E-commerce · Budget: £1,000 to £5,000 · Minimum age: 18+

Amazon FBA

Amazon FBA lets you sell products through Amazon while Amazon stores, packs and ships your stock, and handles customer service and returns. You choose and buy the products, manage the listing and stock, and check that fees leave room for a profit.

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In plain words

You choose products to sell on Amazon.
You buy stock and send it to Amazon.
Amazon stores, packs, and posts your products.
Amazon also handles customer service and returns.
Check every cost before buying stock.
Sales are not guaranteed, and stock can lose money.

Who it suits

It may suit someone who enjoys researching products, can afford to tie up money in stock and is willing to keep close track of fees and sales. It is less suited to anyone looking for guaranteed or quick income.

People pay for products they want to buy, and Amazon provides a familiar place to shop. FBA can make storage, packing and delivery easier for you, but your profit depends on demand, costs and careful stock decisions.

Step by step

Research a product before choosing it. Choose a product area you understand. Look at what buyers appear to want and what competing listings include. Do not order a large amount before checking likely costs. About 1-3 days.
Calculate the full cost for each unit. Include the product, delivery to Amazon, selling-plan costs, referral fees, fulfilment and storage. Use Amazon’s Revenue Calculator and check the relevant fee information before deciding: Amazon UK FBA. About 30-60 minutes per product.
Choose the marketplace you will sell in. Check the selling-plan cost for your chosen marketplace before opening or using an account. In Ireland, keep the monthly selling plan separate from FBA charges: Amazon UK pricing and Amazon Ireland FBA. About 30-60 minutes.
Set up your seller account and listing. Add your account and bank details, then write a clear listing with accurate descriptions and images. UK account setup requires a credit card and a bank account: Amazon UK pricing. About 1-2 hours.
Check product eligibility and preparation rules. Check that your product can use FBA and whether it needs preparation or labels. Poor preparation or labelling can lead to unplanned-service fees in Ireland: Amazon Ireland FBA. About 30-60 minutes.
Order a cautious first batch of stock. Choose an amount you can afford to have tied up if sales are slow. Record the product price, delivery and preparation costs; the listing price is not the amount you keep. About 1-2 days, depending on the supplier.
Create an FBA shipment and send the stock. Create the shipment in Seller Central and follow its preparation and delivery instructions. If you already sell on Amazon Ireland, accept the FBA User Agreement and follow the online enrolment instructions: Amazon Ireland FBA FAQs. About 1-3 hours, plus delivery time.
Check stock, sales and fees regularly. Review Seller Central and compare actual costs and sales with your estimates. Amazon says fulfilment fees vary by product and programme, while storage charges are based on inventory held: Amazon UK FBA. About 15-30 minutes each review.
Work out actual profit before reordering. Use your sales and expense records to calculate what remains after costs. Keep money aside for future stock, fees and any tax you may owe before deciding whether to order again. About 30-60 minutes after your first sales.

Your first 15 minutes

This week, choose one product idea and use Amazon's Revenue Calculator to check whether its likely selling price leaves room for costs before you buy any stock.

The money

Start with the price customers may accept, then subtract the product cost, delivery, preparation, selling-plan, referral, fulfilment and storage costs. Use Amazon’s Revenue Calculator and check current charges for your marketplace before buying stock: <a href="https://sell.amazon.co.uk/pricing?ref_=sduk_soa_gs_faq_costuk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon UK pricing</a>, <a href="https://sell.amazon.co.uk/fulfilment-by-amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon UK FBA</a> and <a href="https://sellercentral.amazon.ie/welcome/fulfilment-by-amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon Ireland FBA</a>.

Example only: Suppose one week’s sales bring in £100 or €100. If stock and delivery cost £40 or €40, and platform, fulfilment and storage costs total £30 or €30, the amount left before tax is £30 or €30. These are made-up figures, not typical earnings or Amazon fee estimates.

The rules

Selling on Amazon can be legal in the UK and Ireland. You must follow the tax, consumer and product-safety rules that apply to your sales. Rules can differ between Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Check the rules for your products and where your stock is stored.

UK and Northern Ireland

Tax and Self Assessment. The first £1,000 a year of trading income is covered by the trading allowance. This is your gross income before expenses. Tell HMRC if your trading income is above the allowance. If you need to register for Self Assessment, do so by 5 October after the relevant tax year: GOV.UK, Tax help for hustles and GOV.UK.
VAT and platform reporting. You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover is over £90,000. Since 1 January 2024, platforms report sellers to HMRC if they meet either of these tests: 30 or more items, or about £1,700 a year. Platform reporting does not, by itself, decide whether you owe tax: Business.gov.uk and GOV.UK.
Customer cancellation rights. For many online sales to consumers, the normal cancellation period for goods is 14 days after the goods come into the consumer’s physical possession. Before the contract, give the required information. Where cancellation rights apply, make the cancellation form available. Tell consumers if they must pay return costs. They should return goods within 14 days of cancelling. You generally need to refund them within 14 days of receiving the goods or proof of return. Unless you agree otherwise, delivery must be without undue delay and within 30 days. Exceptions apply, so check the detailed rules for your products: UK Regulations and UK Government guidance.
Product safety. In Northern Ireland, EU General Product Safety rules apply to relevant consumer products placed on or made available on the NI or EU market. Your products must be safe. You must have a responsible economic operator established in Northern Ireland or the EU. Their details must appear on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document. Great Britain has a different product-safety regime. Check the rules for your product and where you will sell it: UK Government guidance and UK Government guidance.
Data protection fee. Use the ICO self-assessment tool to check whether your data-handling activities mean you need to pay a data protection fee. The wholesale and retail guidance does not set one rule for every sole trader: ICO.
Advertising and insurance. If you promote products through advertising or affiliate posts, label commercial content clearly. For example, use “Ad”: ASA. Consider suitable business insurance. Ask an insurer about cover for your products and stock.

Ireland

Income tax. If you are a PAYE worker, register for self-assessment using Form 11 if your taxable non-PAYE income is over €5,000 or your gross non-PAYE income is over €30,000. Below those limits, declare it on Form 12 through myAccount: Revenue. If you are self-employed, you pay income tax, PRSI (Class S) and USC under self-assessment. Your preliminary tax is due by 31 October: Citizens Information. Check your situation with Revenue or a tax adviser.
VAT and platform reporting. The VAT registration thresholds are €85,000 for goods and €42,500 for services: Revenue. Under DAC7, platforms report sellers of goods unless they have fewer than 30 transactions and under €2,000: Revenue.
Online customer rights. For online purchases from a business, consumers generally have 14 days from receiving goods to tell you they want to cancel. They then have another 14 days to return the goods. Before purchase, give the required business and product details, total price and extra charges, cancellation information and a cancellation form. Tell consumers about any return costs that apply. Refund consumers within 14 days of being told about the cancellation, subject to receiving the returned goods. If you do not tell consumers about their cancellation right, it can be extended to 12 months from when it would first have expired. Exceptions apply. These consumer rights do not apply to purchases from private individuals: CCPC and CCPC FAQs.
Product safety. You must supply safe and compliant products. Products placed on the EU market must have a responsible person in the EU. Their details must appear on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document. Give consumers the information they need to use products safely. Have systems to identify risks and monitor complaints or incidents. If a safety issue arises, take corrective action and notify the CCPC without delay. You must also tell consumers if they have been sold an unsafe product. Check the rules before sourcing unfamiliar or regulated products: CCPC and CCPC product safety guidance.
Business name and ads. If you trade under a name other than your own, register the business name with the CRO. Online registration costs €20: CRO. Label commercial influencer content. For example, use “#Ad”: CCPC.
Insurance. Consider suitable business insurance for your stock and products. Ask an insurer what cover fits your business.

Checked against official sources: 22 October 2026. Not yet reviewed by a qualified tax or legal adviser. General guidance, not legal advice. Check the official link beside each point before you start.

Common mistakes

Ordering a large amount of stock before checking all costs.
Treating the listing price as profit instead of subtracting every fee and expense.
Choosing a product without checking its eligibility, preparation or safety requirements.
Ignoring storage costs or leaving stock unsold for too long.
Ordering more stock before calculating actual profit from earlier sales.

AI-made demonstration: this module has a 20-second street-chat video in the interactive guide. The presenter and the people in it are computer-generated, not real people.

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