How to Sell on Amazon Japan in 2023
Amazon Japan is a popular online shopping destination for Japanese consumers. There are millions of Amazon customers in Japan, and some may be interested in your products. The good thing is that it's easier than ever before to list and sell products on Amazon Japan, but there are still many necessary steps to take along the way.
In this article, we'll show you how to set up an FBA business on Amazon Japan and manage day-to-day operations efficiently so that you can focus on growing your business globally!
Making Preparations
To start selling on Amazon Japan, you'll need to research and ensure you are ready to market your product.
You must have a good grasp of the Japanese language. This may seem daunting for some people, but if you have been learning Japanese for any length of time and have used it frequently in your daily life, this shouldn't be too difficult. If not, consider buying an online course or hiring someone who knows Japanese well enough to help with translations into English.
Next, familiarize yourself with the market and competition in Japan by researching similar products that are being sold there now.
Setting Up Your Account
Setting up an Amazon seller account can be quick and easy. Amazon Japan is a Japanese-only marketplace, so you’ll need to create a new account if you don’t already have one.
You can sign up for a seller account using your existing Amazon account or create a new one. Once you sign up, Amazon will conduct a preliminary review of your business to ensure it meets its criteria for selling on the platform. If it does, you'll receive a message that says, "Congratulations! We've invited you to start selling." You'll then be able to complete registration and add products. If all goes well, you should be ready to get started in under five minutes!
Choosing Your Plan
It would help if you chose the plan that best suits your needs, so let's look at how each of them works.
Professional plan: It is for online stores that sell more than 50 items monthly. The monthly subscription fee for this plan is 4,900 JPY, plus category-specific per-item referral fees. Additionally, this enables sellers to list products in specific categories that aren't permitted by the basic plan and to add new items to the Amazon catalog.
Basic plan: It works for retailers who sell at most 50 items monthly. You must do this by paying Amazon a fee of 100 JPY each time an item is sold, in addition to referral fees that differ based on the category. Nevertheless, there is no ongoing membership or subscription fee required.
Identity Verification
Amazon Japan requires sellers to verify their identity before starting their business on the platform. This is a requirement of Amazon, but it's also essential for your protection. Verifying your identity with Amazon will help them prove who you claim to be and that you can sell products on the platform.
Building Product Listings
When you are ready to set up your Amazon account and begin selling, you will first want to build product listings. These are the products that customers can buy directly on Amazon. You may already have done this when creating your wholesale account to see which items you want to sell. If not, here's how:
・Add a title and description for each product. This information needs to be written in Japanese with proper grammar and spelling. Since most non-Japanese people do not speak or write Japanese fluently, it's best if someone fluent in both English and Japanese helps you write these descriptions for them to be accurate enough for shoppers from around the world who only know English.
・Create images/photos for each product listing and bullet points about what makes this item unique and why customers should consider purchasing it over similar products sold by other sellers on Amazon Japan.
Build International Listings (BIL)
Build International Listings (BIL) is a service that allows you to sell your products to Amazon customers in Japan. You first need to use BIL, add your items for sale, and set up shipping for those items.
With the help of the Build International Listings (BIL) tool, you can create and modify offers that go from one marketplace to one or more target marketplaces. This implies that you can control your Japanese inventory using your US marketplace. You can only do this if you successfully link your accounts from two different regions.
Ship and Fulfill
Now that you've found the right products to sell on Amazon Japan, it's time to set up your seller account in the country. The first step is ensuring you have a registered address for your business in Japan.
To start selling on Amazon Japan, you'll need to ship products there and fulfill orders from customers in Japan. This means you'll need to:
・Import products from China or other countries into Japan
・Ship those products from your warehouse in China or elsewhere to Amazon's fulfillment centers worldwide, including those in Japan.
・Fulfill orders placed by customers living in or visiting Japan.
Cross-Border Shipping to Japan
Shipping to Japan is a great way to expand your business, but setting up an international shipping plan can be very complicated if you're a small business owner.
You must find a reliable shipping partner and get your items into their warehouse. Then you will have to manage them from there until they arrive in Japan, with all the risks that entail.
Conclusion
Amazon is a global marketplace, and Japan is just one of the many countries where you can sell your products. However, there are still some differences in how things work on Amazon Japan that you need to know about before getting started.
One of the most noticeable differences is that shipping times are longer than what Americans might be used to! This means that it's essential for sellers who plan on selling internationally or in Japan specifically to arrange their logistics and fulfillment processes to stay aware when orders start coming in from overseas buyers.
Key Takeaways:
Amazon Japan is a popular online shopping destination for Japanese customers
It is important to familiarize yourself with the market by researching similar products which are already on the market
Set up an account and choose your plan based on the number of items you sell monthly
The description of the products has to be written in Japanese with proper grammar
Build International Listing (BIL) allows you to sell your product To Amazon customers in Japan
It is essential to arrange logistics and fulfillment processes when you plan on selling internationally
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