Issues to Note About Amazon FBA First-Leg

Regarding the issues to note for Amazon FBA First-Leg, let me walk you through them below:

For Amazon sellers, it is worth understanding the relevant precautions regarding Amazon logistics. The following are some of my own insights as a logistics service provider:

For Amazon USA, most sellers know the U.S. customs clearance process; the inspection probability is relatively low, so the chance of duties is also quite low. But I want to point out that this is conditional: generally keep the per-shipment weight under 300KG and use proper packaging that makes the product look like regular factory-export packaging. Notes on cargo declaration:

1. For goods with a declared value under 200 USD, U.S. Customs does not require payment of customs duties.

2. For goods declared between 200 USD and 2,000 USD, if inspected by U.S. Customs, the customer must pay duties through their account.

3. For goods over 2,000 USD, the inspection probability is relatively high. If inspected by customs, the shipper must provide a physical U.S. recipient or company to complete the cumbersome formal customs declaration.

At this point, I advise sellers to avoid the above risks as much as possible to prevent extra losses. For channels: the four major express carriers are all options, but DHL has currently suspended FBA-related services (use less FedEx for FBA goods due to heavy documentation and cumbersome procedures; TNT has little advantage in the U.S. but good timeliness-cost value). Goods transshipped via New York or Los Angeles are strictly inspected, and FBA goods have a high inspection probability. How to determine at which airport goods are cleared based on the recipient address? It is easy: for FBA goods, check the warehouse ZIP code, AZ 85043 means clearance or transshipment via Los Angeles; KY 41048 means clearance or transshipment via Cincinnati. ZIP codes starting with 7, 8, or 9 are cleared or transshipped via Los Angeles; those starting with 0 may be cleared via New York airport; all other ZIP codes are cleared via Cincinnati. So for ZIP codes 7/8/9/0, it is recommended to ship in small quantities across multiple shipments.

For goods entering European FBA warehouses, European customs are much stricter than the U.S., in terms of inspection intensity, taxation, and product categories. Customs now use electronic declaration, so inspection is a matter of probability. Taking the UK as an example among European countries, customs conducts periodic and irregular audit team reviews, much like Shenzhen Customs, which has document review, inspection, clearance, and audit divisions; this reflects their rigor.

After the goods arrive locally, the broker will conduct electronic customs clearance online; normally clearance completes within two hours, and the customs system reviews the documents and issues the tax entry (Entry) and tax detail (C88).

1. UK Customs exempts goods under 15KG per shipment from customs duties; only 20% VAT applies [VAT = (declared value + freight + DUTY) x 20%].

2. UK customs tax consists of two parts: VAT at 20%, calculated as VAT = (goods value + DUTY + 0.4P x weight) x 20%; customs duty (DUTY) varies by product, generally around 3% for electronic accessories, calculated as DUTY = (goods value + weight x unit freight) x tax rate.

3. For UK declarations, European goods generally follow a similar 5-6-7 USD per kg declaration standard for ordinary products (excluding high-value goods); this 5-6-7 refers to the declared amount per kilogram. Many dual-clearance tax-included channels exist in the market today, and 100% of those capable of this operate on an air plus delivery model; ordinary express services generally cannot guarantee dual clearance.

The market for dual-clearance tax-included services is chaotic, with some prices extremely low. What kind of operation achieves such low prices? Nothing but ultra-low declaration at operation to reduce taxes. Would European governments allow this? Such practices cannot guarantee cargo safety, and the VAT used for this customs clearance will not last long.