Seller

As a Seller, you can choose from several options. You can do it all yourself (that’s called ‘fulfillment by Merchant) and ship your products via DHL or PostNL, for example. Or you can let Amazon take care of it, which is called fulfillment by Amazon. You put your products in stock in a warehouse of Amazon. They then also ensure that the consumer receives your product on time. You can then decide how your products will arrive at the warehouse. In most cases a Seller will make arrangements with a carrier. Keep in mind that – above a certain amount – you must declare VAT in the country from which you ship the products.

Vendor

Distribution for Vendors is pretty straightforward, because you always bring the products to an Amazon warehouse. They make sure it gets to the buyer. So you only have to think about the trip to the warehouse. For a Vendor, that often means that it is easily picked up in the existing distribution process. However, you may have to send the products to different warehouses. Amazon currently has over 120 warehouses in Europe.

Time slot and specifications

Do you choose fulfillment by Amazon or are you a Vendor? Then you have to take into account a strict time slot for the delivery of goods and products. A warehouse can accommodate 100 trucks at a time. Each truck gets a time slot of 15 minutes. You can also deliver package and pallet shipments. Those shipments have to meet all kinds of specifications. For example, Amazon likes to see that you specify exactly what is in which box.

Selection

When do you choose which option? If you have a small business, you can do it yourself. But as soon as you receive many orders from other countries, it is advisable to outsource the distribution. Moreover, you avoid extra costs, because sending a package to Spain, for example, is quite expensive.

Choosing one of the above options is, of course, also related to the volume of orders. In Europe, there is free movement of goods. But if you sell more than 100,000 euros worth of products in, for example, Germany, you must apply for a German VAT number and file a tax return.

Help is near

Is it already dizzying? DivisionM will take a look at your situation and make an overview of the options. DivisionM can also advise you and take care of the administration and logistics for you. That way, you can be sure it will go well. 1P Trading (the sister company of DivisionM) is also a Vendor for Amazon. So we have a lot of experience. Want to know more? Please contact us.

Want to learn more about the difference between Seller and Vendor? Click here ” Or are you looking for information on using Amazon as a Seller? Find a roadmap here “. Are you a Vendor? Here’s what you need to know “.