To sell on Amazon UK:
- Set up a Seller Central account for amazon.co.uk.
- Choose products to sell.
- Work out your costs and likely profit before buying stock.
- Create or match your product listings.
- Choose FBA fulfilment or fulfil orders yourself.
You can start as a sole trader or a limited company. The important early decisions are what to sell, whether the numbers work and how you will get orders to customers. If you want the shorter FBA-specific version, read how to start Amazon FBA in the UK.
What you need to get started
To register for a seller account, be ready to provide:
- Business or sole trader details
- A bank account that can receive payments
- A credit or debit card for seller charges
- Government-issued identification, such as a passport or driving licence
- A phone number for account verification
Use your actual business details when registering and follow the document requests shown in Seller Central. You do not need to form a limited company simply to begin selling as a sole trader.
Choose your seller plan
Amazon offers Individual and Professional selling plans on amazon.co.uk. The Individual plan has a £0.75 per-item fee. The Professional plan has a £25.00 monthly fee, excluding VAT. Other selling charges can still apply under either plan.
Choose based on your expected sales and the features you need, rather than assuming that a particular plan guarantees profit. Review the current plan features during registration and revisit your choice if the way you sell changes.
Choose what to sell
Product selection affects your costs, competition and ability to replenish stock. Common approaches include:
- Retail arbitrage: Buy discounted products from shops and resell them where you are permitted to do so.
- Online arbitrage: Source products from online retailers, then assess each potential resale separately.
- Wholesale: Buy products from distributors for resale, checking supply terms and any listing restrictions before ordering.
- Private label: Source a product and sell it under your own brand, with responsibility for the listing and stock.
Check demand, competing offers, product condition and any category or brand restrictions before committing to inventory. A product that looks inexpensive to source may still leave little profit after selling and fulfilment costs. Keep purchase records and check that you can list the product before placing a large order.
Understand the fees before you spend anything
Work out the likely cost of each sale before buying stock. Include the product cost, applicable referral fee, fulfilment or postage costs, packaging, returns and any advertising budget. Referral fees vary by category, while FBA fulfilment costs depend on the product and service used. For a breakdown of the charges, read Amazon selling fees in the UK.
Put your proposed selling price and product details into the UK fee calculator, then use the profit calculator to test what remains after your costs. If you need to know the selling price at which your costs are covered, try the break-even calculator. You can find these and other UK seller tools together.
Check your VAT position with HMRC rather than assuming the same treatment applies to every seller or product. The VAT calculator can help you model VAT when assessing a price, but it does not determine your registration or filing obligations.
Create your listing
First, search amazon.co.uk for the product you intend to sell. If the exact product already has a listing, use its existing ASIN and add your offer to that listing, subject to any selling restrictions. Do not create a duplicate product page just to sell the same item. If you are introducing a genuinely new product, create a new listing with accurate product details.
Prepare a clear title, useful feature bullets, a product description and images that show what the customer will receive. The main image should show the product against a pure white background. Check the applicable category requirements in Seller Central before uploading images or publishing the listing. Set a price using your cost calculations, not just the lowest competing offer.
How to fulfil orders
You have two main options:
- Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM): You hold the stock and arrange packing, dispatch and customer deliveries yourself.
- Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA): You send eligible inventory to Amazon’s fulfilment network, and Amazon handles picking, packing and shipping orders, as well as associated customer service and returns.
Compare the costs and work involved for your particular product. FBM gives you direct control over storage and dispatch; FBA can make eligible offers available with Prime delivery, but adds fulfilment and potentially storage costs. Whichever route you choose, make sure you can meet the delivery promise on your listing.
How long until your first sale?
There is no reliable timetable for a first sale. It depends on demand, price, competition, availability and how well your offer meets customer expectations. A new product listing may need more work to attract buyers than an offer on an established product page.
Once your stock or merchant-fulfilled offer is live, monitor whether the listing is active, review your pricing against your costs and adjust only when the change still makes commercial sense. Advertising may help people discover an offer, but include its cost when assessing profit rather than treating sales alone as success.