The short answer
Amazon does not operate a fulfilment centre in Ireland. There is no Amazon warehouse on the island of Ireland — neither in the Republic nor in Northern Ireland. If you are an Irish seller using Fulfilment by Amazon, your stock will be shipped to Amazon's EU fulfilment network, with centres in countries such as Germany, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Spain.
This surprises many new sellers, but it has no meaningful impact on your ability to sell on amazon.ie or across the EU. Understanding how the network actually works will help you plan your logistics, costs, and VAT obligations from the start.
How Irish FBA sellers ship stock to Amazon
When you create a shipment plan in Seller Central, Amazon assigns you one or more EU fulfilment centres as the destination. You then arrange freight from your supplier — or from your own address in Ireland — to those centres.
In practice, most Irish sellers fall into one of two sourcing patterns:
- Importing directly from a manufacturer (commonly China or elsewhere in Asia): the goods are shipped to an EU fulfilment centre without touching Ireland at all. Your freight forwarder handles the customs clearance into the EU, typically at the port of entry in Germany or the Netherlands.
- Receiving stock in Ireland first, then forwarding to Amazon: useful if you need to inspect goods, add labelling, or bundle products before sending them into FBA. You would export from Ireland, so Irish import duties do not apply, but you still need to clear the goods into the EU country where the centre is located.
Either way, you will need an EORI number (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) to move goods across EU borders commercially. Registration is free through Revenue and is a straightforward online process.
What happens to your stock once it is in the network
Once Amazon accepts your inventory at an EU fulfilment centre, they can redistribute it across their European network on your behalf — this is the basis of Pan-European FBA. Pan-European FBA allows Amazon to store your products closer to the end customer, which generally improves delivery speed and can increase your chances of winning the Buy Box.
The trade-off is VAT complexity. If Amazon stores your stock in Germany, Poland, France, and Spain simultaneously, you may have a VAT registration obligation in each of those countries. The EU OSS (One Stop Shop) scheme, filed through Revenue's portal, simplifies the reporting for cross-border B2C sales above the €10,000 distance-selling threshold, but it does not replace local VAT registration in every scenario — particularly if you hold significant stock in a given country. This is worth discussing with an accountant who has experience in EU e-commerce VAT before you opt in to Pan-European FBA.
If you prefer to keep things simple while you are starting out, European Fulfilment Network (EFN) lets you store stock in one country and still fulfil orders across the EU, at a slightly higher per-unit fee. It limits your VAT exposure and reduces administrative overhead.
Fees to factor in
Because your stock enters an EU fulfilment centre rather than a domestic one, you are dealing with two layers of cost that a seller in a country with a local Amazon warehouse does not face in the same way.
Import costs into the EU depend on your product's HS code. Customs duty typically runs from 0% to 12%, applied to the customs value of the goods. Irish import VAT at 23% is then charged on top of that customs value — but if your business is VAT-registered with Revenue, you can reclaim that import VAT as input tax, so it is a cash-flow consideration rather than a permanent cost.
FBA fulfilment fees on amazon.ie are charged in euro and are broadly in line with Amazon's EU fee structure. As a rough guide, a small parcel runs around €3.00 and a standard parcel around €4.10, before referral fees (typically 15% of the selling price, though this varies by category). Referral fees are charged on the total sale price including any postage you charge the customer.
Running the numbers before you commit to a product is essential. Landed cost, FBA fees, referral fees, and VAT obligations all need to be accounted for before you can see whether a margin exists.
Planning your logistics as an Irish seller
The absence of a local Amazon warehouse is a structural reality of selling on amazon.ie, not a barrier to entry. Thousands of Irish sellers trade profitably through EU fulfilment centres. The key is planning:
- Confirm your EORI number is in place before your first shipment.
- Work with a freight forwarder experienced in EU customs clearance, not just UK clearance — the two are different post-Brexit.
- Decide between Pan-European FBA and EFN based on your volume and appetite for VAT administration.
- Register for VAT with Revenue once you approach the €40,000 turnover threshold, and take advice on EU VAT obligations if you opt into Pan-European FBA.
Before finalising any product, run a full profit calculation that includes your freight and duty costs alongside Amazon's fees. A fee and profit calculator built for the irish market can help you stress-test the numbers before you place an order.