Amazon opened up its FBA fulfillment service to sellers on its Australian marketplace on Monday and said Prime would be coming to Australian shoppers later this year. It’s running a special promotion to entice sellers to try FBA now.
Australia is a nascent market for Amazon. Until last year, shoppers could only purchase digital goods and Amazon devices on Amazon.com.au. In August, Amazon opened its first fulfillment center in Australia, and it launched the Amazon Marketplace in December.
An Amazon spokesperson had told EcommerceBytes there were 500 third-party sellers registered to sell on its Australian marketplace as of October. In today’s announcement, Amazon referenced “thousands” of sellers:
“Businesses simply send the products they wish to ship through FBA to Amazon’s fulfilment centre and when a customer places an order, Amazon will pick, pack and ship the product on behalf of the business. This saves valuable time and money for businesses as they will no longer need to individually purchase shipping materials, individually pack orders, and make multiple trips to the post office.”
The press release quoted Amazon’s head of FBA in Australia Amit Mahto. “We are focused on helping Australian businesses of all sizes succeed by inventing on their behalf and making our technology available to them and FBA is a fantastic example of this. Customers shopping on amazon.com.au will be able to access an ever growing and more unique range of products accompanied by the convenience of fast delivery and Amazon’s world-class customer service.”
Until Amazon Australia launches Prime in mid-2018, shoppers will be able to benefit from free delivery for orders above $49 for items in the FBA program. The company didn’t reveal what the cost of Prime membership would be when it launches in Australia.
For a limited time Amazon is running an introductory promotion giving sellers access to free storage and removals when enabled in March, until August 31, 2018 (volume limits and other conditions apply). Sellers can find more information on Amazon.com.au/sell.
