As a proprietor, you are not bound by physical constraints anymore. Initiatives, like the Amazon Global Selling program, have changed the game altogether. Now, a small-scale individual seller in one part of the world can sell products to a consumer living in another part of the world without setting up an extensive import and supply-chain infrastructure. For example, a seller, operating out of a garage in New Jersey, can easily make a sale to a customer in Southern Australia. Many small-to-medium enterprises working in local markets have gone worldwide just because of Amazon Global Selling. To say that this brings an enormous opportunity to entrepreneurs around the world wouldn’t be an overstatement.

Nevertheless, many ventures using this Amazon selling feature are not tapping into its full potential. There are many reasons for this, but having no prior experience of imports and customs compliance is the simplest explanation.

If you are mulling over entering the Amazon Global Selling program, then we would suggest that you go all out, fully prepared, instead of cautiously testing the waters. Before we delve deep into the discussion, let’s make one thing clear: you will need to work with an expert e-commerce Importer of Record to make the most of your endeavors on Amazon Global Selling.

Now, let’s see some of the measures that you should consider while operating through Amazon Global Selling.

1) Try to Cater to All the Amazon Marketplaces

There are 14 Amazon online marketplaces spread across five continents. By making an account on Amazon Global Selling, you can sell to consumers in all those markets. However, it has been noticed that many small-scale sellers try to stick to one market only. There is no harm in targeting a single market, but it would be exceedingly better if you reach out to every consumer looking for the type of products you sell from any part of the world through Amazon. There are several reasons why this strategy pays off.

• Your business will not suffer from a formidable competitor that usually enjoys greater traction in a single market. When your sales get divided across 14 different marketplaces, such competitors are not going to affect your business much.
• You can benefit from different purchasing powers in different marketplaces. For instance, you can sell a similar product on Amazon United Kingdom and India at different rates. By manipulating prices and offering discounts by keeping in the purchasing power of the respective region, you can maximize profits successfully.
• When you are an active seller in multiple markets simultaneously, you can get around the side effects of low economic activity in a particular region. A second market can compensate for the inactivity of the first, and so on. This will minimize your risks and protect your investments made on the platform.

So, why do online ventures hesitate to go all out when it entails so many benefits? Well, the first and foremost reason is that they are working without e-commerce Importers of Record. Even the ones that are working with one use services that don’t entail shipments to all the Amazon marketplaces.

Availing the expertise of an Approved Amazon Importer of Record Service Provider that can take your products to all the marketplaces listed on the platform is strongly advised. This will help your business reach every nook and corner of the Amazon Global Selling landscape.

2) Keep an Eye on Local Festivals, Celebrations, and Sporting Events

All retailers and entrepreneurs know that festivals bring in more sales. Likely, you are already dolling out your special Christmas and Easter discount offers. But if you want to work on Amazon Global Selling and want to make the most of it, then you need to look beyond festivals that matter in the region you are operating from.

In India, 20 to 30 religious and social festivals occur annually, including Diwali and Holi. Similarly, in the Middle Eastern Region, you must consider the two Eid festivals if you’re working through an approved Amazon Importer of Record (Amazon IOR).

You need to be aware of local celebrations in regions where Amazon marketplaces are present. Promoting your products during these festivals can significantly boost your sales revenue beyond regular sales.

There is another factor you need to consider while tracking the local festivities. See what are the popular sports in your target market. During, before, and after a major tournament of that sport, you can sell a large number of related products (even remotely related ones) in that marketplace.

Example:

Offering soccer-related accessories and general athletic gear in the French Amazon marketplace after France wins the Soccer World Cup would result in increased sales and profits.

If you’re already working with an e-commerce IOR for your imports, there’s little extra effort required. Simply schedule an annual meeting to organize a calendar, noting all important festival dates and major sporting events in your marketplaces.

3) Work with a Dedicated E-commerce Importer of Record

If you haven’t worked on Amazon Global Selling before, then you must know that Amazon is not going to act as your importer. Many people are under the impression that FBA will also take care of the details of their imports. However, that’s not the case. Amazon and its Fulfillment Centers are not liable to act on your behalf as an importer and take care of all the customs-related requirements.

In short, you will need an importing representative in the country you are taking your business to. For instance, if you are using an FBA for Japan, then you need to have a representative there (e.g., an e-commerce IOR) to oversee the entire importation work. You have two options to work in this scenario.

• Working with the Attorney for Customs Procedures (ACP)
• Working with a Full-Fledged E-commerce IOR

If you opt for the first option, then be prepared to spend both money and time on dealing with your import shipments. ACPs will charge you but will only take care of tax and duty payments in the destination country. The rest of the work (complying with customs laws and different government directives) will still be your responsibility.

On the other hand, a seasoned e-commerce IOR will provide you with all the import-related services. It will take care of your import documentation, declaration, shipment tracking, and customs clearance. In short, it will act as an importer on your behalf so that you can seamlessly get to avail the facility of FBA in that country. These Amazon IORs allow you to focus on your core competencies to scale up your business.

For instance, if you are working with an Approved Amazon Importer of Record (Amazon IOR)Service Provider, you don’t have to worry about anything related to the imports reaching the destination port and the fulfillment center. These established Amazon IORs take care of all these matters.

4) Have a Proactive Marketing Approach on Amazon

Many new sellers, particularly when they start operating on Amazon Global Selling, think that placing the items on the website is enough to reach out to customers. But that’s not the case.  Amazon is brimming with sellers and buyers all the time. So, just dropping your product on the website is not enough even if you are working with an Approved Amazon IOR.  You need to market your offers as well.

Buyers now treat Amazon as a shopping search engine, so the search bar on Amazon.com acts like one now. Similar to Google, it works on a particular algorithm and makes relevant search suggestions to buyers. All these changes in searching norms on Amazon also require you to mold your marketing and selling strategy accordingly. You need to do some SEO for Amazon. For instance, keep the title of your products concise and full of information so that buyers already know what they are viewing online.

Moreover, try to make the landing page of the product more attractive and engaging. By using Enhanced Brand Content, provided by Amazon on Seller Accounts with a pro subscription, you can add banners, boxes, and more images to the page.

After optimizing the product page, put some money into Amazon marketing service (works like Google Ads). It will give you a good kickstart in any marketplace on the Global Selling Platform.

The post How to Make the Most of Amazon Global Selling? appeared first on GCE Logistics.

If you are managing a local e-commerce enterprise and looking for new markets to explore, but without undergoing logistical and operational hardships and resources overspent, then you should consider selling your products in the UAE. Yes, you can sell in the UAE without the hassle of establishing any infrastructure on the ground hiring local representatives, or registering your business there. This is possible if you are working with an e-commerce Importer of Record such as Amazon UAE that is also working as an Amazon IOR.

To sell your products in the UAE, you can use the Amazon UAE marketplace via a seller IOR. This is the most hassle-free route you can take to reach Emirati buyers. Here, we are going to discuss different things that you need to take into account to execute your plan of selling in the Emirati e-commerce sphere.

Don’t Just Barge Into the Market

The prospect of selling to an affluent consumer base is exciting. And in that excitement, many sellers forget to do the due preparation. For instance, you can’t just ship whatever you sell to Emirati ports through an e-commerce IOR and then get it on Amazon FBA. First, you need to assess what items from your product catalog are in more demand among Emirati buyers.

Look at the best sellers on Amazon’s local marketplace in the product category you want to sell in. It will give you a rough idea of the sellers and products you are up against. To refine your product search, you can use Amazon seller extensions (AMZScout, JungleScout, etc.) that can give you more meaningful details regarding an enlisted product.

Factor in Sales Rank and See How it Suits You through Amazon UAE

This is the most important part of the selection of the products you want the e-commerce Importer of Record to deliver at an Emirati port. You need to see the sales rank of the type of product you want to sell. If the product ranks high, it means it experiences healthy sales but with the caveat of tough competition.

On the other hand, if a product ranks low, it means it doesn’t sell that well, but here you can build your unique seller profile. However, you need to factor in the cost of storage because these products will spend a lot of time in Amazon’s inventory.

In short, you can select your item of shipment more wisely by looking at the ranking of products you want to market in the UAE in their respective Amazon UAE categories.

Be Ready for High Rates of Product Returns

You need to mentally, operationally, and financially prepare yourself to experience high rates of product returns. While offering you a lot of benefits as a seller, Amazon FBA also favors the buyers in some domains. For instance, it is quite easy for them to return a product.  So, don’t get jittery by experiencing a high rate of product returns in the beginning.

It will smooth out as you make inroads in the Emirati market with more sales through the help of an experienced Amazon IOR Importer of Record.

Try to Win the Buy Box

It is important to understand that getting your products listed on Amazon UAE via an approved Amazon Importer of Record (IOR) service or Amazon IOR provider is not enough to make sales. Amazon is a tricky playground for sellers, and they need to outplay each other to earn maximum profits. The one thing you need to work on immediately after putting your products on Amazon FBA is to earn a place in the Buy Box.

It has been estimated that more than 80% of sales on Amazon go through the Buy Box. It is more than a good reason to strive to get a spot in the Buy Box on the pages of related products. Even though there is no sure-shot way to get into the Buy Box, the following are the basic requirements that you need to fulfill to be a contender.

You Must Have a Professional Seller Account at Amazon UAE

If you want to win a spot in the Buy Box for your products in Amazon’s UAE marketplace, then you must be registered on its Seller Central. It is not an issue if you are operating from within the UAE. However, an overseas seller reaching out to consumers in the UAE through Seller Central must be registered with the country’s relevant authorities.

For this very reason, many online merchants back out of the plan of selling on Amazon UAE because they don’t want to get into bureaucratic red-tapping and delays that consume a lot of time and effort and are simply not worth it. If you are working through a seller IOR that also acts as an Amazon IOR in the UAE, you just don’t get around all the governmental holdups but also get an approved seller status in the local Amazon market that increases your chances of getting the Buy Box spot.

You Must Be Selling a Brand New Product

You have to deal with new products to fight for Buy Box. Reconditioned and refurbished items are not eligible for this esteemed spot.

The Product Must Be in Stock through Amazon UAE

The availability of a product is another criterion to earn a spot in the Buy Box. Here, the role of your Amazon Importer of Record is really important. It must maintain a steady supply chain of your products to the Amazon fulfillment centers in the region, so your products always remain “in stock.”

Pro Tip:

Even if you are working with an approved Amazon Importer of Record that is seamlessly delivering importing and selling services, sometimes getting a spot in the Buy Box remains an unlikely prospect. You can get around this constraint by bundling your product. For instance, if you are selling shampoo, you can bundle it with a conditioner or hair oil to make your unique listing.

Focus on Your Unique Brand

Carving out your unique identity among multitudes of sellers on Amazon is no mean feat. However, you must work on it if you are in it for the long haul. Upon searching, you will find many sellers on Amazon who are not full-fledged LLCs but still hold their unique brand on Amazon.

You can take many measures in this regard. For instance, make sure you are uploading unique and customized product shots instead of using stock images and blurred photos. Similarly, write product descriptions that can extend the stay of visitors on the page.

Besides, dolling up the product pages, you need to do value addition to your products to become an Amazon brand in the Emirates. For instance, you can add lavish packaging to products before handing them over to your Amazon IOR. Similarly, add some complimentary items to the package. These measures will certainly cut back on your profit on a single sale, but overall it will improve your seller profile on Amazon UAE.

Keep Your Product Pages Buzzing with Activity

A product page devoid of any activity is not going to get any traction. You need to gather as much as reviews on the product. Similarly, the Q/A box on the listing page is another thing that attracts visitors. While reviews are dependent on the sales, you can take charge and start FAQs on the Q&A box on your own. Friends and family can help you a lot in filling up this section.

Uncover more about these related articles:

• UAE Food Import Regulations
• IOR Services in Dubai

The post How to Successfully Sell on Amazon UAE as an Overseas Seller appeared first on GCE Logistics.

Amazon will collect, pack, and ship the products to the consumers. therefore the best part about FBA is that you can easily scale up your business as your sales increase over time.

In this post, we will explore the role of an Exporter of Record (EOR), such as GCE Logistics, for companies sending goods to an Amazon fulfillment center. We aim to inform you about how the EOR manages the shipment of your goods to a fulfillment center in the US and introduce the Amazon Importer of Record (Amazon IOR) service, which is now available.

The Role of EOR in Shipping Goods to Amazon Fulfillment Centers

Any company that wants to send goods to the Amazon fulfillment center must hire an importer of record (IOR). because Amazon will not act as an EOR for any goods that are sent to the fulfillment center. This is applicable for shipment of goods of any value or size. If you do not hire an EOR, therefore your goods may be refused or returned.

An EOR is responsible for all aspects of the export process. Some of the responsibilities of an EOR include the following.

• Make sure that the exported goods conform to local rules and regulations
• Pay duties, fees, and taxes on goods, if applicable
• Answer all possible queries from the US Customs and Border Control
• Obtain and fill export documents
• Take legal responsibility for nonconformance to local rules
• Keep detailed records of supporting documents

If you are exporting goods that are not permitted or included in the restricted item list, therefore the EOR will get the required authorizations or permits. Some of the items that are on the restricted or prohibited list include certain alcohol, medications, agricultural products, plants and seeds, and wildlife products.

What Does Our E-Commerce Amazon IOR Importer of Record Service Include?

• Complete documentation and compliance checks
• Acquisition of import permits and licensing
• Clearing of shipment through relevant customs authorities
• Payment of all customs clearance charges and levies on your behalf
• We carry out the last-mile delivery to the final consumer
• Periodic reporting on shipment status
• Warehousing and storage solutions
• Temporary imports/temporary exports through third countries
• Management of your products through customs procedures

Final Remarks

An EOR can play an invaluable role when it comes to sending goods to the Amazon fulfillment center.
the export agent will act as your representative in the US. You won’t have to deal with the legal requirements regarding exporting the goods. The agent will take care of it for you.

Keep in mind that Amazon is not responsible for any taxes, duties, and fees that are levied on the goods stored in the FBA inventory. Any shipment that arrives at the fulfillment center with customs duties due will be sent back to you. That’s why you must hire an EOR to take care of all the monetary obligations regarding the shipped products.

At GCE Logistics, we have a team of expert professionals who can take care of all your export needs. To talk to one of our Amazon IOR Experts, or Get a Quote from an E-Commerce IOR Importer of Record Service

Source: IORservice.com

For more in-depth information, read our related articles:

• E-commerce fulfillment costs
• International shipping tips
• How E-Commerce IOR Helps to Scale Up Logistics!

The post How to Deliver Imports to Amazon FBA IOR from Abroad? appeared first on GCE Logistics.