Made in Italy products sell well across Europe, yet for many Italian companies exporting stays on the to-do list: customs to handle, distribution networks to build. Amazon Europe removes most of those barriers and offers ready-made infrastructure, with millions of customers and integrated logistics. What it does not offer is a shortcut: selling in Europe involves tax, logistics and positioning decisions that are best made in the right order.
This guide covers what an Italian company needs to know before opening its first foreign marketplace: how the account works, which tax obligations come with it, which fulfillment programs exist and where to start.
One account, all the European marketplaces
The European Seller Central account is unified: a single registration lets you list on Amazon.it and on the other EU marketplaces, from Germany to Sweden. The United Kingdom is a separate story: after Brexit it requires its own customs and VAT setup, so treat it as a second project. Activating an extra marketplace costs nothing: you pay selling fees only where you actually sell. The real entry barrier is not technical, it is organizational.
What you need before you start
A few requirements are worth sorting out before launch, because fixing them later costs time and sales:
- A trademark registered at European level: it unlocks Brand Registry, and with it A+ content, Brand Story and the brand protection tools
- Valid EAN barcodes for every product variant
- Product compliance: CE marking where required, labels and instructions in the language of the target market
- A price list recalculated for Europe: selling fees, logistics costs and local VAT change your margin compared to Italy
Pick your markets with data, not instinct
Not every country responds the same way to your product. Germany is Europe's largest marketplace and also its most competitive; France and Spain often offer categories with less pressure. Before shipping a single unit, measure keyword search volumes in the target market, study local competitors and look at seasonality, which differs widely between northern and southern Europe. This is the research and strategy work that decides where your budget belongs: at Novazon we run it on our market intelligence platform. Starting with one or two well-chosen markets beats launching everywhere at once, almost every time.
VAT, OSS and compliance: the invisible part
Tax is the chapter that worries sellers most, and the one where mistakes cost real money. These are the fixed points:
- OSS scheme: if you ship to European customers from Italy, the One Stop Shop lets you declare VAT on cross-border sales in a single quarterly return, with no local VAT registrations
- Local VAT numbers: they become mandatory in every country where you store inventory. That is the price of pan-European fulfillment programs, and it belongs in your budget together with a tax advisor who knows each country
- EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility): packaging, batteries and electronics carry different registration duties in each country. Germany and France are the strictest, and Amazon blocks listings from non-compliant sellers
None of this is insurmountable, but it demands precision: one ignored EPR duty or one late VAT return can stop your sales just as they start to grow.
Fulfillment: EFN or Pan-EU
If you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Europe gives you two main routes. With the European Fulfilment Network (EFN) your stock stays in Italian fulfillment centers and Amazon ships across the border order by order: no new VAT registrations, but higher fulfillment fees and slower deliveries. With the Pan-European program (Pan-EU) you let Amazon distribute your stock across warehouses in several countries: your products become locally Prime, with 24-48 hour delivery and domestic fulfillment fees, in exchange for VAT registrations wherever your goods are stored.
The sensible path for a newcomer: validate demand on EFN, then move to Pan-EU in the markets where volumes justify the fixed tax costs. Let the numbers drive the switch, not launch excitement.
Localized listings, not translated ones
Amazon is a search engine: if your title does not contain the terms German or French customers actually type, your product does not show up. Literal translation is the most common beginner's mistake. You need native keyword research for each market, then titles, bullet points and descriptions rewritten around local search intent: the same SEO work you do on Amazon.it, repeated for every language. If your trademark is enrolled in Brand Registry, A+ content and Brand Story follow you across all marketplaces: prepare visual assets that travel well and localize the copy.
Budget for visibility from day one
On a new marketplace your product starts with no sales history and no reviews, so the algorithm has no reason to show it. Sponsored campaigns buy you the first positions while you build reviews and organic ranking. Keep in mind that cost per click varies a lot between countries: the budget that works in Italy may fall short in Germany.
Mistakes to avoid at launch
- Opening every marketplace at once and spreading budget and attention too thin
- Ignoring EPR duties and discovering them when Amazon suspends your listings
- Translating listings word for word instead of localizing them around real searches
- Copying Amazon.it prices without factoring in fees, shipping and local competition
- Launching with no advertising budget, waiting for organic traffic that will not come
Selling on Amazon Europe is well within reach for a structured Italian company, as long as you approach it with method: markets chosen on data, taxes in order, logistics sized correctly, content localized. If you want to figure out where to start with your catalog, let's talk: we analyze your products' potential market by market and design a sustainable entry plan together.