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Before sourcing a single product, three decisions shape everything that follows: what type of seller account to open, how to handle VAT across several countries, and which fulfilment method to choose. This guide covers all three.
Opening your Amazon seller account
What to have ready before starting the sign-up: valid ID, a business email address, a phone number, a company registration number (or the local equivalent), bank details for payouts, and a valid credit card. Prepare everything before you start — an application interrupted mid-verification complicates things later.
Two account types:
- Individual account: no monthly subscription, but a fixed per-item fee on top of standard commissions, and a monthly sales cap. Suits very low volume.
- Professional account: fixed monthly subscription, no per-item surcharge, access to management tools (reports, advertising, API). This is effectively the standard format once you exceed a handful of sales a month.
Identity verification can take anywhere from a few minutes to several days depending on how quickly the file is checked — another reason to have every document ready from the start.
VAT when selling across several EU countries
*This is a general explanation, not personalised tax advice — check your situation with an accountant before making any decision.*
Once your distance sales to consumers in other EU countries exceed €10,000 a year (combined across all EU countries), local VAT registration in each destination country generally becomes necessary — unless you use the One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme, in place since July 2021.
The OSS principle: a single quarterly return, filed in your home country, listing your sales by destination country and applying each country's local VAT rate. A single payment is then redistributed to the relevant tax authorities. This avoids having to register separately in every member state where you sell.
Below the €10,000 threshold, you can keep applying your own country's VAT — but OSS registration remains possible from the first euro if you'd rather plan ahead.
FBA or FBM: how to decide
| Criterion | FBA | FBM |
|---|---|---|
| Who stores/ships | Amazon | You (or your logistics provider) |
| Prime badge | Yes, automatic | No (except Seller Fulfilled Prime) |
| Fees | Amazon storage + handling | Logistics on you |
| Customer service control | Handled by Amazon | Handled by you |
| Good for | Fast-moving, small/medium items | Bulky, slow-moving items, or tight per-unit margin |
In practice: many sellers start with FBM to test a product without committing stock to Amazon, then switch to FBA once demand is confirmed and volume is high enough to absorb storage fees.
Checklist before your first sale
- Seller account validated (Individual or Professional depending on target volume)
- VAT scheme decided (domestic, OSS, or local registration)
- Fulfilment method chosen per product (FBA vs. FBM)
- Net margin calculated including VAT, commission and shipping fees (see calculating your margin)
Once these three building blocks are in place, the rest — finding products, comparing sources, tracking prices — becomes a matter of method and tooling. That's exactly what ArbitragePro+ automates.