After you set up your main marketplace (aka source marketplace), created all offers, uploaded professional images and added keywords, surely you are thinking about the possibility of expanding your customer channels to other marketplaces – target marketplaces. Currently, Amazon, through the Amazon Global Selling Tool, allows sellers to list and sell their products in 7 European countries, North and South America, Asia and the Middle East.
Advantages and challenges of international sales on Amazon
Selling products on Amazon outside of your home country has advantages, but also disadvantages that you should consider before you decide to take this step. Of course, one of the main advantages is that you can increase your sales. However, you must not forget that selling internationally also comes with many challenges. When entering new markets, you have to deal with different currencies, foreign languages, returns from other countries, shipping and logistics issues. Don’t forget customer service, which must be in the local language. If your new country is outside of your current continent (e.g. you have a Seller Central account for a European country and want to expand your sales into the American market), you will also need to pay an additional monthly fee for your Amazon account . If you opt out of the FBA program, you are responsible for packaging and shipping your items sold, processing returns and customer service, and in some cases, clearing customs.
Benefits of international sales on Amazon
Don’t worry, selling internationally doesn’t have to be all about hassles. By creating listings on any of Amazon’s international marketplaces, you gain instant access to customers around the world. When browsing your listings, they will likely come across your products. Increasing the number of new potential customers gives you the opportunity to increase sales of your products. Although customers in a new country may not be familiar with your brand, they have great confidence in the Amazon platform. If you choose FBA to sell in other markets, Amazon will process international orders, handle customer returns, and sometimes even provide local language customer service on your behalf. And with the Build International Listings tool, you can use the Amazon translator to list on other marketplaces for free. Even if the product descriptions prepared in this way are not perfect – sometimes the same two words appear instead of a synonym – you can activate advertisements in other markets with minimal effort. Such directories may be modified and improved over time.
What to know before selling in new markets
There are a few more things to consider before deciding to sell on other marketplaces through Amazon. The ratings of your product are transferred to other countries, but only within one continent. This means that if you get five stars in the German market, they will show up in France, Italy or Spain, but no longer in the US. This situation is beneficial when the feedback is negative. A new continent also means different marketing strategies and product ranges. What sells well in Europe does not necessarily sell well in America. An example is a German company that offers accessories for telephones. In the home market, the best‐selling products were iPhone cases, while in America, the greatest interest was in BlackBerry phone accessories. As the new market and audience grows, so does the number of competitors similar to your brand that you haven’t previously had to compete with for customers.
Factors to consider before selling in a new market
In summary, I would like to list the basic factors that I think you should consider before you start selling in a new market. First select what you want to offer and in which countries you want to sell. Analyse whether you prefer to focus on one product or multiple products. While it sounds tempting to list everything, it’s better to start with a smaller number and gradually explore the demand in the new market. It’s also worth checking which of your products are eligible for international shipping. Remember that each country has its own regulations. And don’t forget that a different country means a different culture and different purchasing decisions. As I wrote earlier, what sells well in one market may not be popular in another. It is also worth marking in your calendar the main holidays and sales days that prevail in other markets. You often make substantial profits on such days and it would be a shame if you missed out. The last factor to be mentioned is the issue of patents and legislation. Sometimes it happens that a design or a product name is registered in a certain country.
