Amazon. com Help About Currency of Preference on International Shopping

New to Amazon Global? Check out this gu >

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Whatever country you live in, if you’re shopping online, chances are you’ve come across Amazon. But Amazon isn’t quite the same for everyone around the world. It operates different versions in numerous countries - there’s Amazon UK, Amazon Australia, Amazon China and so on. But the biggest Amazon is the one based in its home country, the USA. That’s why Amazon Global exists: it’s a way to order stuff from the huge US version of Amazon, even if you live in another country. Amazon Global ships internationally to more than 100 countries.

As easy as that? Well, sort of. Take a look at our guide to find out how it works.

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Now, back to what you came here to read.

What is the Amazon Global store?

The Amazon Global store is a selection of items from the main US Amazon store. Which items? All of them that can be sent to other countries around the world. 1 Really, it’s a lot like a filtered version of the main Amazon website which simply excludes the items that can’t be shipped out of the US.2

What advantages does Amazon Global have over a retailer based in your home country? None at all. as long as you can get hold of what you want, at a decent price, where you live. Amazon Global is primarily for when the product you want isn’t available in your country. Or, occasionally, you might be able to get things cheaper through Amazon Global - but don’t forget to keep a careful eye on shipping costs. But more on those later.

How does Amazon Global work?

Really, it works in the same way as regular Amazon. From the Amazon Global homepage, you can browse all the available categories, or use the search bar at the top of the page to try and find what you’re after.1

All the while, you’ll only be seeing items that can be shipped internationally. But take care: if you’re signed in and Amazon probably knows where you live, you may not be browsing only those items that can be shipped to you. You’ll probably be looking at everything that can ship to any country other than the USA - so it might not be available to you after all. So, it’s smart to check the product page carefully, and see if it does in fact ship to where you are.

What about customs through Amazon Global?

Buying goods from abroad is never quite as simple as buying them in your own country. Often when things cross borders, there are extra costs - costs such as customs duties or taxes.

So when you use Amazon Global, not only will shipping costs probably be greater, you’ll likely also have to pay something called an Import Fees Deposit.3 That’s a deposit designed to cover the cost of import into your country.3 At the point of purchase, Amazon can only estimate what this will actually be, though - that’s why it’s a ‘deposit’. But they offer a decent enough deal: if the import ends up costing less than you pay in the deposit, you can get a refund, and if it costs more, Amazon picks up the extra cost.3

Sellers: How to sell on Amazon Global: Step by Step

If you sell on Amazon Marketplace, you might be interested in exploring Amazon Global. Here’s a quick guide to what to do.6

Decide which countries to target. This is up to you, of course, but do factor in legal concerns, as well as regional differences - for example, differences in electrical socket types around the world mean that your product might not work in certain countries. And the big question, of course, is whether there’s a potential market for your product in that country. Work out how to send stuff there. You’ll have to be able to actually get your product to the destination country, so figure out how to ship things there, and find out what difficulties that might entail. You might want to handle shipping yourself or use a carrier. Take care publishing the details. You need to make sure your product displays with the correct shipping costs and delivery times. The ‘shipping from’ information needs to be there too, so your potential customers know where you are. And don’t forget to factor in customs duties and taxes - these will be your responsibility too, and of course, they vary substantially from country to country.

Buyers: How to use and order from Amazon Global: Step by Step

If you’re interested in using Amazon Global to buy, here’s an overview of the process.

Head to the website. Rather than the usual address, try amazon. com/global. Sign in, if you’re not signed in automatically. You should be able to use login details from any Amazon site you’ve used previously (except Amazon China or Japan - if you’ve only used them, you’ll need to set up a new account). Make sure Amazon knows your location. Search for what you want, checking each time that the items you’re looking at are actually eligible for shipping to your country. Put anything you want to buy in your shopping cart, and when you’re ready, review your cart and check the cost. Select delivery options - with care. This can have a big impact, not just on shipping costs, but also on the import deposit. Choose your payment method - again, with care. Pay in US dollars if you can, because otherwise Amazon might convert your money itself, and the exchange rate it uses might not compare so well to the mid-market rate. 7 Make sure you know what your bank is going to charge you for an international transaction: always try and minimize the extra fees you have to pay your bank.

How long does Amazon Global shipping take?

Say you’re using Amazon Global to order a piece of string. How long is that piece of string? The answer to this question is basically the same.

That is to say, international shipping times vary a lot, firstly depending on how far the goods are travelling - don’t expect an item shipping from the US to Canada to take the same amount of time as something from the US to New Zealand. Secondly, the time depends on the delivery option you choose. With ‘priority shipping’, some items can get from the US to Germany, say, in just a couple of days. But with standard shipping, the same order could take weeks. So, inevitably, it depends in part on how much you’re willing to pay⁵.

Amazon Global priority shipping

Priority shipping or ‘priority courier shipping’ is the fastest way to get items sent to you, but be aware that it comes with a price tag.8 That price tag is dependent on where something is being sent, as well as what sort of item it is - books often have a different shipping cost from electronics, for instance.8 Sometimes the costs are calculated according to weight, too, and heavy items may face a surcharge.8 Priority shipping can often set you back substantially more than standard shipping, so take care.

As noted above, watch out for changing import fees, too. This is a separate cost from the shipping fee itself, but it does vary according to the shipping method you select. So if you choose priority shipping, you might face one extra cost more than you’d expected.

Good luck using Amazon Global - it can be a great resource if you’re looking for hard-to-find items or unexpected bargains. Keep an eye on the cost, though, and don’t let your international transaction cost you more than it has to.

Sources:

1.https://www. amazon. com/International-Shipping-Direct/b? ie=UTF8&node=230659011 (September 5 2018)

2.https://www. amazon. co. uk/b? ie=UTF8&node=10859429031 (September 5 2018)

3.https://www. amazon. com/gp/help/customer/display. html? node > 4.https://www. amazon. com/gp/help/customer/display. html/ref=hp_left_v4_sib? ie=UTF8&node > 5.https://www. amazon. de/gp/help/customer/display. html/?node > 6.https://services. amazon. com/global-selling/global-selling-guide. html (September 5 2018)

7.https://www. amazon. com/gp/help/customer/display. html? node > 8.https://www. amazon. com/gp/help/customer/display. html? node >

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FBA Export

At no extra charge, the FBA Export program can help you expand your business to more than 100 countries and regions.

International customers from more than 100 countries and regions can visit your home marketplace and shop for products that are eligible for FBA Export. Amazon helps you identify which of your products are eligible for FBA Export, fulfills your international orders, handles import duty and customs clearance, and ships your product to the international buyer’s address. International buyers pay international shipping costs and customs duty. There is no extra cost to you to fulfill FBA Export orders. You can exclude products and you can exclude countries from FBA Export. Amazon’s return policies are used to determine whether a unit fulfilled through FBA Export is eligible to be returned. You use product listings in your Seller Central account to sell FBA Export-eligible products to international customers shopping on Amazon. com. Except on Multi-Channel Fulfillment orders, sellers do not pay additional fees to use FBA Export. For more information, visit FBA Export fees.

FBA Export enrollment

Most sellers are enrolled automatically in FBA Export by default. To check your FBA Export enrollment status, click Fulfillment by Amazon in the Settings drop-down menu and go to the Export Settings group.

You can enable or disable FBA Export in Export Settings at any time.

By using FBA Export, you authorize Amazon to sign a commercial invoice on your behalf for each FBA Export shipment. This commercial invoice will itemize and describe the contents of the shipment and authorize brokers and other third parties to execute additional documents necessary for the export of your products.

Exclude countries or products from FBA Export shipments

You can change the FBA Export settings to meet your business needs by excluding countries, excluding products, or excluding some products from some countries.

To exclude countries:

In the Settings drop-down menu, click Fulfillment by Amazon.

Go to Export Settings and click Edit.

In the Shipping restrictions section, click Edit, select the countries you want to exclude, and click Save.

To exclude individual products from some or all countries:

In the Settings drop-down menu, click Fulfillment by Amazon.

Go to Export Settings and click Edit.

Click Exclude products.

Download the FBA Export exclusion file and follow the instructions in the file to exclude individual products from a country or region.

You can exclude up to 1 million non-media products through file upload.

You can edit, add, or remove products from the FBA Export exclusion list at any time.

Eligible products

For a list of products from your FBA inventory that are eligible for FBA Export, go to the Reports tab, click Fulfillment, and under Inventory click Show more to access the Exportable Inventory report. You can check the list, even if you have FBA Export disabled. We update this report periodically, so if you have no exportable products now, check again later.

Products may not be eligible for FBA Export for a variety of reasons, including:

Export restrictions:

For certain classes of products, the laws of the source country prohibit the items from shipping internationally. For example, the US government prohibits export of military products as a matter of national security. The following types of products are generally restricted for export:

Weapons and imitation weapons Plants, plant products, seeds, and soil Animals and certain animal products Surveillance equipment Laser pointers and related products

Import restrictions:

Although a source country may allow exports of an item, destination countries have their own policies regarding what may be imported. The policies vary by country. To avoid delays, customs clearance issues, and poor customer experience, Amazon generally restricts international shipment of the following types of products (this is assessed on a country-by-country basis):

Alcohol Weapons, weapon components, and weapon accessories, including defense sprays; BB, airsoft and paintball guns and parts; scopes; holsters; and carrying cases Chemicals including pesticides, fertilizers, insecticides, industrial and automotive chemicals, and certain cleaners Food, medicines, and supplements, including pet food and pet supplements Medical devices including diagnostic kits, medical alert devices, and sex determination kits Drug paraphernalia Adult products Alcohol brewing equipment Baby walkers, baby self-feeding devices, and car seats Cryptographic electronic equipment Gambling-related items and paraphernalia Imitation currency

Transportation and logistics restrictions:

Certain restrictions are based on logistics or transportation limitations. For example, products that exceed a certain size and weight are excluded from FBA Export. Transportation restrictions include:

Heavy or bulky items such as mattresses or beds Dangerous goods Large or standalone lithium ion batteries Used oil, such as cooking oil or motor oil

ASINs not yet processed:

These are items awaiting review to determine if they are eligible for FBA Export. We process new ASINs for eligibility once a month. Make sure your product has either a full product description or bullet point so it can be processed in the next cycle.

Exportable Inventory report for MWS sellers

If you use an integrated web service API to manage your Amazon business and have a Marketplace Web Service-eligible seller account, you can use the following API operation to download the latest Exportable Inventory report.

Report Type: _GET_FBA_EXPORTABLE_OFFERS_REPORT_

Report ID: 26600

Report Type: _GET_FBA_FULFILLMENT_EXPORTABLE_INVENTORY_DATA

FBA Export and product distribution agreements

If you have concerns that distribution agreements may limit where your products can be sold overseas, you can opt out of FBA Export, restrict shipments to certain countries, or exclude specific products from the program. You can do this at any time and for any reason.

Sales reports for international orders

To see a sales report for your FBA exports, go to the Reports tab, click Fulfillment, and in the left panel under Sales, click Amazon Fulfilled Shipments. You can see your FBA Export international orders by filtering the ship-to destination country.

For API Sellers, the enumeration value is _GET_AMAZON_FULFILLED_SHIPMENTS_DATA_.

International Multi-Channel Fulfillment Orders

Even if the ASIN is eligible for FBA Export, you cannot create international Multi-Channel Fulfillment orders for non-media products.

International returns for FBA Export

With FBA Export, Amazon provides fulfillment and customer service for your orders, including processing buyer returns. Amazon uses Amazon’s return policies to determine whether a unit is eligible to be returned. However, to ensure a good buyer experience, Amazon will make case-by-case exceptions and accept returns for units fulfilled through FBA that may be past the stated return time frame.

When a buyer returns a product, the standard Amazon returns policy will be followed. If the returned product is received in sellable condition, it will be returned to the original seller’s inventory. If the returned product is not in sellable condition, Amazon will determine who is at fault (Amazon or the buyer) and make reimbursement according to the FBA lost and damaged inventory reimbursement policy.

The buyer must pay the return shipping costs if there is no product defect. If there is a product defect, the buyer pays and ships the product back to Amazon’s warehouse. Amazon will compensate the buyer for the actual return shipping cost when the parcel is received.

Fees: For pricing information on Multi-Channel Fulfillment orders to international addresses, refer to FBA Export fees.

How To Sell on Amazon U. S. from Anywhere in the World

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We get this question on a daily basis here at Jungle Scout. “Can I sell on Amazon US if I am based in a different country?” or “How do I sell on Amazon US if I live outside of the USA?” So much so in fact, I thought I would put this post together to share the good news, that YES, you can, in fact, sell on Amazon US from ANYWHERE in the world and I’m going to explain exactly how to do so.

Selling on Amazon US Internationally

You can sell from Amazon US Marketplace from all corners of the globe, given you have a good internet connection! We have Jungle Scouters working for our team (Including myself!) living and traveling across the world who sell on Amazon, so we have all the information you’ll need to get set up in no time!

For the past year and then some, I have been traveling and living outside of the United States, and still selling private label products on Amazon as efficiently as if I were tethered to my desk like the olden days. Let Amazon handle all logistics and inventory storage, give me a good internet connection, and I have just gained my freedom to travel the world!

So I don’t need to be in the USA to sell in the Amazon US Marketplace?

So let’s get things straight, you do NOT need to be living in the USA to be eligible to sell on Amazon’s US store. I’m going to show you all exactly how to accomplish this so that you could be chillin’ on a beach in the Maldives or taking in the Northern Lights in Iceland, all the while selling on Amazon’s US marketplace.

Why Is It Better to Sell on Amazon’s U. S. Store?

First, a little context on Amazon U. S. and other international Amazon stores. Amazon’s largest region is North America (mainly sales from the U. S., but also Canada and Mexico), and the UK, Germany, and Japan make up the lion’s share of revenues.

However, Amazon’s most innovative services, such as Prime are so well utilized in the US, that in order to execute such a logistically intensive operation, Amazon needs to have a dense network of distribution centers and warehouses developed in the States.

How Do I Sell on the Amazon US marketplace

I want to preface this first by stating the obvious: I am not a financial advisor, tax lawyer, or otherwise. I just know this from my own experiences, and am sharing it from my time as a seller living outside of the States. So I am not going to delve into the state or federal tax requirements, but I obviously recommend that you do your due diligence and speak to a trusted advisor on that.

When setting up your Amazon store, here are some basic pieces of information you will need to prepare.

Provide a credit card that can be charged internationally, Visa or Mastercard. A phone number—if you get a Skype US phone number, that will work in your favor. You will need to provide US bank account information. This may be a hassle as many banks require your presence in the States, but you do want Amazon to have a legit account to send the money, right? One solution that you can use is Amazon’s Currency Converter for Sellers (find that here). Granted, I have not gone through this process myself as I have a US bank account, but I know ACCS basically allows you to sell in foreign Amazon marketplaces without opening a bank account in that country. Instead, you are paid directly in your local bank in your local currency. Pretty sweet, huh? The one small caveat is that you can only receive payment to a bank account in a country and currency supported by ACCS. There is also a list of all the countries and currencies supported by Amazon’s Currency Converter for Disbursement.

There are some steps that you will have to follow in order to streamline the importing process.

Create Your Amazon Listing: You have to create the listing on Amazon first, in order to receive the shipping destination and FBA warehouse that you will be sending the product to. Choose Your Customs Broker: In order to import your item into the US, you will need a Customs Broker to get your product into the States (unless you ship via Air like UPS, DHL, FedEx, in which case it is included as a service). Your customs broker will guide you through the exact process of clearing your shipment, and the requisite paperwork, documentation, taxes, and more. This is perhaps the least enviable aspect of selling on Amazon’s U. S. store, but something that all importers have to go through!

I went into more detail about the importing and shipping process in this post here. I don’t want to rehash the same information, but definitely take a look at that as well for information about importing from China into the United States.

How to Import and Store your Product Efficiently:

I think this is the trickiest part, and once you find a great partner, it makes all the difference in the world.

I use Flexport. They handle all the customs, freight forwarding, and inventory storage for me. They are injecting the importing game with a much-needed dose of technology, which is so critical in saving time and headaches. I do not necessarily want to recommend or comment on other services that I do not have first-hand experience, but with a quick Google search you should be able to identify the main service providers, and also other people’s experiences with different companies.

Here are a few types of services that I would recommend if you are selling in the U. S. from abroad:

Check Samples: As you may have seen with the marshmallow sticks that I have launched, there is a range of quality in both the physical product and the supplier themselves. You can be the judge of what the supplier may be like (communication skills, responsiveness, background check, etc), but you can’t necessarily get a great gauge of the quality of product if you don’t handle it yourself. Have the supplier send to you directly, wherever you are in the world, or have them send it to friends/family that can vet the product for you. Don’t just rely on photos or the supplier’s word when examining samples, you want a trusted source on your behalf to evaluate the product!

Quality Assurance: Though you will probably never touch your product if you are abroad, you want to make sure that the quality of the finished product matches the quality of the sample. I have seen and heard cases where there is a noticeable difference between the two. For my marshmallow sticks, I checked the first batch of 100 units, which were up to par, and then I have not touched the product since. Bamboo marshmallow sticks are fairly straightforward to produce, but if there is some nuance to the production or something that is fragile or requires precision, you may want to look into third party inspection services. I would recommend doing this while the product is in China, where it would be easier to rectify than once it has gone through the importing process.

Fulfillment Prep Centers: I have seen more of these services pop up recently, as there is a need to get products from your overseas supplier to Amazon’s warehouses. Normally I am a big advocate of removing any middleman possible (why reduce your profit margin that we work so hard for if at all possible?), however, I definitely see a need for these services. It is similar to an insurance policy that everything from the factory is prepared accurately according to Amazon’s guidelines. It is even so important for overseas sellers to get all of the packaging and prep requirements to meet Amazon’s standards. You can see their detailed instructions here. If your products are not received by Amazon ready for fulfillment, you will incur additional fees, and worse yet, Amazon will reject the shipment and return it to you at your own expense.

Storage: Depending on the size of your product, you will want to look into storage options. Depending on how new of a seller you are, and how slowly your inventory moves, you may be subject to Amazon’s Inventory Storage Limits, particularly for items that are classified by Amazon as oversized. This becomes a bit of an inventory management game, as you may want to order 1000 more units from your supplier, but can only house 500 units at a given time. Flexport is great for this, as they store inventory at their warehouses until I decide to send it to Amazon’s warehouse. The fees are very reasonable, but again, you should do some searching on Google or Amazon seller forums to find alternatives.

How to Order from Amazon. com in Thailand

Did you know that you can order products from Amazon. com and have them delivered to your address in Thailand?

Thanks to the International Shopping Experience, if you're an expat in Thailand wanting to order a hard-to-find book, or wanting to get in on those exclusive Black Friday deals, it's possible to order in just a few taps.

The International Shopping feature is for countries that do not have an official Amazon web portal and where imports are the only option. That means countries like Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Peru, Uruguay, and Thailand.

So with 45 million available items (potentially), it's probably best that you don't start browsing at 2 o'clock in the morning after a night out on the booze!

Why Order From Amazon. com in Thailand?

Why bother, right? There's other options. Is there, though?

Lazada is technically Southeast Asia's Amazon, a marketplace where you can buy just about everything and anything at reasonable price.

However, as you will see from my Lazada review, not everyone is pleased with the service.

Some people like myself have used it without incident, but others, as you'll see from the comments section, have had a bit of a nightmare and find themselves wishing that they could order from Amazon – like they used to back home.

Of course, bad experiences can happen on Amazon too, particularly if a seller is using fake reviews to sell a substandard product, or if you receive a faulty product, or one that was bashed up in the delivery van.

But generally, Amazon is reliable. That's why so many people miss the service when they move to Thailand – particularly those who aren't fans of shopping in malls and haggling in markets.

It goes without saying that many electronic goods can be found in Thailand a lot cheaper than they would be on Amazon. com.

But there's the issue of quality.

Lately, there's been a lot in the press about substandard electronic items from China being sold on eBay, and even in high street stores.

Some electrical items such as phone chargers have been responsible for house fires and injuries due to electric shocks. Sometimes it pays to pay a little more.

While low quality cables and chargers are very cheap in Thailand, the higher end ones can actually be more expensive than they are found in the US or Europe.

And then there are the sales periods such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, where you can get super deals on laptops, Kindles, Amazon Echos, hard drives, kids toys, water filters, clothes, and anything else you can think of.

So maybe there are times when ordering from Amazon would be preferable.

There has certainly been times in my life in Thailand where being able to order from Amazon would have helped me out.

One situation in particular: I was trying to find a playpen for my daughter. I was struggling to find any of the popular brands in Thailand, but managed to locate one in Central Mall in Bangkok. Thing is, it was quite literally double the price.

If I'd had the Amazon international shopping feature back then, I would have ordered it from there.

For the record, the international shopping feature allows you to shop in 25 currencies, including Baht, which might be useful for those who have a Thai bank account with a Visa debit or credit card.

Expats can also choose a range of languages to shop in, including Spanish, English, simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and German.

How to Order From Amazon When in Thailand

To use the International Shopping feature, you have two options.

Option1 : Desktop Ordering

Open up Amazon and change your “deliver to” location in the top left-hand corner.

You'll then see products eligible for shipping to Thailand.

Go onto Amazon. com and click the ‘Deliver to' sign in the top-left-hand corner and select Thailand as your location.

Option 2: App Ordering

Alternatively, install the Amazon Shopping app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

Once installed, the app will automatically load the feature based on your location.

If you already have the app installed, go to Settings > Country and Language > International Shopping.

In that setting, you can select your language and currency of preference.

Once you have installed the app and international shopping is enabled, you will see all the products eligible for shipping to Thailand.

Amazon detects your location so you can choose to do international shopping.

Shipping Costs

Shipping was never going to be cheap, that's for sure. It's probably best to stick to smaller, lighter items. But then again, you might find that the cost of shipping is not far off the cost of the item.

So let's face it, this service is probably going to be reserved for special items like the one I described above, and when you can't get a product anywhere else.

Here's a rundown of the shipping costs:

Standard (7-10 days)

Music / DVD / Blu-ray – £1.49 per item + £2.09 per delivery. PC & Video Games / VHS / Software – £2.99 per item + £5.49 per delivery. Books (includes audio books) – £2.99 per item + £5.49 per delivery.

For any combination of items from the categories listed above add together the appropriate “per item” rates. The highest “Per Delivery” rate applies.

AmazonGlobal Standard (5-10 days)

Baby / Car & Motorbike / Clothing / DIY & Tools / Electronics & Photo / Hobbies, Sports & Leisure / Home & Garden / Jewellery & Watches / Kitchen / Musical Instruments / Office Products / PC & Video Games / Shoes and Bags / Software / Toys – £4.99 per kg + £10.99 per delivery.

AmazonGlobal Priority (2-4 days)

Music / DVD / Blu-ray / Video Games / Software / PC Games – £1.99 per item + £19.99 per delivery. Books / Jewellery & Watches – £2.49 per item + £19.99 per delivery. All other categories – £4.99 per kg + £19.99 per delivery.

* For any combination of items from the categories listed above add together the appropriate “per item” or “per kg” rates. The highest “Per Delivery” rate applies.

What About Customs Duties?

Yep, many of us have experienced the annoyance of receiving a customs payment request upon receiving a gift from abroad.

The good news is that the international shopping feature displays pricing, shipping costs and import duty estimates, with Amazon managing courier service and customs clearance so you don't have to worry about any potential surprises once your goods arrive in Thailand.

The International Shopping experience displays clear pricing, shipping costs, and import duty estimates, with Amazon coordinating with courier services for customs clearance on behalf of the customer.

Thailand doesn't have a dedicated Amazon store, so this is the next best thing.

Will you use it over Lazada?

Let me know of your experiences in the comments section.