Selling on Amazon.nl

Selling on Amazon is profitable for individuals and businesses. You may have come across this statement in headlines, statistics, and other stories, but is it true? Selling products through Amazon has taken off significantly with the arrival of Amazon in the Netherlands.

Amazon has become a powerhouse in retail, with a predicted e-commerce net revenue of $162 billion in 2022, [1] and more than three-quarters of American households have an Amazon Prime membership.

However, like any other channel, it’s crucial that you understand what you need to sell through Amazon and the best way to get started. As long as you know what you’re doing, the chances of long-term profitability and success are enormous.

In this comprehensive guide, we explore all the frequently asked questions about selling on Amazon in the Netherlands, along with the answers you need to understand it.

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Why sell through Amazon.nl?

Brands, companies, and sellers can sell their products through Amazon and be financially rewarded tremendously. This is especially true for Dutch suppliers who want to access either the national or even the international market.

Amazon.nl has 21 million visitors per month and is rapidly growing in the Netherlands, offering its products to consumers not only in the Netherlands but also in Belgium, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Spain. [2] The company had long startup problems in the Netherlands, but it has been investing heavily lately to compete with bol.com.

The advantage of selling on Amazon.nl is that it is easy to expand from the Netherlands to other European countries. In addition, Amazon.nl has some features such as the patented “1-Click Ordering,” which simplifies responding to impulse purchases.

What are Amazon’s profit margins?

According to the most recent data, the majority of Amazon sellers have a profit margin between 16% and 20%. [7] Profits of 20% or more are achieved by 32% of sellers. And while a profit margin of 5% or less is typically considered poor, only 9% of sellers fall into this group.

Amazon.nl

1 Selling on Amazon.nl

Advantages of selling on Amazon.nl via e-tailize

Brand awareness
Wide reach
Easy to expand abroad

Good support services (FBA)
Can be linked with supporting software
Good advertising opportunities

Fully integrate Amazon.nl with your systems

Do you want to manage Amazon.nl and any future or current marketplaces in one place? At e-tailize you can make use of the following functionalities;

Possibility to sell on marketplaces across Europe (over 100 integrations)
Centralized order management (automatic & manual)
Centralized inventory management
Full PIM system specifically designed for marketplaces
Easy product placement on marketplaces from one screen
Integration with all kinds of fulfillment software (e.g. MyParcel or Picqer)
Connection with the well-known CMS platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, and more)

How do you sell via Amazon.nl?

Step 1

Go to Amazon Seller Central – Europe to start your account configuration.

Step 2

Create a seller account.

Step 3

Select Amazon.nl as your source marketplace.

Step 4

Choose, depending on your plans, an individual or professional selling plan.

Step 5

Provide all additional information Amazon requests, including your bank details.

Step 6

Start listing your products. Your product uploads can be managed and optimized using e-tailize.

Step 7

Select Fulfillment by Amazon if desired. We will delve deeper into this later in this guide.

Step 8

Start your Amazon Netherlands business.

This is the easy part! Actually achieving success in sales and marketing will require more work.

Possible Problems and Challenges

Knowledge | Quite a bit of knowledge is needed to be able to compete well with current sellers on Amazon.nl. That’s where an analytical tool like e-tailize can help you. Our dashboard gives you the insights and pointers you need to take the fight.

Errors | It is important that you as a seller keep your performance score as high as possible. Stable stock synchronization and reliable order forwarding are therefore critical. In addition, you also want to be able to efficiently process a high number of returns. With a tool like e-tailize you can be sure that there are no (synchronization) errors between your marketplaces, webshop(s), fulfillment parties, and the PIM system.

Scaling | When you have Amazon.nl under control, you will want to expand the number of channels – and thus your reach. If you import your products into a PIM system, you can also upload the products to other marketplaces in addition to Amazon.nl. Even more, your order management and stock synchronization are immediately arranged.

Adding Products

After creating your account, you’ll want to add products as soon as possible, but first ask yourself the following question: what can you sell on Amazon and which products am I allowed to add?

The answer to this question depends on the product, category, and brand:

Some categories are open to all sellers.
A Professional seller account is required for some categories.
Approval is required to sell in some categories.
Some categories contain products that cannot be sold by third-party sellers.

If you plan on selling products that are copyrighted, trademarked, or patented, you must be the legal owner of the brand. Another possibility is being an authorized reseller. In the Amazon Seller Central, you can find more information about intellectual property policies.

Below you will find more information about the Amazon product categories.

Creating a Product Listing in Amazon Seller Central Account

When you want to sell a product on Amazon, you need to create a so-called product listing in the Amazon Seller Central. A product listing is characterized by the following:

An item code, such as an ISBN or EAN (also known as GTIN). With these globally unique codes, everyone knows that this item is yours and you will be more findable. You can order them directly from GS1 Netherlands or request an exemption (read more about Amazon barcodes).
A SKU, a product ID that you use for your internal inventory management.
Offer details, including price, condition of the product, available quantity, and shipping options.
Product information such as name, brand, category, description, and images.
Keywords and search terms to help buyers find your product.

Each product offered for sale on Amazon is assigned an Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN), which is determined by Amazon. Note: this is not the same as a GTIN or SKU code. This means that you may come across sellers using the same ASIN.

If other resellers are selling the same product, you are supposed to link your product to an existing product listing. This saves you time because much of the above information has already been filled out. For new products, a product listing must be created.

What can I sell on Amazon in the Netherlands?

The following list contains what consumers can currently buy on Amazon.nl:

Automotive and motorcycle accessories
Baby products
Beauty and personal care
Books
CDs and vinyl
Electronics
Movies and TV
Health products
Pet supplies
Office supplies
Kindle books
Clothing and shoes

Jewelry and accessories
Tools for home improvement
Art and hobby products
Non-perishable food
Musical instruments
Software
Toys and games
Sports and outdoors
Garden and home
Video games
Home and kitchen products
Business, industrial, and scientific products

What can’t I sell on Amazon in the Netherlands?

All hazardous (e.g. hazmat) products and goods cannot be sold through Amazon FBA. [3] All products sold on Amazon, whether by Amazon or by the seller, are not allowed to contain the following components in the Netherlands:

Hazardous goods
Alcohol
Animals and living beings
Classic art
Cars and vehicles
Composite wood products
Cosmetics with prohibited ingredients
CPAP cleaning products
Currency
Dietary supplements
Drugs
Electronics without serial numbers
Explosives and weapons
Perishable foods or beverages

Gambling products and lottery tickets
Human parts of funeral artifacts
Precious gemstones without sources
Lasers
Lock-picking devices
Restricted medical devices
Irritating material
Pesticides
Stamps
Ozone-depleting substances
Recalled goods
Surveillance products
Tobacco and electronic cigarettes or vapes
Warranties or service plans

The Buy Box

The Buy Box

When multiple partners offer the same product, one of the partners is highlighted in the Buy Box – the first place where products are offered for a search query. This is because this partner has the best offer in terms of price, delivery, and service. Most sales take place through the Buy Box. So it is crucial to win this. A commonly used tactic to always win the Buy Box is to set up your own brand or unique EANs. If you are the only provider of a product, you will always win the Buy Box.

Amazon Sellers Rating

Amazon Sellers Rating

The "service" component – mentioned under "The Buy Box" above – is entirely dependent on your Sellers Rating. Your Sellers Rating is determined based on how well you meet Amazon.nl's service requirements. The Sellers Rating is a score between 0 and 100 and is recalculated after every order. It looks at shipping time, canceled orders, chargebacks, customer inquiries, feedback, and A-to-Z claims.

Amazon Sellers Rating criteria:

We have written an extensive article on what the Amazon Sellers Rating is and how to improve it. In short, your seller rating score depends on how well you score on the following aspects:

Shipping time: how much does the actual shipping time deviate from the stated shipping time?

Canceled orders: any order that is canceled by the customer or seller will result in penalty points.

Chargebacks: when the customer withdraws money via the credit card.

Customer inquiries: the longer you wait to answer questions, the more penalty points you receive.

Feedback: consistently receiving poor ratings has a big impact on your Sellers Rating.

A-to-Z claims: if a customer has a problem that does not fall into one of the above areas, Amazon.nl will investigate it themselves. This is called an A-to-Z claim.

How do you learn to sell on Amazon.nl?

There are several ways to learn how to sell on Amazon.nl. Amazon.nl itself offers webinars and even a guide. Additionally, there are blogs with useful tips on marketplaces like Amazon.nl.

At e-tailize, we also offer tools such as our “Analyze” module, which generates insights for you and provides an overview of data on marketplaces. This allows you to quickly and efficiently focus on actionable metrics.

What are the conditions for selling on Amazon?

Amazon has a fixed monthly fee and a minimum commission percentage. Additionally, it’s important to know that Amazon enforces its terms and rules strictly.

These conditions include:

Percentage of defective orders (a measure of a selling partner’s customer service standards): < 1%
Cancellation rate before fulfillment (initiated by the selling partner before shipment): < 2.5%
Percentage of delayed shipments (orders shipped after the expected date): < 4%

What does it cost to sell on Amazon?

Selling on Amazon requires creating a free Individual Seller account, also known as the individual selling plan. With this personal seller account, you can list products for free. You only incur costs when you actually make sales. However, please note the listing fee per item sold, which amounts to €0.99 cents.

Choosing a selling plan

If you have more experience using marketplaces, it’s wise to consider opening an Amazon Professional Seller account. This will cost you a monthly fixed price of €39 and you’ll benefit from all the possibilities that selling on Amazon has to offer.

All Amazon Professional Seller accounts are designed to meet the needs of businesses and include numerous options for volume sales. Note that you’ll need a valid VAT number for the professional selling plan.

Amazon selling commissions

You and other sellers pay a commission for each sold product. For all products, Amazon charges referral fees (commissions) ranging from 7% to 15%. These fixed percentages are calculated based on the total selling price.

Read more here about the exact rates, commissions, and additional subscription costs for selling on Amazon.nl.

Selling on Amazon & attracting customers

Once you have added your product, you can take a number of steps to attract customers. To increase your visibility as an Amazon seller, you can apply Amazon’s “Amazon Flywheel” method. This stimulates growth, resulting in more sales on Amazon.

Below are some ways to get the Amazon Flywheel moving and generate momentum for your business.

Fast shipping

Ensuring fast shipping attracts more customers. Buyers prefer sellers with an Amazon Prime badge, which you receive when you use Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).

Fulfilment by Amazon FBA

With this fulfilment service, your individual products are shipped from one or more Amazon fulfilment centers. For Dutch sellers with a professional selling plan, this is usually the fulfilment center in Germany.

Fulfilment by merchant

Another option is Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM). This term refers to a sales method in which a seller lists products on Amazon, but manages storage, shipping, and customer support themselves or through a third party. Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) is Amazon’s terminology for FBM.

Growing internationally: selling and shipping throughout Europe.

Selling through Amazon Netherlands and growing internationally at the same time? With Amazon, you can sell products internationally with just one account and sell in the eight European stores, namely:

Netherlands
Sweden
Poland
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Italy
Spain

Amazon ads: reach millions of customers

Want to sell your products successfully? With Amazon ads, you can improve product visibility and increase brand awareness. You advertise in the search results and product pages, which are highly valued places in the marketplace where you can promote your (own) products strongly. It is also possible to offer a deal for selected products.

Set competitive prices

Many Amazon buyers look for the best price. Within Seller Central, you can set competitive prices using automatic price adjustments.

How do I increase my seller rating on Amazon?

The Amazon Sellers Rating is an important score within the marketplace. It is also known as the seller rating score and is crucial in winning the trust and attention of your target market.

This score is determined based on the following aspects:

Shipping time: how far does the actual shipping time deviate from the specified shipping time?
Cancelled orders: every order that is cancelled by the customer or seller results in penalty points.
Chargebacks: when the customer charges back the payment via the credit card.
Customer questions: the longer you wait to answer questions, the more penalty points you receive.
Feedback: consistently receiving poor ratings has a significant impact on your Sellers Rating. You can try to resolve the issue with the customer and persuade them to change or adjust their unfavorable rating.
A-to-Z claims: if a customer has a problem that does not fit into any of the above areas, Amazon.nl will investigate it themselves. This is called an A-to-Z claim.
Be specific: be very specific on your Amazon product pages.

We have written a comprehensive article on what the Amazon Sellers Rating is and how you can optimize it.

Selling on Amazon & shipping a sold product

How do I create shipping labels on Amazon?

To ship products, you need shipping labels. There are some things that need to be done or set up to print shipping labels correctly to comply with Amazon’s policy:

Size matters: each label has a standard size of 3 1/3 x 4 inches (or 8.4 x 10.2 cm). If you have a thermal printer, you can also print in 4 x 6 inches (10.2 cm x 15.2 cm).
Location is important: the label should be placed flat and away from the seams of the box. Also, make sure it is clearly visible. The warehouse will find scanning easier.
Add the carrier label along with the Amazon box ID label.
Keep in mind that each of your pallets requires 4 ID labels. Place one in the middle above on each side before shipping.
Print each label on a separate page. Each shipment has a different set of Amazon labels. Therefore, do not use the same label on multiple boxes.
Shipping labels must be visible and scannable for up to two years. Set the scale to none or 100% and the resolution to 300 dpi to achieve this.
All shipping labels must be printed on white, non-reflective paper with black ink. Also, use font size 8 to make the text easier to read.

How does packaging work for sellers?

Whether you are an FBA seller or a self-fulfillment seller, you must follow these rules when packaging goods for sale on Amazon:

Each item must be packaged separately.
Each item and the inside of the box must be separated by five centimeters of padding.
Each item must be in a sturdy six-sided box. The flaps must be intact and in working order.
A pallet must have different labels on each box.
Each box must have a separate FBA shipping label. These are located in the shipping queue of Seller Central.
If you use one, you must attach your own distinctive shipping label to the main package.
Reusing boxes is allowed, but they must be sturdy and free of traces of previous shipping labels or markings.
Use one address label with the correct delivery and return information that is clearly marked. To effectively monitor your inventory, Amazon needs a return address in case of returns.
Choose boxes of at least 15 x 10 x 1 inches and weighing at least 1 lb to reduce delays. Try to maintain a weight of about 50 lbs on each side and less than 25 inches.
Use Amazon-approved boxes.
Each individual unit must be correctly labeled in accordance with the labeling requirements below.
The packaging of goods must be appropriate for the category in which they are sold.
These must be identified as multi-packs if you sell them.
Products weighing more than 10 kilos, not passing the 1-meter drop test, or particularly fragile may need to be packed in an outer box to keep the packaging safe.
Each box must contain the same number of identical products with the same SKU when packed in boxes. The maximum number of products per box is 150 items.
If necessary, expiration dates must be written in the format MM-DD-YYYY.

Make sure to double-check your packaging before sending it. Before closing your boxes, shake them well to make sure there is not a lot of movement in them. This will protect your products. [18]

Frequently asked questions about selling on Amazon

Do I need a Chamber of Commerce registration and/or credit card to sell on Amazon?

To create a seller account on Amazon.nl, you need to provide the following information:

Credit card or bank details
Phone number
Bank account information
VAT number
If your company is registered with the Chamber of Commerce, an email address, a valid passport, or an identity card is required.
Selling on Amazon as a private individual is not possible.

What is a dedicated account manager at Amazon?

You get access to a dedicated account manager through Strategic Account Services (SAS) Core. A dedicated account manager is a trusted advisor from Amazon who can help you grow your business, attract new customers, and drive sales.

Your account manager will help you identify missed opportunities and potential growth opportunities for your business. They will then work with you to develop a business plan and help you strive for success.

Depending on business needs, you can receive help in key areas such as fulfillment and inventory, selection and conversion growth, merchandising and advertising, and international expansion.

What are the accepted payment methods on Amazon?

The following payment options are available on Amazon.nl:

Credit cards accepted for payment are MasterCard, American Express, Visa, and their prepaid counterparts.
Amazon gift cards
Amazon.nl Promo Certificates
Paying with iDEAL (You must use a Dutch bank account. IDEAL cannot be used to pay for 1-click orders, digital orders, or subscriptions.)
Paying with Bancontact (Bancontact cannot be used for 1-click orders, digital orders, or subscription payments.)
For Amazon.nl products sold through FBA, Amazon.nl action certificates are not accepted.

Why should I sell on Amazon in the Netherlands?

Amazon.nl has partially displaced the primary Dutch e-commerce website, Bol.com. Bol.com is a platform mainly made for customers in Belgium and the Netherlands.

For the Dutch consumer, the platform is by far the most beloved webshop today. Amazon has successfully threatened its place at the top of the food chain, so opening a store on Amazon.nl would be a smart idea.

Furthermore, selling through Amazon.nl has even more benefits. Access to markets that are still in the development phase, low PPC spending, quickly obtaining high organic ratings through the A10 algorithm, and easier brand registration are some of them.

In short, selling on Amazon.nl is a smart move, whether you’re just looking for an extra Dutch marketplace to place your branding on or if you want to focus full-time on one marketplace as your primary way of selling.

Conclusion selling on Amazon

Amazon.nl used to be a relatively unimportant player in the Dutch market for years. However, in the past year, the 5th largest company in the world has been investing heavily to gain a foothold in Europe. As a seller, it is important to have your Amazon.nl affairs in order before the final shift to the platform takes place.

It is crucial to establish your processes properly from the beginning when selling products through Amazon. Therefore, look for software that can take away as many of your worries as possible. This can be related not only to processes but also to functions related to data analysis.

Sources

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