Interested in an Amazon side hustle? What about turning it into a full-time career? There is an online sales revenue waiting for you when you start to sell on Amazon UAE. Amazon UAE could just be the perfect side hustle for you, and we will tell you why.
Wondering how much Amazon sellers make? Most Amazon sellers range from USD 1,000 (AED 3,673) to USD 25,000 (AED 91,825). E-commerce businesses can become full-time careers using Amazon UAE in the Middle East.
According to Jungle Scout, 64% of Amazon sellers achieved profitability in their first year of selling. What’s more, 20% of these vendors accomplished this within the first three months!
If you’ve just established an e-commerce startup, in the United Arab Emirates, or looking to expand your online shop, this guide will help you become an authorised Amazon UAE seller in the Middle East.
Here’s everything you need to know about selling on Amazon, establishing an Amazon seller account and all the various benefits. We also tell you everything you’ll need to know about obtaining your e-commerce licence so you can start to sell on Amazon UAE under your Seller Central account. So what are you waiting for? Start selling and take advantage of what Amazon has to offer!
The Time is Now for Entrepreneurs in the UAE
If you’re looking for a lifestyle that affords a great work-life balance with plenty of perks, taking the leap to sell on Amazon could be for you. With business booming in the Emirates, a noticeable shift into the modern age of e-commerce, online trade and entrepreneurialism is upon us.
The e-commerce landscape is an ever-growing field in the region. The main goods or services that are increasing in demand include:
- Electronics, computers & technology
- Gaming & Sports
- Entertainment
- Toys & Music
An inspired idea takes shape and the readiness kicks in to bring it to the world. Now the rubber really meets the road. Starting out as an entrepreneur, especially in the online world has its challenges. It’s important to appreciate the time it takes to gain the respect and reputation that long-standing companies have worked hard to obtain.
Once you get some business basics sorted, streamlining your procedures can make a world of difference to your success trajectory. It can also improve customer service and reduce the need for paperwork. Learn how AI can help your business, whether you’re a solopreneur or part of a multi-national corporation.
Also, getting savvy with social media is a must if you want to reach prospective customers. Companies that link to their Facebook and Instagram accounts can increase their sales potential exponentially.
Importantly, taking care of your mind, body and business so it’s set for success in the long term, is a must.
The Benefits of Selling on Amazon
Amazon UAE is one of the most visited websites in the country. It offers a valuable revenue stream, with great expansion opportunities for online sellers and entrepreneurs.
Recently, Amazon acquired Souq.com and rebranded accordingly to Amazon UAE. This merger has boosted business opportunities in the e-commerce sector, which makes the industry even more attractive for entrepreneurs.
In fact, statistics say that it ranked first among the top online stores in the UAE in 2020. With that, some of the benefits of selling on Amazon include:
- Gaining access to millions of online buyers
- Obtaining trust from potential buyers
- Increased visibility of your brand and/or products
- You can take advantage of multiple promotions
- Amazon supports various payment options (e.g.: credit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, invoices, direct debit)
- No need to have your own infrastructure
- The Amazon platform has teaching centres
FACT
In the United Arab Emirates, Amazon is one of the largest and most popular online shopping platforms. Statistics show that 43.6% of shoppers in the Middle East have bought something from Amazon recently, 64% spend more than AED100 each on Amazon every time they shop online and 26% shop every week.
What Do I Need to Get Selling on Amazon UAE?
Now, here’s all the documents and information you need to get established on Amazon:
1. Business name and contact information
First and foremost, you’ll need your business’s name and contact information. The UAE has company naming criteria, so to ensure that you follow them, we recommend that you work with a company set-up agent like Virtuzone. They can help you choose an appropriate name and register it as well.
2. An e-commerce licence
Next, you need to apply for either a free zone or a mainland e-commerce licence. A free zone e-commerce licence can be more advantageous, as it provides a customs tax exemption, has no currency restrictions and is generally more affordable. Getting assistance from a business setup consultant streamlines the entire e-commerce licence process for you. All you need to do is register the company name, decide on a free zone or a mainland licence, complete an application form and provide your passport ID.
3. A visa (if you’re a foreigner)
Then, if you are a foreigner living in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the region, you also need a valid residence visa for an online Amazon account. For this, you must visit an immigration centre for biometrics testing. You’ll need to undergo a blood test, fitness test and a chest x-ray for the residence visa application.
4. A valid corporate bank account
With your licence and visa, you can already apply to open a corporate bank account. You need this to receive your sales for your goods or services. The UAE is home to a wide variety of banking institutions that require various documents, especially for foreign business owners. For this reason, it pays to do some solid research to understand which corporate bank suits your business needs.
5. A valid billing address
You will need to provide documents that serve as your proof of address. Amazon will need this to validate your identity and determine where you are located, among other details.
6. A phone number
Along with a billing address, providing your best contact phone number is an important detail to include on the application. You’ll need this so that Amazon UAE can reach you during the registration process.
7. Your national ID
Finally, Amazon will require you to upload your national ID or a valid government ID for identity verification as well.
How to Open an Amazon UAE Seller Account
Once you have all your appropriate documents and info ready, you can set up your Amazon UAE seller account.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
1. Go to https://services.amazon.ae.
2. Click on the Sign up button
3. Fill in your name, email and password, then submit
4. Fill out the required business information
5. Upload the required documents for identity verification
And that’s it! You just have to wait until your account has been reviewed, and then you can start selling. The review period may take between 24 hours and a few weeks.
What Does it Cost to Set up an Amazon UAE Seller Account?
Conveniently, signing up for a basic Amazon seller account is free of charge.
The only cost associated with Amazon accounts is if you sign up for Amazon Prime; this is a paid subscription program that can offer more perks, certain features and additional services, such as popular movies. Amazon Prime is an app that can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store.
What Fees Are Involved?
Amazon charges a referral fee for each item sold. Each product you sell will fall into a category (e.g. apparel, toys, consumer electronics, etc.). Most of the referral fees are between 4.5% and 15%. To see the full list of category referral fees on Amazon’s page, click here.
Fulfillment or Shipping Fees
Fulfilment fees are dependent on whether you plan to ship products personally or whether you will use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to handle your logistics and do your shipping for you.
There are 3 options you can choose from
1. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
If you choose Fulfillment by Amazon, Amazon will store, pack, and deliver your products to the customers. The Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fee to ship each item is a flat fee per unit, based on the size and weight of the item.
For example, shipping an envelope weighing under 1kg will cost 7.5 AED. Moreover, a standard parcel must be 45 centimetres on its longest side, 34 centimetres on its median side, and 26 centimetres on its shortest side at a maximum. The price for the first 250 grams to ship a standard parcel is 9.2 AED and up to 5kg will be 14AED. There are also associated storage fees charged for all units stored in an Amazon fulfilment centre based on the calendar month and your daily average volume. The cost per cubic foot per month is 2 AED. There are also long-term storage fees if an item is at an Amazon fulfilment centre for more than 365 days.
2. Easy Ship (ES)
If you choose Easy Ship, you will store and pack your products and Amazon will deliver them to your customers. In order to ship the products, you will schedule a pick-up time and an Amazon agent will deliver your product to the customer for a fee.
As long as the product classifies as a standard size (45 centimetres on its longest side, 34 centimetres on its median side, 26 centimetres on its shortest side); the price for the first 250grams is 14 AED, going up to 17.5 AED for weights between 2 and 3kg. Each kilo over 3kg is charged at 1 AED, however, if the package weighs over 12kg, it will be considered oversize. The fees for oversized items start at 18.5 AED, which includes all items which weigh more than 12kg or do not fit the size dimensions above.
3. Self-Ship
If you choose Self-Ship, you will store, pack, and deliver your products to your customers. You will not have to pay any fees to Amazon, however, you will need to provide your own storage facility, as well as pack and deliver all of your products.
Which Option Should I Choose?
You need to consider what product you are shipping, how much space you have and how much time you have. However, it is recommended that you use Fulfilment by Amazon. Particularly, if you are time-poor and don’t want the hassle. There are also many perks that come with FBA, such as your products earning the ‘Prime Badge’. This means your products are more competitive and gain access to our loyal Prime Customers.
Prime products have increased sales in comparison to non-prime products because shoppers tend to prefer Prime products because they can get their products faster, and have more trust. Your products are eligible for Amazon Prime FREE One-Day Shipping, FREE Shipping, and more. You also won’t need to manage refunds, returns or customer service!
To see the full breakdown of this on Amazon’s website, click here.
How Do You Find Products to Sell on Amazon?
What should I sell?
As an Amazon Seller, there are many great tools like Jungle Scout or Helium 10 to do product research. The Amazon marketplace is home to over 350 million unique products, so there is opportunity everywhere! The products that usually make it onto the “best sellers page” on Amazon are low cost, have a high positive review volume, and can often be recurring purchases.
Purchases that have consistent sales include:
- Baby Essentials
- Home Office
- Home Decor
- Beauty and skincare
- Outdoor Gear (Varies by season)
- Garden and Lawn
- Wellness & Exercise
How Much Do I Need to Start Selling?
31% of Amazon sellers spent under $1,000 to start selling on Amazon, and 67% spent less than $5,000.
Data From: Jungle Scout
Types of Sellers on Amazon UAE
There are 4 main types of Amazon Sellers:
- Abritage Sellers: These sellers buy discounted products from retailers to resell for a profit
- Private Label Sellers: This is when sellers modify an existing product and create their own label/brand
- Wholesale Sellers: These sellers buy products in bulk directly from a distributor
- Dropship Sellers: This is when a seller buys a product directly from a manufacturer who then fulfils and ships the order directly to the customer.
How Long Will it Take to Make Money?
The majority (64%) of Amazon Sellers said they were profitable within the first year of selling.
Data From: Jungle Scout
How to Optimise the Customer Online Experience
Being an online entrepreneur is all about connecting with your customers to make their shopping experience enjoyable and efficient. Providing a safer experience for consumers is also very important. Learning about online consumer behaviour is beneficial to your bottom line when selling on Amazon.
In the world of e-commerce, one useful tool to help identify the needs of your customers is understanding the importance of essential and optional cookies. So what exactly are essential and optional cookies? Let’s find out below.
What Are Essential and Optional Cookies?
The development of ‘cookies’ or ‘HTTP cookies’ is an important part of modern internet use. In fact, they form an integral aspect of web browsing, to improve content delivery to customers. With cookies, website developers are able to give consumers a more optimised, personalised and convenient browsing experience.
So what exactly are cookies? Cookies are text files which are created by the websites that users visit. Cookies help make a safer experience for customers and boost browsing efficiency. Now, there are two types of cookies – first-party cookies and third-party cookies.
First-party cookies are created directly by the site you’re visiting. They are also known as just essential cookies or strictly necessary cookies. Essential cookies don’t require consent from a user and are required for the basic function of any website. For example, cookies assist in storing a customer’s login information or shopping cart. The use of essential cookies helps improve content and optimise browser activity and customer service experience. Having just essential cookies is crucial to site functionality.
Then, there are third-party cookies. These are created by external sites that are connected to the primary site. They are often known as optional cookies. Optional cookies are related to ads, images or other ‘third-party’ entities that are visible on the website you visit. As an e-commerce entrepreneur, it’s important to understand the rights your customers have in terms of protecting their privacy.
Protect the Privacy of Your Customers
Luckily, people can choose to opt-in to a particular site that requests access to personal information. Users can always block certain third parties from accessing private data. Similarly, other ways consumers can protect themselves is to opt out of optional or third-party cookies being stored in their browser.
When using different sites, you can change your internet settings to allow or block specific cookies to pop up. You can also allow cookies from the main site, but block third-party cookies in ads or images on that same website. Also, you can delete cookies after you’ve finished browsing.
A well-known example of third-party cookies is related to the use of Facebook. Tools are sometimes used by other companies for advertising and measurement services, from Facebook products. This helps analytics or similar technologies to provide certain features to improve their services. Accessing information controls is one of the other ways to manage privacy, ensuring just essential cookies are stored on the browser.
In summary, essential and optional cookies are primarily used for advertising and measurement services, with an aim to improve content and provide a safer experience for online shoppers.
Do You Want to Apply for an E-commerce Licence?
Save time and let us simplify the e-commerce licencing process. Do you want to give yourself more options for income streams and a heap of flexibility? Contact our Company Formation Specialists for help with your application and required documentation. Company Formation Specialists are experts at business setup in Dubai, and we’re ready to help.
Fill out the form below to book a free consultation with our team, so we can help you get started.
