Amazon UK gives a new seller access to millions of ready-to-buy shoppers on day one — but the process of actually getting listed, priced correctly and paid on time trips up more beginners than the product research itself. This guide covers exactly how to start selling on Amazon UK in 2026: which plan to choose, what documents Amazon will ask for, how FBA and FBM really compare, and the real fee structure behind every sale.
Whether you're launching your first product or moving an existing Shopify store onto Amazon as a second channel, the steps below are built specifically around Amazon's current UK requirements — not a US guide with the currency symbol swapped.
You don't need a limited company to sell on Amazon UK — sole traders can register directly, though Amazon income must still be declared to HMRC. Choosing the right plan matters: the Professional plan (£25/month + VAT) becomes cheaper than the Individual plan (£0.75 per sale) at roughly 34 items a month, and also unlocks the Buy Box and advertising tools. Referral fees typically run 8–15% of the sale price depending on category, with several categories cut further in early 2026. FBA isn't automatically the better choice — it buys you Prime eligibility and hands-off fulfilment, but FBM keeps more margin per sale for sellers willing to handle their own shipping.
01Amazon Individual vs Professional Selling Plan
Your first real decision is which selling plan to register under, and it changes both your monthly cost and what tools you can access from day one.
| Plan | Cost | Best for | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | £0.75 per item sold, no monthly fee | Testing the market, under ~34 sales/month | Basic listing only, no Buy Box or ads |
| Professional | £25/month + VAT, no per-item fee | Anyone serious about building a real store | Buy Box eligibility, Sponsored Products, bulk tools, reports |
The maths is straightforward: 34 sales on the Individual plan costs £25.50 — already more than a month of Professional. Beyond the raw cost, the Professional plan is effectively required for serious selling, since it's the only route to the Buy Box and to Amazon Advertising, both of which drive the majority of sales on the platform.
02Documents You Need Before You Register
Amazon's identity verification is thorough, and having everything ready before you start avoids a stalled application halfway through.
- Valid government-issued ID — a passport or driving licence.
- Proof of address — a bank statement or utility bill from the last 90 days.
- A business or personal email address to register the account.
- A valid credit or debit card for account verification.
- Company registration details and VAT certificate — only required if you're registering as a limited company.
Amazon settles your first payout 14 days after registration, then repeats every 7 days from there — worth factoring into your early cash-flow planning, since your first sales won't reach your bank account immediately.
03Step-by-Step: Registering Your Amazon UK Seller Account
Choose your selling plan
Decide between Individual and Professional based on your expected monthly volume, using the 34-item crossover point as your rule of thumb.
Gather your documents
Have your ID, proof of address, bank statement and card ready before you start — Amazon's verification stalls without them.
Register at sell.amazon.co.uk
Create your Seller Central account, enter your business details, and complete Amazon's identity verification process.
Choose FBA or FBM
Decide whether Amazon handles storage, picking and shipping (FBA) or whether you fulfil orders yourself (FBM).
List your first products
Add listings with accurate category placement, compliant images, and titles that match how UK shoppers actually search.
Set up tax and compliance
Register for VAT if your turnover requires it, connect Making Tax Digital-compatible software, and confirm any category-specific UK compliance such as UKCA marking.
04FBA vs FBM vs Seller Fulfilled Prime
How your orders actually get to customers is one of the biggest decisions in setting up your Amazon UK business, and it changes both your margin and your day-to-day workload.
FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon)
- Amazon stores, picks, packs and ships your orders
- Prime badge drives conversion significantly
- Amazon handles customer service and returns
- You pay fulfilment and storage fees per unit
FBM (Fulfilment by Merchant)
- You store and ship every order yourself
- Keeps more margin per sale, no fulfilment fee
- No automatic Prime badge, which can hurt conversion
- You handle customer service and returns directly
A third option, Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), lets FBM sellers earn the Prime badge without using Amazon's warehouses — but the bar is high: same-day dispatch, 99% on-time delivery, weekend shipping and near-total use of Amazon's own shipping labels. In practice, most sellers who want the Prime badge choose FBA rather than attempt SFP.
05Amazon UK Fees, Explained Plainly
Understanding the real fee stack before you list is what separates a product that looks profitable on paper from one that actually is.
| Fee type | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Referral fee | 8–15% of sale price (up to 45% on some categories) | Minimum £0.25 per item; several categories cut in early 2026 |
| FBA fulfilment fee | £2.50–£3.50 (small/light) up to £5+ (larger) | Depends on size tier and weight |
| FBA storage fee | £0.51–£1.41 per cubic foot/month | Higher in October–December |
| Professional plan | £25/month + VAT | No per-item fee on top |
| Individual plan | £0.75 per item | No monthly fee |
06Choosing Products That Actually Work on Amazon UK
Not every product suits Amazon's fee structure or fulfilment model equally well. A few characteristics consistently separate profitable listings from thin-margin ones.
- Price range £15–£50: below that, margins rarely survive the referral and fulfilment fee stack; above it, unknown-brand purchase resistance kicks in.
- Small and lightweight: keeps FBA fulfilment fees in the cheaper size tiers — a small reduction in dimensions can move a product down an entire fee bracket.
- Consistent, year-round demand: avoids cash tied up in stock that only moves for a few weeks a year.
- Manageable competition: popular categories like home & kitchen, sports & outdoors, pet supplies, health & personal care, and baby products remain strong starting points for new UK sellers.
07Best-Selling Products on Amazon UK
Looking at what already sells well on Amazon UK is a useful shortcut when you're narrowing down your own product list — not to copy a listing directly, but to see which categories UK shoppers buy from consistently, month after month.
| Category | Why it sells | Typical price band |
|---|---|---|
| Home & Kitchen | High repeat-purchase rate; gadgets, storage and organisation items do especially well | £10–£40 |
| Health & Personal Care | Steady, non-seasonal demand; supplements and skincare have loyal repeat buyers | £8–£30 |
| Pet Supplies | Owners restock regularly; toys and accessories have low return rates | £8–£35 |
| Sports & Outdoors | Fitness and home-workout gear stays consistently popular year-round | £12–£45 |
| Baby Products | Parents buy on trust and reviews rather than price alone, supporting healthy margins | £10–£40 |
| Phone & Tech Accessories | High search volume and frequent replacement, though referral fees run higher here | £8–£25 |
| Toys & Games | Strong seasonal spikes around birthdays and Christmas, on top of steady base demand | £10–£35 |
Treat these as starting categories, not product ideas to copy directly. Use Amazon's own Best Sellers and Movers & Shakers pages within each category to see what's currently trending, then look for a specific angle — a size, bundle, colour or feature gap — that an existing best-seller hasn't covered yet.
08Where to Source Products for Amazon UK
Amazon's delivery-speed expectations make supplier choice just as important as product choice — a slow-shipping supplier undermines your seller metrics before you've even had a chance to build reviews.
| Supplier | Best for | Typical UK delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Kickstart E-Commerce | Done-for-you UK sourcing and quality-checked stock for FBA prep | 1–4 working days |
| E-Commerce Infinity | Branded packaging across multiple Amazon-friendly niches | 2–5 working days |
| CJ Dropshipping (UK warehouse) | Widest catalogue, strong for FBM listings | 3–6 working days |
| Spocket | UK & EU-based suppliers filterable by location | 2–5 working days |
| Bryta | UK-only wholesale catalogue for private-label style listings | 1–3 working days |
09UK Tax and Compliance for Amazon Sellers
Amazon selling in the UK carries a few tax obligations that are easy to miss when you're focused on listings and fulfilment.
- Sole trader vs limited company: you can sell on Amazon UK as a sole trader without registering a company, but you must still declare Amazon income to HMRC and pay the correct tax.
- VAT registration: mandatory once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12-month period, optional below it.
- Making Tax Digital (MTD): from April 2026, sole traders earning above £50,000 must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC. Amazon's own Seller Central reports don't meet this requirement — MTD-compatible software such as Xero or QuickBooks, connected directly to your Amazon account, is needed. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027.
- UKCA marking: required for electricals and several other regulated categories before you list them.
10Pros and Cons of Selling on Amazon UK
Benefits
- Access to a huge, ready-to-buy UK customer base instantly
- FBA removes the need to handle storage or shipping yourself
- Strong trust signal for buyers vs an unknown standalone store
- No prior ecommerce experience required to start
Challenges
- Fee stack (referral, fulfilment, storage) compresses margins
- Highly competitive listings in most popular categories
- Limited control over branding compared with your own store
- Account health and policy compliance require ongoing attention
11Common Mistakes New Amazon UK Sellers Make
12Frequently Asked Questions
The Individual plan costs £0.75 per item sold with no monthly fee, while the Professional plan costs £25 a month plus VAT with no per-item fee. Beyond the plan, most beginners budget £500 to £2,000 for initial stock, shipping to Amazon and early advertising.
If you expect to sell more than roughly 34 items a month, the Professional plan is cheaper and also unlocks the Buy Box, advertising tools and bulk listing features. Below that volume, the Individual plan lets you test the market without a fixed monthly cost.
You need a valid government-issued ID such as a passport or driving licence, proof of address, a recent bank statement or utility bill, a business or personal email address, and a valid credit or debit card.
FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) suits sellers who want Prime eligibility and don't want to handle storage or shipping themselves, in exchange for fulfilment and storage fees. FBM (Fulfilment by Merchant) keeps more margin per sale but means you handle storage, packing and delivery speed yourself.
No. You can sell on Amazon UK as a sole trader without registering a limited company, though you must still declare your Amazon income to HMRC and pay the appropriate tax.
Most categories sit between 8% and 15%, with some categories like device accessories reaching up to 45%. Amazon cut several category rates in early 2026, including clothing to 5% on items up to £15 and home products to 8% on items up to £20. A minimum referral fee of £0.25 applies per item.
The Short Version
Starting to sell on Amazon UK in 2026 comes down to four real decisions: which plan fits your volume, whether FBA or FBM suits your product and margin, which categories genuinely have room for a new listing, and getting your tax and compliance basics — VAT, Making Tax Digital, UKCA marking — right before you list rather than after.
None of it requires a limited company or prior ecommerce experience to begin. Run the numbers through Amazon's FBA Revenue Calculator before committing to stock, source from a supplier that can actually hit UK delivery expectations, and treat your first month as a genuine test rather than a guaranteed win.
Ready to get your Amazon UK account live? Let's set it up properly.
Sources: Amazon UK — Sell on Amazon · LERA Accountancy — How to Start Selling on Amazon · Elver Ecommerce Accountants — Amazon Selling Fee Guide 2026 · VAT Margin Calculator — Amazon UK Seller Fees 2026 · Worldwide Listings — How to Sell on Amazon UK