Customs Charges
Hello there,
Quick question for the experienced sellers. I am sending my first Amazon FBA shipment from Ireland to the UK warehouse for the UK market. I have a bulk amount of second hand books - hundreds.
I am currently registering for UK VAT, although by the looks of it, books are not charged VAT. Still going to get the VAT registration anyway for future purposes.
I will be shipping with DPD who have a dedicated Amazon FBA service. Once I have sent of my shipment to the UK, will I be charged additional customs?
I have reached out to DPD just now but just decided to ask here also to see if I could get a quicker response. Has anyone had experience with this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, or advice if you think I am missing something.
Kind regards,
Dylan.
Customs Charges
Hello there,
Quick question for the experienced sellers. I am sending my first Amazon FBA shipment from Ireland to the UK warehouse for the UK market. I have a bulk amount of second hand books - hundreds.
I am currently registering for UK VAT, although by the looks of it, books are not charged VAT. Still going to get the VAT registration anyway for future purposes.
I will be shipping with DPD who have a dedicated Amazon FBA service. Once I have sent of my shipment to the UK, will I be charged additional customs?
I have reached out to DPD just now but just decided to ask here also to see if I could get a quicker response. Has anyone had experience with this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, or advice if you think I am missing something.
Kind regards,
Dylan.
0 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
other sellers will be able to help re customs but I would say do not send any stock until you have your VAT number and have given it to amazon
Its currently taking approx 12 weeks for NETPs to register and amazon seem to be in the process of doing a sweep of all non compliant accounts
I’d also say to make sure you check the fees for FBA and for books in general
amazon won’t return stock cross border so you may face hefty fees if they don’t sell quickly
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
Do not send anything until you receive your registration - which is reportedly taking upwards of 12 weeks.
You are correct, Books are zero rated, but they are still taxable supplies (not exempt from VAT) so you are required to be VAT registered in order to hold any stock in the UK, even if sales on that stock would attract £0 VAT.
Seller_FQHkqHJI5SqTh
I think you would struggle to find another book dealer that would think FBA is a good idea.
The used book trade is characterised by its high margins but very slow turnover.
A couple of figures that regularly get bandied about is that you should expect to sell 1% of your online inventory a month or 2 books per 1000 listed a day and that’s from sellers that sell through multiple sites, not just Amazon.
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
I have to agree with the above post, that FBA for second-hand books is probably not the ideal - so easy to get hit with long-term storage fees, and books are quite bulky.
As a book seller I would personally NEVER contemplate FBA , though some do.
I remember those days well, but sadly does not apply nowadays. 
(well not for me now).
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
PLEASE take note of the last few posts from experienced book sellers before you send your inventory for FBA.
Seller_BS5lg2keRs2QO
I used to buy books by the pallet and only around 10% of them would be suitable for FBA. eBay also has less fees for books, so that’s another reason.
