How to Set Up Your Amazon US Store: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

To create an Amazon US Seller Central account as an international seller, you will need: a valid government-issued ID (passport), a business registration document (company registration or business license from your home country), a valid credit card (must be a Visa or Mastercard that can be charged internationally), a bank account capable of receiving USD wire transfers (Payoneer, Wise Business, or a local USD account), and a phone number for two-factor authentication.

You also need a product ready to sell: a GS1 UPC barcode, product images (minimum 1500 x 1500px on white background), and a basic understanding of your product's HTS code for customs classification.

Amazon's registration process includes an identity verification video call. You'll need to show your face and your ID documents on camera. This typically takes 5–15 minutes and can be scheduled in advance.

Amazon offers two selling plans for US marketplace:

Individual Plan: $0.99 per item sold, no monthly fee. No access to Amazon Ads, no Amazon Analytics, limited listing features. Only makes sense if you plan to sell fewer than 40 items per month.

Professional Plan: $39.99/month regardless of units sold. Full access to all seller tools: Amazon Ads, A+ Content, Brand Registry, bulk listing upload, and detailed analytics. Required for FBA sellers.

Verdict: Start with the Professional Plan. If you are serious about building a business, $39.99 is a trivial cost compared to the tools it unlocks. You can downgrade to Individual if things don't work out.

A product listing has five critical components: Title, Bullet Points (5 max), Product Description, Backend Keywords, and Images.

Title formula: [Brand] + [Primary Keyword] + [Key Feature] + [Size/Quantity/Variant]. Example: "ProGrip Kitchen Knife Set, 8-Piece Japanese Stainless Steel Chef's Knife Collection with Wooden Block, Professional Home Cooking Set."

Bullet points: Lead with the benefit, not the feature. "NEVER DULLS — Japanese 440C stainless steel holds its edge 3x longer than standard kitchen knives" is stronger than "Made from 440C steel."

Backend keywords: Amazon allows 250 bytes of hidden keywords that buyers never see but Amazon's algorithm uses for ranking. Fill this completely with relevant search terms not already in your visible listing.

Images: You need minimum 6 images. Main image: product on pure white background. Images 2–4: lifestyle photos showing the product in use. Image 5: infographic highlighting key features. Image 6: size/dimension chart.

Once your listing is live, you can create a shipment plan in Seller Central under Inventory > Manage FBA Shipments.

Amazon will assign you one or more fulfillment centers to ship to. This is non-negotiable — Amazon determines where your inventory goes to optimize their network distribution.

Prepare your shipment: each unit must have your Amazon FNSKU barcode label on the outside of the product or on a polybag covering the product. Each case/carton must have a box label. Failure to label correctly leads to receiving delays or returns.

Freight options from Taiwan/Asia to US Amazon warehouses: Air freight (DHL, FedEx, UPS) — 5–7 days, expensive, use for first shipments or restocking emergencies. Sea freight LCL (Less-than-Container Load) — 25–35 days door to door, cost-effective for smaller quantities (under 5 CBM). Sea freight FCL (Full Container Load) — 20–30 days, best rates for large shipments (20+ CBM).

Work with a freight forwarder experienced in Amazon FBA shipments. They handle customs clearance, delivery to Amazon warehouses, and all the documentation. Budget $300–$800 for a typical first sea shipment from Taiwan.

A new Amazon listing with zero reviews has zero credibility. Getting your first 10–20 reviews is the hardest part of launching, and also the most important.

Amazon's Vine Program: Once you register for Brand Registry (requires a US trademark), you can enroll up to 30 units in the Vine program. Amazon sends your products to trusted Vine Voices reviewers who leave honest reviews. Cost: $200/ASIN. This is the fastest legitimate way to build early reviews.

Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click): Run Sponsored Product Ads from day one. Even at a loss, PPC drives visibility and sales velocity — both of which improve your organic ranking. Start with Automatic Targeting campaigns ($20–$30/day budget) and let Amazon discover which keywords convert for your product.

Request-a-Review button: After each order, Amazon lets you send a standardized review request email. This is fully compliant with Amazon policy (no incentivized reviews). Enable automatic sending in Seller Central or use a tool like Helium 10's Follow-Up.

Do NOT buy fake reviews or use any review manipulation services. Amazon has sophisticated detection systems and will permanently ban accounts caught doing this.

Once you have 10+ reviews and a conversion rate above 10%, you're in a position to scale. Key metrics to watch: Sessions (daily traffic to your listing), Unit Session Percentage (conversion rate), Buy Box percentage, and ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale — aim for under 30%).

Replenishment: The biggest operational risk is stockouts. Use Amazon's Inventory Health reports to monitor days of supply and reorder well in advance — 60 days of stock is a good buffer given international shipping lead times.

Expand to Australia and Japan: Once profitable on amazon.com, your US listing and reviews give you credibility to launch on amazon.com.au and amazon.co.jp. Amazon's Build International Listings (BIL) tool can auto-create listings in other marketplaces based on your US listing.