and language, each marketplace has unique differences. Here are some of the main ones to consider:
However, due to differences in regulations, culture, and language, each marketplace has unique differences. Here are some of the main ones to consider:
- Taxes: Sales Tax system in North America is different to European VAT. You should consult a Tax Advisor to discuss US Sales Tax. In order to find an advisor use our Service Provider Network.
- Product compliance: When you select an Amazon marketplace in which to sell, you’ll need to check whether your product is appropriate for that country. First and foremost, make sure that you comply with all laws in each country. In addition, different product standards apply in different countries. For more information visit this page about Restricted Products.
How hard is it to get started selling in North America?
Getting started selling in a new geographic region such as North America is an extensive 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 North America.
Just like when you started selling in Europe, your success in North America 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 of the pros and cons involved in selling in a new marketplace. Our guide to crafting a marketplace entry strategy can help.
Just like when you started selling in Europe, your success in North America 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 of the pros and cons involved in selling in a new marketplace. Our guide to crafting a marketplace entry strategy can help.
Requirements
What do I need to do to sell on Amazon in North America?
There are four main steps to begin selling in North America:
- Decide where and what to sell, including considering local tax and regulatory requirements.
- Register an account and list your products.
- Ship your goods and fulfil orders.
- Manage your business, including customer support and returns.
What North American regulations do I need to consider?
Please review the resources below to find out more about North American regulations.
Do I need an American business entity or bank account?
No. You can keep using your German business entity and German bank account. Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers helps you convert euro to your preferred local currency.
Account and listings
Can I use my current German account to sell in North America?
No, you will need to register a North American account.
Can I transfer my Amazon.de product listings over to Amazon’s North American marketplaces?
Yes, you can do it using our Build International Listings tool. The Build International Listings tool saves you time managing listings and enables you to create and update listings at the same time across multiple Amazon marketplaces with your Unified Account. Once you’ve launched and created listings in your primary “source” marketplace, you can then select these listings and identify a target marketplace in which you currently have no offers. Build International Listings performs the following two automatic functions:
- It creates listings in multiple target marketplaces based on products you are selling in the source marketplace.
- Whenever you add or remove a listing, that listing is also updated in the target marketplace.
- It adjusts prices in your target marketplaces based on changes you make to the source marketplace prices, according to pricing rules you set.
- Target marketplace prices are also adjusted to reflect exchange rate fluctuations relative to the currency of the source marketplace.
Do North American product listings require a new ASIN?
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. colour variations), then each version would not have its own ASIN.
I am approved to sell products that require approval for my category in Germany. Do I need to get approved again to sell these products in North America? What documents do I need?
Yes, you will likely need to be approved again for North America because different countries have different regulations. You will be prompted to provide the appropriate documents during the application process.
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