After many years of rumours and a few false starts, Amazon finally launched its full marketplace in Australia in late 2017. People selling through one of Amazon’s global marketplaces would have been quite disappointed that FBA was not part of the initial launch, but the great news is that FBA is now live and ready for your stock. So, what is FBA and why is it so important?
What is FBA?
FBA is an abbreviation for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). This is a service where Amazon takes care of warehousing your inventory at their fulfillment centres and will pick, pack and send orders to your customers as they come in. They’ll even handle returns and some of your customer service.
Source: Amazon Global Consulting
What are the benefits of FBA?
FBA is a great service that takes away the stress of finding your own warehousing options and you’re partnering with a reliable brand with a great reputation. This is particularly beneficial for sole traders and for people selling from international locations. By Amazon handling your orders, you’ll save loads of time so you can focus on running all the other elements of your business.
Sellers who use FBA can offer fast and free shipping to their customers, which opens up the door to targeting Amazon Prime members. Amazon Prime is a monthly subscription service where some of the benefits include free two-day shipping. Amazon customers can filter by Amazon Prime partners, so sellers are really giving themselves the best chance of winning the buy box when participating in Prime.
How much does FBA cost?
The FBA fees and charges have not been released for Australia yet, but they should be similar to the Amazon US structure:
Monthly selling fee: US$39.99
Referral fee: 8%-15% for most product categories
More information on Amazon Australia can be found on their website.
What’s next for Amazon Australia?
Amazon now has three FBA warehouses in Australia – Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
Amazon and WorldFirst
WorldFirst can open local currency receiving accounts for the countries you’re selling in. These accounts can be added to Amazon Seller Central and means you’ll be able to receive better exchange rates when repatriating your international Amazon sales revenue, pay suppliers directly from your account and make transfers at times that suit you.
If you’re selling locally and sourcing your products internationally, we can help you achieve better exchange rates when paying your suppliers.
Sign up for a free online sellers account now or visit our website for more information.
Disclaimer:
These comments are the views and opinions of the author and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement.
Whilst information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed.
All opinions and estimates constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice.