When thinking of online marketplaces, Amazon is most likely the first website you think of.  The following will discuss the reasons why you should sell on Amazon Canada, and how to get started.

Why should you sell on Amazon Canada?

Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, having your brand available on Amazon Canada is a wise business decision.  There have been 15.9 million unique visitors on amazon.ca and Amazon is one of the first websites that consumers check for products.

From 2017 to 2022, there was a rapid and steady growth in the Canadian e-commerce market. This steady incline is forecasted to continue, so if there was ever a time to sell on Amazon, it’s now.

Set Your Goals

If you’re determined to sell on Amazon Canada, ask yourself a few questions.  

• What goals are you hoping to accomplish by selling on Amazon?   
• Will you need extra help to reach these goals?
• Are you going to make this your full-time job?
• What makes your brand unique and how do you use it to your advantage?
• What marketing plan will you follow?

Having an idea of where you want Amazon to take your business is important, so take it one question at a time. 

Choosing a Seller Plan

One of the first things you’ll need to do as a seller on Amazon is to choose which plan you’ll be using.  Your options are 1) an Individual Plan or, 2) a Professional Plan.  

Individual Plan

The individual plan is the ideal plan for any seller who believes they will sell a maximum of 20 units of their product each month.  Pro: an individual plan is free.  Con:  if you sell more than 20 units, you’ll have to pay an additional $1.49 per item.  

If this makes you feel like you should switch to a professional plan, this can be done easily by following a few steps.

Professional Plan  

The professional plan is what you should select if you know you’ll be selling over 20 units per month.  While there is a monthly subscription fee of $29.99, there is no additional fee for selling more units.  With added perks like being able to offer special promotions and gift wrapping, this fee doesn’t seem expensive.

Find the Right Product

It’s easy to get excited about a new idea when you first come up with it which may cause you to miss a key detail.  This is why market research is so important.  Market research must be done in order to assess the capacity in which a product or service is needed.  

In an age where social media is popular, it’s easy (and free) to poll hundreds of people with a few clicks of a mouse.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, message boards- there are many ways to use technology to your advantage at any stage of your business process.   

Choosing a Fulfillment Type

When you decide to sell on Amazon Canada, you’ll have to make a choice of having Amazon ship your orders (Amazon Fulfillment or FBA), or shipping the orders yourself (Fulfillment by Merchant or FBM).  More in-depth information about these options is here.

NARF

NARF is the acronym for North American Remote Fulfillment.  This means sellers can display the inventory they have in the US on both amazon.ca and amazon.mx (Amazon Canada and Amazon’s Mexican marketplaces).  

For example, if a seller has a total of 500 units available in the U.S, then the same amount of units are also available to customers visiting the .ca and .mx sites.  This is done due to Amazon using one global SKU (stock keeping unit).

Should You Use NARF?

This is entirely up to you as a seller.  There are pros and cons to weigh in order to figure out if using NARF will be beneficial to you.

Fees Associated with Selling in Canada

There are a few fees you should take note of if you will be selling, or have products listed/available on Amazon Canada.  These fees include the FBA, and the FBM fees (more information about these general Amazon Canada fees here).  

While looking at the general FBA Canada fees, take note of Amazon FBA Canada Storage fees.  These fees are charged between the 7th and the 15th day of the month following the month the service was used.  These fees vary depending on the size of the items stored, and the time of year.

One more fee to keep in mind is the Amazon referral fee.  Think of this, as Amazon Canada’s commission payment.  The fee varies depending on the category of the items sold so, as you can imagine, this list can be quite long.  

Consider your Supply Chain

Selling through Amazon will require you to think about otherwise forgotten costs.  For example, import duties to Canada tend to be higher.  Importing from the US to Canada requires finding your own shipping solutions too (which is time-consuming and costly).  

In addition, something that affects the cost of basically everything these days is the global pandemic we’ve been facing. The consequences that COVID-19 has on businesses vary, however, due to the pandemic, more people desire to do their shopping online than ever before.  It has never been easier for companies both big and small, to be successful with e-commerce.

How to Sell on Amazon Canada from the US

Amazon has made selling on Amazon Canada from the US extremely easy by using the North American Unified Account.  With this account, you can easily switch between .com, .ca, and .com.mx seller tools. You also don’t need to have a registered Canadian business or bank, which makes it possible to sell on three different marketplaces, under only one seller account.   

“As Amazon.ca becomes more popular with Canadians, the competition will continue to increase, however, if you decide to expand your Amazon business into Canada, now is the best time to solidify your ratings and reviews in amazon.ca while the competition is weak.”

–  Sellerapp.com, January 24, 2022

If you are going to be selling items to both Canadian and American markets, you should prepare yourself for a few things.  For example, the chart below shows the differences in sales tax depending on location.

Sales Tax Type	Provinces/Territories
GST Only	Alberta (5% GST)Nunavut (5% GST)Northwest Territories (5% GST)Yukon (5% GST)
GST and PST/RST/QST	British Columbia (5% GST + 7% PST)Manitoba (5% GST + 7% RST)Quebec (5% GST + 9.975% QST)Saskatchewan (5% GST + 6% PST)
HST Only	Ontario (13%)New Brunswick (15%)Newfoundland (15%)Nova Scotia (15%)Prince Edward Island (15%)

You should also prepare for exchange rate volatility, which can change the profitability of importing and exporting quickly and significantly.  This past October, Amazon Stock had a decline in volatility which was good news for its investors, so it’s not always something to be afraid of.

Sending Inventory to Canada

Before sending inventory to Canada, we suggest reading Canada Border Agency’s Guide to importing goods into Canada.  It is then in your best interest to analyze sales trends to have a better sense of how much product you should send.

Canadian Business Number

Before being able to import goods, and/or if you require a customs broker to clear your shipments for expediting, a Business Number (BN) will be needed.  Simply, call the CRA’s Business Window at 1-800-959-5525 or, visit the CRA’s Business Registration Online (BRO)

Are you in need of guidance during your Amazon Canada journey? This is why Amazon Consultants exist!  For information on how they can help you, read more here.