Amazon UK (amazon.co.uk) is the UK's dominant e-commerce marketplace, with a customer base roughly ten times the size of amazon.ie. For Irish sellers who have validated a product on the Irish market — or who are launching directly into a larger audience — selling on Amazon UK from Ireland is a natural and highly achievable step.
Post-Brexit, the process involves a few more steps than it once did, but Irish sellers in 2026 have a well-established playbook for accessing amazon.co.uk.
Can Irish sellers sell on Amazon UK?
Yes. There are no restrictions preventing Irish sellers from listing on amazon.co.uk. As an EU-based seller, you can open a UK seller account, list products, and use Amazon FBA with UK fulfilment centres — subject to meeting Amazon's standard seller requirements and UK tax obligations.
How to set up a UK seller account from Ireland
Go to sell.amazon.co.uk and register for a Professional Seller account at £25 per month (approximately €30, billed in GBP). The setup process is the same as amazon.ie:
- Irish passport or national ID for identity verification
- An email address and phone number
- A bank account that can receive GBP (see below)
- A credit or debit card for fee payments
If you already have an amazon.ie seller account, you can link your UK account under the same login through the Unified Account feature in Seller Central. This lets you manage both marketplaces from a single dashboard.
Receiving GBP payments from Amazon UK
Amazon UK pays out in British pounds. You need a bank account capable of receiving GBP to avoid costly currency conversions. Options for Irish sellers:
Wise Business — the most popular choice for Irish sellers accessing Amazon UK. Opens quickly online, provides a genuine UK sort code and account number (accepted by Amazon), and converts GBP to EUR at mid-market rates with low fees.
Revolut Business — similar to Wise, provides GBP account details and competitive exchange rates.
Ulster Bank / AIB — traditional Irish banks can sometimes provide GBP accounts, but fees for currency conversion are typically much higher than Wise or Revolut.
UK VAT for Irish sellers on amazon.co.uk
This is the most important area to get right. UK VAT is entirely separate from Irish VAT (post-Brexit, the UK left the EU VAT system):
UK VAT rate: 20% — lower than Ireland's 23%, which slightly improves your effective margin on UK sales.
UK VAT registration threshold: £90,000 — once your UK turnover exceeds this in a rolling 12-month period, UK VAT registration with HMRC is mandatory.
FBA storage trigger — if you store goods in Amazon UK fulfilment centres, HMRC considers this creating a UK taxable presence, and some interpretations require UK VAT registration regardless of turnover level. Many Irish sellers use a UK VAT agent (a UK-based accountant or VAT specialist) to handle their UK registration and quarterly filing.
Import VAT — goods shipped from Ireland to UK Amazon fulfilment centres cross a customs border. Standard UK import VAT at 20% applies at the border, with a C79 certificate allowing you to reclaim it on your UK VAT return.
Budget approximately £300–£600/year for a UK VAT agent if you go this route. It is a standard cost for Irish sellers operating on amazon.co.uk.
Shipping from Ireland to Amazon UK fulfilment centres
When you create a shipment plan in Seller Central for amazon.co.uk, Amazon will assign UK fulfilment centres (typically in Coventry, Doncaster, Dunfermline, or Bristol). Shipping from Ireland to these centres is straightforward:
Direct courier (DHL, UPS, FedEx) — for smaller shipments up to a few hundred kg. Collect from your Irish address and deliver to the Amazon fulfilment centre. Cost is typically €100–€300 for an initial test order.
Freight forwarder — for palletised shipments from a supplier (e.g., direct from Alibaba to a UK fulfilment centre). Your forwarder handles customs clearance at both the Irish export and UK import stage.
A standard UK customs declaration (Entry Summary Declaration) is required for goods entering the UK. Your freight forwarder or courier handles this.
Comparing amazon.ie vs amazon.co.uk as an Irish seller
| Factor | amazon.ie | amazon.co.uk |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | €39 | £25 (~€30) |
| Currency | Euro | GBP |
| VAT rate on fees | 23% | 20% |
| VAT threshold | €40,000 | £90,000 |
| Customer base | ~5 million | ~65 million |
| Competition | Low | High |
| UK VAT agent needed | No | Often yes |
Which should Irish sellers prioritise?
For most Irish sellers, the recommendation is:
- Start on amazon.ie — lower competition, home market, simpler VAT setup
- Validate your product — get to 10+ reviews and profitable unit economics
- Add amazon.co.uk — once you have proof of concept, expand to the 10× larger UK audience
The two marketplaces are complementary. Your Irish market success gives you the review history, listing copy, and supplier relationship to enter the UK with confidence rather than guesswork.
Use an FBA profit calculator to model your UK unit economics separately — GBP prices, UK referral fees, and UK FBA fulfilment fees differ slightly from amazon.ie — before shipping your first batch to UK fulfilment centres.