Selling on Amazon from Nigeria is incredible, it lets you reach a wider audience, you can seller to Americans, Canadians, British people and earn money in foreign currencies from your home in Nigeria.
In this article I’m going to teach you step by step how you can sell on Amazon from Nigeria. Amazon used to ban Nigerians from selling on their platform however in 2022 that ban was lifted and Nigerians can now sell easily on the Amazon platform. In this article I’m going to show you how to sell on Amazon if you are from Nigeria!
- Register an Amazon seller central; you need to first open an account on Amazon seller central, fill up the online form and upload your identification document such as your international passport and statement of account.
Amazon only allows the National identity card or the international passport as a verification ID for Nigeria sellers. Amazon named it clear that the ID must have (a) signature of the holder (b) expiry date. (b) the ID must show the front and back and be colored
The New Nigeria national ID does not meet this criteria. it does not have the signature of the holder and an expiry date so we recommend uploading an international passport.
The Bank Statement should be issued within 180 days. If you applied for an Amazon seller central account as an individual then your Bank Statement you will upload on Amazon, should have your name and Address but if you applied for the Amazon Seller Central Account as a Business the Bank Statement should have the Business name and address used to register on Amazon.
Also not that if you register on Amazon as a professional account you will be billed $39 monthly for your Amazon account but if you register on Amazon as an individual account you will not be billed the $39 monthly subscription. To further understand the difference between an Amazon professional and individual account view the Amazon webpage comparing the two.
- Schedule an appointment for an online interview; After registration of your Amazon seller central account, you’ll be brought to an interface where you need to pick a date and a time that is convenient for you to have a video call appointment with an Amazon representative.
You need to ensure that you have a strong internet connection on the day of the interview, missing the interview appointment will cost you to reschedule. Not that you can cancel the interview or change your means of identification documents which you uploaded on Amazon before the interview at no cost. Cancelling the interview before the due date is free but missing the interview appointment and rescheduling will cost you.
During the interview you have to bring the original copies of the documents which you uploaded as proof of identity during your Amazon seller central registration. Amazon prohibits you from recording the interview.
- Start selling on Amazon; after the interview, you have to wait for approval within a few days, if you are approved, you can start selling on Amazon!
I recommend going through the Amazon return policy and A-Z guarantee to understand the standard Amazon expects of you! Amazon is a customer centric company. They put their customers first. If you are unable to meet up with their policies, you will risk your Amazon seller account getting suspended or you might get a decreased number of referrals from amazon.
Once you understand Amazon policies and you are sure you can abide by it, list your products on Amazon and start selling! You can sell either as an FBM (fulfilled by merchant) or FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) merchant.
Amazon FBA requires you to buy products in quantity, ship them to an Amazon fulfillment center and once you get an order on your Amazon store, Amazon ships the product to the customer, Amazon also handles returns and customer service on your behalf and the product gets eligible for Amazon prime 2 days shipping to your customers.
Amazon FBM that you can ship the product by yourself directly to your customers. You don’t have to buy large quantities of the product and send it to the Amazon fulfillment center. When you get an order, you handle shipment, you can use other courier services such as DHL, UPS, Fedex or any other one of your choice, you also handle customer service and returns.
To learn more about Amazon FBA and Amazon FBM, check out our Article where we compare the two.
