Amazon UK sellers could lose “huge number of sales” to EU as inventory transfers will stop after Brexit

Amazon will no longer transfer UK sellers’ goods to the EU after Brexit in a move set to have major implications for merchants both sides of the border.

Amazon informed its UK sellers earlier this week that “pan-European FBA inventory transfers will stop between the UK and EU” on January 1 2021, when the UK formally separates from the rest of the EU.

This means that UK sellers hoping to access the 440 million EU customers will no longer be able to use Amazon’s logistics networks to do so.

They will instead be responsible for “splitting their stock” and sending what they want to sell overseas to Amazon fulfilment centres in the EU.

While this is set to have a major impact on UK sellers it also applies to those in the EU selling to UK consumers, meaning shoppers could face stock issues and increased delivery times and costs.

“To mitigate the impact of these changes, you should consider splitting your inventory and sending it to a fulfilment centre in the UK and the EU, so that you have sufficient stock either side of the new customs border,” Amazon told its sellers.

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“This may require you to ship your products across the new UK-EU customs border and provide additional information as part of a customs declaration.”

Former Amazon employees and chief strategy officer at Amazon agency Molzi Charlie Merrells added: “Amazon would not have taken this decision lightly. The company has always put customers first and this announcement could limit the selection of products on offer if businesses can’t find a solution. It will also impact sellers of all sizes.

“UK businesses that want to capitalise on the huge demand from the European Union will need to take urgent action to ensure products are stocked on the continent in time.

“Similarly, European sellers risk losing out on the demand from the UK which has one of the most mature and largest ecommerce markets in the European Union. If sellers don’t have a solution in place by the end of the year, they risk losing out on huge number of sales and revenue.”

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1 Comment. Leave new

  • I would imagine most UK sellers hold stock in Germany as many mainland Europe sellers hold stock in the UK. I have had a few orders come from Germany but they are usually Amazon Warehouse Deals which are sold across the whole of Europe.

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