Ukrainian entrepreneurs can sell on Amazon without commission for a year

21.09.2022

Amazon UK and EU cancels referral commission for Ukrainian exporting sellers! Starting September 6, businesses that ship goods from Ukraine will be exempt from paying a percentage of sales for a year.
A few months ago the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Ukrposhta, Marketplace Promotion, Disqover Agency and Startup Ukraine with a joint initiative approached Amazon to ease the conditions for Ukrainian sellers. As a result, there is great news today: Amazon is cancelling the referral fee for a whole year.

"In response to your request to support Ukrainian sellers on our marketplace, I am pleased to confirm that we are now introducing special conditions for businesses with a shipping address in Ukraine. Starting September 6, we are reducing the referral commission to 0% for a period of 12 months for all Ukrainian sellers on Amazon in Europe and the UK" - replied Xavier Flamand, Vice President of EU Seller Services.

Xavier Flamand also noted that Amazon Web Services was honored to receive the Ukraine Peace Prize from the Ukrainian government and continues to help Ukrainians with many initiatives to support our country.

"In spite of the war, Ukrainian businesses continue to work. At the same time, a significant number of companies are entering the international market. Firstly, the demand for Ukrainian goods is growing, and secondly, for many companies it is an opportunity to scale up and find new customers. For every business owner the support of Ukraine and the world is very important. That is why together with our partners we call on the world companies to support Ukrainian small and medium businesses. The new conditions for our entrepreneurs on Amazon is our common victory on the economic front. Now Ukrainians will be able to promote their products on the world market on more favorable terms", - commented Mykhaylo Fedorov, Minister of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

Amazon usually charges a commission on each sale. Previously, referral commissions ranged from 7% to 17% of the price, depending on the category. In most cases it was as high as 15%.

"Ukrposhta as the main logistics partner of Ukrainian exporters since the beginning of the war has been actively lobbying the interests of entrepreneurs and together with the world's leading marketplaces is looking for ways to support small businesses in Ukraine. Thus we have already managed to agree on special terms for Ukrainian merchants on Wish, Joom and eBay. And now, thanks to joint efforts with partners, Ukrainian entrepreneurs have received unprecedented working conditions on the European Amazon. The marketplace's decision to cancel for a year the sales commission in the EU and the UK is a fine addition to the EU's policy of supporting Ukrainian business. Due to the fact that the European Union cancelled duties on goods, including those sent in parcels from Ukraine from June 4 for a year, such a decision by Amazon further improves conditions for exporters. Thus, Ukrainian sellers will only have to pay the VAT of the destination country, and this process on Amazon is automated through the Import-one-stop-solution (IOSS)", commented Igor Smelyansky, Director General of Ukrposhta.

"Since the beginning of the full-scale war, we at Disqover Agency see the actual situation among Ukrainian producers. Many entrepreneurs have lost their market, or it has significantly decreased. The way out for many was to scale to foreign markets.

We realized that many giants are now helping Ukraine, that the demand for Ukrainian goods is growing and will continue to grow. Separate barriers to entry on Amazon, including large commissions on the site, are significant for many sellers. This is a trend we've seen for over 4 years, working with hundreds of customers from Ukraine.

With the abolition of referral fees the investment burden on the entrepreneur significantly reduces, which allows you to continue to work in Ukraine and fight on the economic front of the state. We are grateful that the largest marketplace in Europe and the UK allows Ukrainian business to scale and find new customers. We are glad that with joint efforts with partners we managed to achieve this result." - comments Alina Smolenskaya, CPO at Disqover Agency.

"Cancellation of Amazon referral commission for Ukrainian sellers will not just keep the economic front - it is extremely important in general to promote Made in Ukraine brand. Previously, small entrepreneurs faced many barriers when setting up store on Amazon. Now it will be much easier, so it will be easier to enter new markets and promote Made in Ukraine products", - says the founder of Startup Ukraine Anna Petrova.

Earlier Joom, Wish, Shopify, Etsy and eBay marketplaces cancelled commissions for sellers from Ukraine at the request of Ukrposhta.

Also, Ukrposhta became the first post office to open an official store on Amazon.