Amazon Global Selling: How to Sell on Amazon US From Abroad.

Amazon Global Selling is Amazon's program for businesses outside a given country to sell in its stores, and for the US it means opening a Seller Central account for Amazon.com from wherever your company is registered. You need a verified identity and business, a completed tax interview, a way to receive payouts, and a legal route for inventory into the US, usually through Fulfillment by Amazon. A US trademark and Brand Registry are not required to list, but they decide how well you can protect and market the brand.

This guide covers each step in order: registration, identity verification, the W-8BEN-E tax interview, payments and currency, Brand Registry with a US trademark, getting inventory to FBA, and the launch sequence. It is written for brands asking how to sell on Amazon US from Europe, and for sellers searching vender na Amazon EUA in Brazil or vender en Amazon Estados Unidos in Mexico, Spain and Latin America. We run our own Amazon Professional Seller accounts with Brand Registry and have worked with companies from Europe, South America and elsewhere entering the US. We are not attorneys, accountants or customs brokers, and the steps below say where each of them comes in.

What Amazon Global Selling Is, and What It Is Not.

Amazon Global Selling is a set of registration paths, tools and guidance that lets a seller in one country list in Amazon stores in others. For the US, the core product is an ordinary Seller Central account for Amazon.com. On the Professional plan, that account can be part of a North America unified account that also reaches Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.mx, using the same catalog, advertising console and FBA network US sellers use.

It is not a shortcut around US rules. Products must meet US safety and labeling rules, and inventory must clear US customs with a real importer. Selling plans are priced as a monthly subscription for the Professional plan (list price $39.99 a month at the time of writing, check Amazon's pricing page) or a per-item fee on the Individual plan, plus referral fees that vary by category and FBA fees that scale with size, weight and storage time.

Registering for Amazon.com From Outside the US.

Identity Verification: Where Foreign Accounts Stall.

Amazon verifies both the person and the business. At the time of writing, verification can include a live video call with an Amazon associate, where the primary contact shows the original ID and documents on camera, and in some cases a code sent to the registered address to confirm it exists. A single inconsistent character between the form and the documents can send the application back.

The Tax Interview, Payments and Currency.

The tax interview collects the US tax form that matches your status. A foreign company completes the W-8BEN-E, which certifies that it is not a US person; an individual seller completes the W-8BEN. The interview asks for your foreign tax identification number and whether you are claiming benefits under a tax treaty between your country and the US. Sales tax on Amazon.com is a separate matter: under marketplace facilitator laws, Amazon collects and remits it on your sales in most states. Whether US inventory creates US income tax questions depends on your treaty and setup, so ask a US tax adviser.

For payouts, Amazon can convert your US dollar balance and deposit it in your local currency through its own currency converter for sellers, into a supported bank account. Some sellers instead use a US bank account or a payment provider supported in Seller Central to hold dollars and choose when to convert. Compare the all-in conversion cost and whether you need dollars for US freight or advertising. Expect Amazon to hold part of the balance in reserve on a new account, and plan cash flow around a settlement cycle rather than daily payouts.

Brand Registry and the US Trademark Filing.

Amazon Brand Registry requires a registered or pending trademark from an office Amazon lists as eligible, and it is what gives you A+ Content, a Brand Store, Sponsored Brands ads, Brand Analytics, Vine and stronger tools to report counterfeits and listing hijacks. Amazon's list of eligible offices includes some outside the US and the rules change, so check the current eligibility page. For selling in the US, a US filing is what actually protects your name in the US market, which is why we treat it as part of the launch, not an optional extra.

Since 2019, foreign-domiciled applicants at the USPTO must be represented by a US-licensed attorney, whether the application is filed directly or reaches the USPTO through a Madrid Protocol designation that needs a response. Ask your attorney to run a clearance search first, since a name free at home may be taken in the US. Amazon's IP Accelerator connects brands with vetted law firms and can give access to some Brand Registry protections while the application is pending.

Getting Inventory to FBA: Importer, Broker and Prep.

Amazon will not act as importer of record, and it expects inbound shipments from abroad to arrive with duties and fees already paid. That means you, a US entity, or a service provider must be the importer of record, with a licensed customs broker filing the entry and a customs bond in place for formal entries. Ocean shipments also need an Importer Security Filing before loading at the foreign port. Your broker confirms the Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification and current duty treatment, which changed repeatedly in 2025 and 2026, so do not rely on last year's number.

At the time of writing, the US has suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value shipments from all countries, effective August 29, 2025, so sending individual parcels to customers under Section 321 is no longer the easy route it once was. Bulk inventory into FBA, or into a US 3PL or prep center that then feeds FBA, is the usual model.

• Create the shipment in Send to Amazon first, so each unit gets the right FNSKU label or approved manufacturer barcode and each carton gets its Amazon label.
• Follow Amazon's prep rules for poly bags, liquids, sharp items and sets, and its limits on carton weight and dimensions.
• Submit safety data sheets early for anything with batteries, aerosols, flammable ingredients or some cosmetics, since dangerous goods review can hold a launch.
• Plan for placement options and fees, capacity limits and storage fees that rise in the fourth quarter, all of which change the landed cost per unit.

A Launch Sequence for Amazon.com.

Our Amazon US launch page describes how we plan this sequence with a foreign brand, from account setup through the first 90 days.

What Usually Goes Wrong for Foreign Sellers.

• Verification stalls because the company name or address on the form differs slightly from the incorporation documents or bank statement.
• Inventory ships before an importer of record and customs broker are named, and the shipment is held or refused at the fulfillment center.
• The brand launches without a US trademark filing, and a reseller or copycat lists against the same product with no strong way to push back.
• Listings are translated from the home-market page, with metric units and search terms no American types.
• Advertising starts before inventory is available or before the account has any reviews, so early spend buys clicks that cannot convert.
• Currency and reserve timing were not planned, so the brand runs short of cash for its first reorder.

Where Seller Central Stops and the Work Begins.

Seller Central gives you the account, the catalog and the tools. It does not settle the document trail for verification, coordinate the attorney, accountant and customs broker so their decisions line up, write listings for US search, plan inventory across an ocean, or run advertising every day against a margin target. That setup, launch and ongoing management is the work Theory Road runs for foreign brands through our e-commerce and Amazon service.