Amazon Seller in Singapore: How to Get Started

In October 2019, Amazon launched its first market in Southeast Asia, here in Singapore¹. This is significant for local consumers, as previously Amazon customers needed to use the regular .com site, which had limited availability and pricey shipping. And of course, it’s a new opportunity for people selling online in Singapore - or existing Amazon sellers looking to expand into the country.

This guide walks through how to use Amazon as a seller, including some of the fees you’ll need to consider.

We’ll also touch on how the Wise Business account can be a great tool to run your business in other Amazon regions and save money when dealing with foreign currencies.

Table of contents
Selling on Amazon: An overview How to create an Amazon Seller account Amazon dropshipping Amazon Singapore FBA Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) Amazon Singapore seller fees Selling on Amazon US or UK from Singapore Receive money abroad easily and cut the costs of selling internationally with Wise Business

Selling on Amazon: An overview

Let's start with an overview of why selling on the platform is a great opportunity, how Amazon works, and how you can get started.

Why sell on Amazon

Selling on Amazon gives you access to one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, trusted by millions of customers worldwide. Here are some key benefits:

• Reach a global audience: Sell locally on Amazon.sg or expand internationally to over 200 countries, including through Amazon.com and 22 other Amazon marketplaces.
• Tap into a huge market: Gain access to over 300 million Amazon customers worldwide, creating a significant opportunity to grow your business.
• Hassle-free fulfillment: With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon handles storage, delivery, and returns for you, so you can scale your business without worrying about logistics.
• Built-in marketing and analytics: Seller Central offers powerful tools, including analytics and marketing features, to help you optimise listings, monitor performance, and drive sales growth.
• Supportive learning community: Join a large, vibrant seller network with access to webinars, training, and expert tips from Seller Ambassadors—helping you stay updated on best practices and trends.
• Trusted ecommerce brand: Amazon is a well-established brand that customers already know and trust, which helps boost credibility for your products.

How to get started on Amazon Singapore

Here are the basic steps you need to get started selling on Amazon². There are more details, hints, and tips coming right up.

1. Create your Amazon account online on Seller Central.
2. List your products, and create descriptions where needed.
3. Promote your items and connect with potential customers.
4. When you make a sale, Amazon will notify you.
5. Pack and ship the product to the customer. You can either use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), where Amazon stores, packs, and ships your orders, or Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM), where you store and ship items directly to customers yourself.
6. Get paid. Amazon will send your money at regular intervals to your linked bank account.

How to create an Amazon Seller account

Before we get into the details of how to sell on Amazon Singapore, the first thing you’ll need is an account. Here’s how to create one in a few easy steps⁹:

1. Go to https://sell.amazon.com.sg
2. Click “Sign up.”
3. Choose your starting region/marketplace (e.g., Singapore, North America, Europe, etc.).
4. If you’re new to Amazon, click “Create your Amazon account” and fill in your name, email, and password. If you already have an Amazon account, log in with your existing details to begin seller registration.
5. Validate your email address - enter the One-Time Password (OTP) sent to your email inbox.
6. Fill in your business information, including business location and type, legal business name, registration number (UEN/ACRA), and registered address.
7. Agree to the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement and complete SMS verification.
8. Enter your personal details, including proof of identity (driver’s licence, passport, or national ID card).
9. Enter your card details (for subscription fees).
10. Start entering your store and product information.
11. Upload verification documents, including your ID, a bank or credit card statement (matching your name or company name), a Business Verification Certificate (from ACRA), and a document confirming your relationship to the business.
12. Complete identity verification by either choosing instant biometric verification or scheduling a video call via Seller Central.

Once these steps are complete, Amazon will review your submission—typically within 2 to 3 business days. If approved, you’ll gain access to Seller Central. If not, Amazon will provide instructions to help you resubmit your documents.

---

Choosing and promoting your products on Amazon

The most important thing you’ll do when selling on Amazon is choosing your products. Finding the right items that customers love, which can bring home a good profit, is key to successful selling.

Amazon divides products by category, with over 20 categories open for all sellers³. Other categories may require approvals from Amazon before you can get started - and of course, some items can’t be sold due to legal, moral, and practical restrictions.

You may have a clear idea of what you want to sell. Check it’s allowed under Amazon’s categories, and think about the logistics of shipping it. You’ll also need to make sure you can sell it at a price that will bring a good profit after shipping and Amazon fees.

If you don’t already know what you want to sell, you can research ideas using the Amazon best seller lists by category, or even one of the many Amazon keyword search tools available. Log in to Amazon as a customer to see best sellers by category, or check out the specialist keyword tools from services like Jungle Scout⁴. You can also get a lot of help and free resources from Amazon itself, including case studies, guides, and Seller University, which offers information and videos covering how to sell.

Amazon dropshipping

Dropshipping is a popular business model in which sellers don’t handle the product themselves. Instead, they work with suppliers who can do the work of sending items to customers directly. This means a lower risk to the seller and less administration time.

Because this business model has low barriers to entry, it’s one that new sellers may want to try out on Amazon. Unfortunately, this is not an entirely straightforward thing to do.

Depending on where you’re selling and how you structure your dropshipping operation, you might find it’s possible to use this business model on Amazon. However, there are strict rules about what can and can’t be done - and you’ll face penalties if you break them.

Learn more about dropshipping on Amazon here - or read on for details of Amazon’s own answer to dropshipping, FBA.

Amazon Singapore FBA

FBA stands for Fulfilled By Amazon. This Amazon service allows sellers to focus on selecting and promoting their products, while Amazon does the work of picking, packing, and sending individual customer orders. You’ll be able to ship all your products to an Amazon warehouse and have the Amazon team take care of orders as they come in, including dealing with aftercare and customer support.

Amazon FBA has a number of benefits. It means you can sell in Singapore and in many other global markets without needing to hold or ship your own stock. That’s perfect if you’re pushed for space or simply don’t have the time to deal with shipping. You can also get Amazon Prime free shipping on all of your products, which can really make them stand out from the crowd.⁵

There are fees to pay for FBA, which include a storage fee calculated by the cubic metre and a shipping cost per item. You only pay for what you need, making this a flexible service. Check out the full pricing information online⁶, or read more about Amazon FBA Singapore in this helpful guide. You'll also be able to find the Amazon Singapore FBA pricing information in the table below.

Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM)

With FBM, sellers list products on Amazon but handle storage, packaging, and shipping themselves. This approach gives sellers greater control over delivery speed, shipping rates, and product handling—making it especially useful for bulky, slow-moving, or temperature-sensitive items—while also saving on Amazon’s FBA fees.

FBM can be cost-effective for small, low-volume sellers or larger sellers with their own warehouses and logistics operations. However, it also comes with added responsibility. Sellers must manage customer service, returns, and delivery performance, all of which Amazon monitors to ensure high standards.

To perform well on Amazon, FBM sellers need efficient shipping processes and strong customer communication, since they don’t benefit from the built-in advantages of Amazon Prime or Amazon’s logistics network.

---

Amazon Singapore seller fees

Depending on the products you sell and how you set up your business, you may need to pay:

• a referral fee,
• a selling fee,
• a closing fee, and
• shipping costs.

Note: If you use FBA or sign up for a professional seller plan, you’ll also pay a charge for that.

Amazon’s fees vary according to the item value and category, and can be found in full online. Here are some example charges to help you get a rough idea of what to expect.⁶ ⁷ ⁸

Service	Amazon Singapore⁸
Monthly subscription fee	No fee for individual sellers. Professional sellers pay SGD 32.65/month, although may be subject to special offers or waivers.
Per item fee	Individual sellers pay SGD 1.09/item. No fee for professional sellers.
Referral fee	Between 7% and 15%¹⁰, depending on the product category. Based on total cost of the purchase, including shipping and wrapping.
Closing fee	If you sell media items like books, video games, music, and DVDs, you also pay a SGD 1.09 closing fee per sale.
Refund administration fee	If you need to refund a customer, you’ll pay an admin fee, which is the lesser of SGD 5.45 or 20% of the referral fee paid.
FBA shipping - envelopes	SGD 1.55 - SGD 3.23 depending on weight.
FBA shipping - parcels and outsized	Parcels: SGD 3.22 - SGD 8.74 depending on weight. Outsize parcels: SGD 4.14 - SGD 13.36 depending on weight
FBA warehousing	SGD 14.39 per cubic metre, per month¹¹

Selling on Amazon US or UK from Singapore

Want to reach buyers outside of Singapore? It’s easy to see why, as Amazon has hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. A couple of the most lucrative markets are the US and the UK, so we’ll focus on them here.

How to sell on Amazon USA from Singapore

To start selling to Amazon customers in the US, you’ll need to set up your seller account using the steps above. This includes identity verification processes. If you already sell on Singapore Amazon, you can simply head to the Amazon Global Selling page (https://sell.amazon.com.sg/sell-globally) and click “Expand to United States.”¹²

Fees for professional seller accounts on Amazon US are USD 39.99 a month¹², along with FBA, referral, and other fees.

You’ll need to check whether any of the products you’d like to sell are restricted in the US. You might need to apply for approval for some product types¹², while others cannot be sold at all on Amazon.com.

Another important thing to know is that you’ll be paid by Amazon to your bank account in US dollars.

This means that having a US dollar bank account could be crucial; otherwise, you could lose earnings to currency conversion fees and poor exchange rates.

How to sell on Amazon.co.uk from Singapore

It’s a similar process as above to start selling on Amazon UK from Singapore. You’ll need to create a seller account or follow the steps on theAmazon Global Selling hub to expand to the UK.

The professional seller plan for Amazon.co.uk costs GBP 25 + VAT a month¹³, plus referral and FBA fees. As with the US, you’ll need to check which products are restricted or require additional approvals to sell in the UK¹³.

Once again, you’ll be paid by Amazon in the local currency - pound sterling (GBP).

So, if you want to avoid currency conversion fees and hidden exchange rate mark-ups, it could be a smart idea to get a GBP account.

Receive money abroad easily and cut the costs of selling internationally with Wise Business

Selling on Amazon in different regions means dealing with multiple currencies. To expand overseas successfully, you'll need a smart way to manage cash flow across borders.

For example, if you decide to start selling on Amazon US, you can use your Wise USD local account details to receive money from Amazon and switch it back to SGD using the mid-market exchange rate. There’s only ever a low transparent fee, which means you skip the sky-high bank costs and improve your profit margins.

And it works the same way when paying suppliers. If you need to send money to China or anywhere else for products you sell on Amazon, you can use Wise to send CNY or other currencies quickly and cost-effectively.

💼 Case Study: Learn how online marketplace Novelship saves around $20,000 and 20 hours a month by using Wise Business to pay overseas suppliers

💡If you're growing a global business, you'll quickly face a daunting wall of costs, complexity, and hidden fees when receiving international payments. Wise Business helps you bypass this wall, making it easy to receive money from around the world and start getting paid like a local today.

• Obtain account details to receive payments in GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD and more for a one-time fee of S$ 99.
• Simply share your account details with customers or add them to invoices.
• Hold, send, and convert money at the mid-market rate in one account.
• Simplify customer payments with Wise request payment feature.
• Accept payments from customers and payment service providers (PSPs) like Stripe and Amazon.
• Generate payment links to request money in specific currencies.

➡️Get started with Wise Business today

---

Manage your Singapore business with Amazon Seller Central solutions

Amazon Seller Central Singapore offers a comprehensive suite of tools to help you streamline operations, reach new customers, and grow your sales.

• Advertising solutions: Run ad campaigns, set up deals, coupons, and special promotions to boost visibility and drive sales.
• Product listing and pricing: Add, edit, and optimise product listings individually or in bulk. Stay competitive with automated dynamic pricing rules that adjust to market changes.
• Inventory management: Track stock levels, manage listings, and process orders efficiently. Take advantage of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) for storage, shipping, and returns.
• Analytics and insights: Access data-driven tools to monitor customer behaviour, sales performance, and growth opportunities.
• Amazon Brand Registry: Protect your intellectual property, enhance product detail pages, and strengthen your brand presence with A+ Content.
• Global expansion support: Scale internationally with tools to manage listings across multiple marketplaces, including language, tax compliance, and currency support.

Whether you’re just starting out in e-commerce or expanding an already successful business, Amazon presents great opportunities. By using your Wise Business account to connect with customers around the world for less, you can build and enjoy a business with a global footprint, without ever leaving your home.

➡️ Get started with Wise Business today

---

Sources:

1. Straits Times - Amazon launches Singapore website, its first in South-east Asia
2. Amazon Singapore - How To Sell on Amazon
3. Amazon Singapore - Product categories for Selling on Amazon
4. Jungle Scout
5. Amazon Singapore - Fulfilment By Amazon (FBA) fulfilment services
6. Amazon Singapore - Fulfilment By Amazon (FBA) fees and rate structure
7. Amazon Singapore - Compare Amazon selling plans and fees
8. Amazon Singapore - Selling on Amazon fee schedule
9. Amazon Singapore - Step-by-Step Registration Guide
10. Amazon Singapore - Selling Plans and Fees
11. Amazon Seller Central - Inventory Storage Fees
12. Amazon Global Selling - Expand to the US
13. Amazon Global Selling - Expand to the UK and Europe

Sources checked on 2nd September 2025