How to register a seller account on Amazon USA
The registration process is often associated with something long, complicated, and full of traps. In reality, registering on the American Amazon will take no more than half an hour of your time. And no flights to the USA – everything can be done remotely.
During the registration, you will have to make several decisions. Let’s focus on the main ones. The first choice you have to make concerns the type of seller account.
Decision #1: Professional or Individual Selling Plan?
Individual plan should be chosen if you sell less than 40 units per month. Amazon will not allow you to sell more – these are the restrictions. When choosing the Individual plan, Amazon deducts a commission of $0.99 from each sale (excluding the FBA fee).
Professional plan costs $39.99 per month + commission on each sale. But by choosing this type of account, you can confidently sell more than 40 units per month, open closed categories, create contextual advertising campaigns, use Amazon analytics, create an unlimited number of listings. None of this is available on the Individual plan.
Obviously, the Professional plan is richer in functionality and more profitable.
Decision #2: Register as an individual or as a business entity?
On the European Amazon, it is necessary to register your company. But on Amazon USA, everything is simpler – you can register as an individual. This is very convenient, as you don’t have to go through a lengthy company registration process and be present in the United States.
If you have your own company and plan to launch a large-scale business, it is better to register as a business entity. Keep in mind that you will pay taxes in accordance with the legislation of the country where the company is registered (the country can be in Europe, America, or Asia).
Decision #3: Register as a resident or non-resident of the USA?
Ironically, it is often much easier for non-resident sellers of the USA to conduct business on Amazon. This is due to American tax legislation, which you have probably heard of.
During registration, US residents indicate their Tax Identification Number (analogous to our identification code), and after that, they cannot hide from the tax service: sales taxes are automatically deducted. If you are a US resident or your company is registered in this country, you will have to pay taxes in accordance with the legislation of a specific state.
If you are registered in another country (or have registered a company there), all tax issues are resolved in that country. During the Amazon account registration, you fill out the W9-BEN form, after which you can officially not file reports with the US tax service. Keep in mind that you may have to pay income tax in your own country.
How to register on Amazon USA?
Let’s move on to the registration process. It will take 20-30 minutes. The first step is to go to https://sellercentral.amazon.com and click on “Register now”.
In the new window, click on the “Start selling” button. Choose a Professional or Individual plan.
Then fill out the registration form. Keep in mind that it’s better to use a separate email address for your Amazon account, as you’ll receive a lot of notifications.
Next, read the rules (there is a separate section for non-US residents, “notice for international sellers”), enter your name, check the “Agreement” box, and click “Continue”.
The next step is to enter the brand name, address, country, phone number, type of product you plan to sell, and so on. Pay attention to the “Display name” field – this is how you (the seller) will be displayed on Amazon. The name should be unique, so it’s best to use the brand name. It’s better to fill in the fields marked “this is optional” anyway.
After that, you need to enter the details of a credit card (or payment card) issued in any country and any currency. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, or JCB cards are suitable for registration. The main condition is to remove the limit on online transactions, otherwise Amazon won’t be able to deduct the commission.
This card is used more for identity verification than for payments. Amazon will only deduct money from it when you have no sales and are in the negative. Otherwise, all fees are deducted from your sales income.
Next, Amazon will send you an SMS with a code or call the number you provided to confirm your identity. This verification procedure takes a few minutes.
And finally, the last step is the “Tax Interview”, where you need to provide information about tax payments. Don’t worry, there won’t be an actual interview, you just need to answer a couple of questions. Click on the “Launch Interview Wizard” button.
A window will open, in the “For U.S. tax purposes, are you a U.S. person?” menu, select “No” if you are registering as a non-US resident. To continue, click “Save and continue”.
Next, you need to fill out the aforementioned “W9-BEN” form (provide basic information about yourself – address, country of residence, etc.).
Done! The first step towards a successful business on Amazon is done!