Many Nigerian entrepreneurs are faced with the thoughts of how they can sell their products on Amazon from Nigeria. You wonder if it is possible or not?
Well! You are going to find the answers you need within this article. I will give you tips on how to sell on Amazon from Nigeria.
What is Amazon?
Amazon is recognized as the most prominent internet enterprise used by individuals and businesses, and the platform is available in several nations and in different languages. Amazon sells e-books, baby dolls or gadgets, movies, electronics, music albums, and several other goods.
They sell directly or act as the mediator between other retailers and their clients. Amazon.com is a well-known technology company around the globe whose business is to simplifying online transactions for customers.
Why Amazon? | Benefits of selling on Amazon
E-commerce is gaining traction every day by day. Importance of selling your products online cannot be over emphasized. There are many perks and benefits of going digital (online) with your products (physical or digital).
Amazon is known as the biggest and most trusted online retail marketplace in the world. The size of Amazon’s customers is the number one benefit; nine out of ten persons have heard about Amazon marketplace.
There are high chances of your products or services having unlimited access to a large pool of customers on Amazon. Packaging and shipping are quite easy in Amazon. Sellers who fear about packaging and shipping fee are release from such worries.
Amazon’s website allows customers to view recommended products and services online, and your services could attract the attention of a customer when they’re searching for other services.
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Amazon offers affiliate program where any individual can pick your product to sell for you, in return, they earn a percentage of the product cost (usually below 8%). Affiliates would be willing to advertise your product for you. It gives you opportunity to reach more potential customers and make more profit.
Nigeria falls among countries that cannot register as a seller on Amazon market place. This is due to the high fraudulent activities associated with the country.
Listed below are the approved countries to sell on Amazon;
| Albania | Egypt | Madagascar | Sweden |
| Angola | El Salvador | Malaysia | Switzerland |
| Argentina | Equatorial Guinea | Mali | Taiwan |
| Armenia | Estonia | Mauritius | Thailand |
| Australia | Finland | Mexico | Togo |
| Austria | France | Morocco | Trinidad & Tobago |
| Azerbaijan | Gabon | Mozambique | Turkey |
| Bangladesh | Georgia | Namibia | Uganda |
| Belarus | Germany | Nepal | Ukraine |
| Belgium | Greece | Netherlands | United Kingdom |
| Benin Republic | Guinea | New Zealand | United States |
| Bolivia | Haiti | Niger | Vietnam |
| Botswana | Honduras | Norway | |
| Brazil | Hong Kong | Oman | |
| Brunei | Hungary | Panama | |
| Bulgaria | Iceland | Paraguay | |
| Burkina Faso | India | Peru | |
| Cambodia | Indonesia | Philippines | |
| Cameroon | Ireland | Poland | |
| Canada | Israel | Portugal | |
| Chad | Italy | Romania | |
| Chile | Ivory Coast | Russia | |
| China | Japan | Senegal | |
| Colombia | Jordan | Serbia | |
| Costa Rica | Kenya | Singapore | |
| Croatia | Latvia | Slovakia | |
| Cyprus | Lichtenstein | Slovenia | |
| Czech Republic | Lithuania | South Korea | |
| Denmark | Luxembourg | Spain | |
| Dominican Republic | Macedonia | Sri Lanka |
Source: SellerCentral
I will be revealing to sellers who are interested in gaining an international audience and generating cash on Amazon.
Guide on How You Can Sell on Amazon from Nigeria
There are no specific regulations limiting individuals outside the United States of America on how to sell their products on Amazon. This reveals clearly how to sell on Amazon. So, it’s very possible for every Nigerian who has a huge ambition to join this global online market irrespective of his or state in Nigeria.
There are various and vital steps to be completed before you can start selling on the largest e-commerce site on earth. I earlier highlighted the reason why Amazon is not opened to Nigerian sellers and some other countries.
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Amazon expects registered and eligible sellers to provide credible and factual information about themselves and their product, backed up with a strong desire to work.
Here are the fundamental items you’ll need to open a seller’s account on Amazon:
1. Account Registration
In Amazon, it is not possible to sell any products or services as an anonymous. Sellers need to open or register an account on Amazon.
Nigerians are not eligible to register officially on the platform and it is not easy to travel to the USA just to open an account.
Worry not! The good news is that you don’t have to worry yourself because; there is another way to open an amazon account.
First of all, you need people (family or friends) from other countries who are officially eligible to register on Amazon e.g. Togo, Niger, and Chad.
They can officially register you on Amazon with their address. Par adventure you cannot find anybody from the listed Africa country.
You can locate anybody or relative in the U.S to partner with so that you can have access in terms of virtual physical presence.
During the registration process, a VPN is needed to hide your IP address in order to avoid further complications.
Further document required for the registration;
- Actual name
- Genuine physical address for the approved countries
- Real financial details such as Mastercard/Visa International banking card details.
- Most Nigeria prefer to use their Payoneer account to receive.
- A US EIN (Employer Identification Number), this is simply an Identification Tax Number assigned to you.
Like Ebay, Alibaba, Etsy, Google and other online marketplaces, Amazon requires that you submit your EIN or Social Security Number at the end of the year for tax purposes. You are going to be taxed if you make above $600 online for the year.
You Can obtain yours from the website; IRS.GOV. Click on the link to fill an application form called 10-BEN.
Fill the necessary space box and print out the document. You will need the EIN code to further activate your account.
2. Account approval
Immediately you complete your registration process, you must be patient enough for Amazon to activate and approve your seller’s account. Before approval, bear in mind that some monthly charges will be required, which will cost you $39.99 for account maintenance. If it’s an individual account which only supports the sales of 40 items per month, it will cost you $0.99 per each item sold.
3. Choosing a shipping partner or method
After successful account registration and activation, you need to read all the guidelines of Amazon to its network of sellers around the world. There are basically two ways you can choose your shipping method:
- Move your products to your partner or friend who lives in an area that supports Amazon registration. This option is not really the best because of the high international shipping cost which may likely many potential buyers.
- Move your products to Amazon warehouse through its FBA program (Fulfillment by Amazon). This is probably the most desirable to customers in the USA because your products are present at Amazon warehouse and they usually sold as ship-for-free programs offered by Amazon.
Obviously, the second option can earn you more money. Sellers that are part of the FBA program need not to ship each order separately because Amazon will do it for you.
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It also takes a shorter period for your products to be shipped from African countries directly to your customers without any product missing.
4. Download the Amazon seller app
It will be nice to start using the app for convenience. The mobile app helps sellers to control and manage their new online store. Calculate properly the worth of your product and start adding more products to your Amazon store. You can decide to publicize your product to get more audience on Amazon.
To download seller app for Android devices, click here
To download seller app for Apple devices, click here
Okuna Rapheal
Okuna Rapheal is a seasoned content developer, with a strong background in both professional writing, business development and digital marketing. He creates excellent contents that interests readers while maintaining a fluid voice as well as meeting the most esoteric of specifications.