I'm one of those "get your ducks in a row" people, but I intend to start selling on amazon this week!!! I would like to start with retail & online arbitrage then move on to wholesaling and private labeling. I would like to go ahead and get my LLC because I have read that in order to switch my seller account name to my business name Amazon can potentially freeze my sellers account while approving potentially losing $1,000's in sales. If this is true, wouldn't it be better to go ahead and put in the LLC name originally instead of using my own personal info to avoid this or am I getting some of the bad info that is out there?
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It's true that you'll sometimes have to go through the identity verification process over again if you switch owners on the seller account (including from yourself to your company). So it's certainly worth it to do it sooner rather than later. Especially if you live in a State where it's cheap & easy. People living somewhere like California are more incentivized to hold off for a longer period.
Here's what the IRS website says about EIN Eligibility - - You may apply for an EIN online if your principal business is located in the United States or U.S. Territories. - The person applying online must have a valid Taxpayer Identification Number (SSN, ITIN, EIN). - You are limited to one EIN per responsible party per day. - The “responsible party” is the person who ultimately owns or controls the entity or who exercises ultimate effective control over the entity. Unless the applicant is a government entity, the responsible party must be an individual (i.e., a natural person), not an entity." How can someone from outside the USA apply for an EIN without a SSN?
You would first need to obtain a US Tax ID (probably an ITIN in your case). You can read about all the Tax ID's and how to get them here (IRS site). Look into both the Form W7 mentioned on that page, and also the form W8-BEN-E. I believe both may be relevant. But once you have an ITIN, you just simply apply for an EIN. You don't need to be a US Citizen, US Resident, or have any type of legal status in the US to get an EIN. You get this via form SS-4 (read about it here). As of me writing this, the online process for obtaining EINs is only available to US entities. So if you're non-US, you would need to apply via Fax or Mail (I believe they require some extra info also, such as a passport scan).
We are a company based in UK and would like to sell products on Amazon USA. Wondering if it's better to open a company in USA or apply as foreign company. Is there are tax different if a company is in USA or UK?
I create garden art from upcycling and repurposing mostly household items. I set up a Facebook Business Page and Instagram Business Site, and I'm selling via FB Marketplace. Can I still use a business name for these sites, without a license? I didn’t trademark my name, but have been using it for a month or so. If I’m understanding correctly I do not need a federal, state, County or City Business license for these types of sales, correct? I also would like to know if the State wants to know all of the income made, do they factor in the cost of materials, and tools to do my job? I somehow need to make up that money to pay my credit card that these things were charged on.
I live in US with work visa and would like to open an individual account and sell some stuff on Amazon. Since I have SSN through my job, will it be an issue for me to start selling on Amazon? I'm doing individual because I won't be selling more than 40 items per month.
All Amazon wants is your US Tax ID, and your SSN certainly qualifies as one. So you should not have any issues opening up a new seller account and starting to sell through those items.
I'm not an attorney and nothing I say is legal or tax advice. But I'll give my thoughts... So from what I understand from your questions. You are selling art and created a Facebook Page and Instagram to promote your art (and you're selling the art via FB Marketplace). Now, to answer your questions: 1) You're fine using a brand name on your FB/IG without first registering for any license or trademark. In fact, US Trademark law says that your brand name is automatically created as an 'unregistered trademark' the moment you start using it commercially. You can eventually register your trademark for additional benefits, just like you can eventually incorporate your art business as an LLC to enjoy those additional benefits. You can also file something called a DBA to tell the State you're 'Doing Business As' another brand name, which I believe is technically required (though very few people actually file DBAs every time they use a new brand name online). 2) Facebook Marketplace is not going to ask you for any type of business license or permit to sell. However, your local jurisdictions (city/county/state) may have rules & requirements that don't exist elsewhere. This is again a situation where you are probably safe to get started without proper licensing, but will need to figure it out as your business grows. 3) The IRS/State wants to know about all income made from all sources. However, you have to keep in mind the definition of income - which for business owners is usually the net profit of the business. If you sold $2k worth of products and spent $2k on materials/inventory/shipping/etc, your income would be $0 - and you would have no tax liability. So you keep track of all of this (usually via something like Quickbooks), and report to them what you owe at the end of the year.
Correct, you either need a US legal entity (LLC/Corporation) or to register with the IRS as a foreign company. Amazon does not require you to have any physical presence in the US (you can check their list of approved countries), but they require a US Tax ID (which means you'll need to register for an ITIN or as a foreign company for an EIN anyways). The two tax forms relevant to his are W8-BEN-E to obtain an EIN and then you need to file 1120-F annually. Honestly I do not have personal experience with this, since I am from the US. But this article is a great place to continue your research.
I am trying to sell on amazon. What do I do first? I buy the goods from Alibaba and inform them that I'm selling on amazon? Or I create my account on Amazon first? I picked a product and have a supplier, but I am afraid of taking the next move as I don’t know where to start. I also need to know if I am an individual seller and I don’t live in the states but I have summer home in California I come every year in the summer for only 2 month do I have to pay taxes? Amazon don’t have my country in their list so I have to put my American home address and I have personal bank account here and yet I don’t have SSN?
Our company is engaged in Amazon retail, the main market is the United States. In the recent two months, it is easy to trigger the audit by registering an account on amazon. Some accounts have been audited for nearly a month without any news. My question is: is there any way to purchase the amazon store registered by an American company? I'd like to buy idle accounts.
Do I need a registered business to sell in Amazon as non us citizen
Amazon.com only requires a Tax ID number. For non-US Citizens, this usually means an ITIN (International Tax Identification Number) - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin
I'm launching an activewear brand to sell on Amazon. I've bought the domain name for this brand, but I don't have any business license yet. I have a Chinese factory that I've partnered with producing & shipping the product to the US for me, all products customized with my own brand logo. What's the best way for us to launch this brand? Do we need to register the trademark in the US with my partner's Chinese Company name?
You don't need to inform Alibaba (or your factory) you're selling on Amazon - they don't care where you sell your products. Since you already picked a product and selected a factory, I'd say the next step for you is to create your actual Amazon account. You'll find it's easy to work through most of the questions you have by just going through the process. If you own real estate and spend time in the US, it should be no big deal to register for a TIN (Tax ID Number). Specifically you'd probably want an ITIN. You will certainly have to pay taxes, but I wouldn't worry about that until you're selling products and actually have a tax liability.
Two ways to do this - the right way, and the sketchy way... Right Way: You can buy an existing Amazon business from a platform like Empire Flippers, Flippa, or BizBuySell and keep running/expanding the store. Sketchy Way: You buy inactive Amazon accounts because you engage in non-TOS compliant behavior and keep having account suspended. There are niche forums, discord & telegram channels where you can buy these, but I have no real experience with this. I think it's a losing strategy (just spend all that time & energy on something that will last 10+ years instead).
It depends on if you and your Chinese factory are actually business partners on this brand, or if you're simply using the factory to manufacture your new brand's products. 99.9% of the time, you and your Chinese factory are not engaged in anything more than a transactional business relationship. In that case, the US trademarks would be filed under your brand's LLC (or your own name). In fact, even if you and your Chinese factory were engaging in a deeper equity-based partnership - the US trademarks would still be filed under the US brand's LLC. But again...99.9% of the time, you are partnering with a factory to manufacture things (not engage in any type of deeper business partnership). At least initially.
I've heard Shopify will hold your funds if you can't prove you're a business. What documents would I need to have in order to legally sell via Shopify (my State is Virginia)? I don't want an LLC until I know I can make sales...but will not having the LLC stop me from selling per Shopify terms of service?
While there are various reasons Shopify (or any payment processor) might hold your funds in reserve, not having a corporate entity is not one of them. You do need to provide some type of tax information (as Shopify needs to verify your identity & make sure you're not just laundering money). If you can't provide any tax information, they can't send you your money. So if you are a US Citizen or Resident with a Tax ID (like a social security number), you should not run into any issues starting out as a Sole Proprietor and switching over to an LLC/Corporation later.
I am a US citizen living in the UK. If I only ship to and sell on Amazon US, do you know if I need to worry about UK business registration or taxes? Or if as a US citizen, I would only need to worry about US rules still, as long as I'm not shipping and selling in the UK? I have a US bank account to use and transfer revenue into.
If your business operations are based in the US (using a US bank account, selling in US markets only), you'd generally focus on complying with US tax laws & regulations. But the UK may have tax implications for residents with overseas income, so talking with a tax pro with relevant experience would be smart as your sales start to grow.
I've already registered as an LLC. I have a manufacturer who is supplying to me and I am reselling those products under my brand. While listing the product on Amazon, it asks for “Manufacturer” in vital info. Am I supposed to enter my brand name, or the name of my supplier?
We have a supplier in California who is asking for a California resale certificate. We don't have an LLC and we are residents in GA. What do we need to do to get a CA resale certificate? Do have to register our business first in GA?
I’m thinking of selling Items on amazon, I know I don’t need a business license but as far as the sales tax is concerned, do I need to get a permit from each state, or does amazon collect the tax and send it to each state?
I'm thinking of converting my soap making hobby to a part time business selling these on online marketplaces such as Etsy, Facebook Shops etc. Correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know we do need a license/permit to sell these, but I guess we can skip the business registration entirely. Given the fact that these are cosmetics it might be better to structure the business as an LLC with some insurance around it. If it were you, would you consider selling these first to test the waters and then if it is profitable (then go through the various hoops of registering an LLC, getting the insurance, etc?)
As a registered corporation in Canada, do I need to get anything other than an EIN to setup a professional account on Seller Central (and then sell on the American Amazon platform)? And is it enough to just tell the IRS what your DBA name is while filing for your EIN? Do I need to register that DBA anywhere else? (I have no presence in the US, just the Amazon warehouse that will be fulfilling shipments from)
If I sell on Poshmark, Mercari, or Depop, do I need a seller's permit or business license? I am planning to buy goods from a wholesale on AliExpress.
Does Walmart allow individuals to open seller accounts too?
I'm from Indiana (USA). I am trying to drop ship on amazon. For bank account deposit option I wanted to use a business account, but I don't have one. I tried to open in my bank(PNC), but the need EIN and business license. I do have EIN number as a LLC, sole proprietor. But I don't have license. What do you suggest?
When you say, “..... no business until you start making money”, how much money are you talking? Is there a specific amount?
They only hold funds for the first 90 days and they amount they hold is something around 20-25%. I believe the hold has to do with verifying your bank info.
The main thing I don't understand in the article is why a DBA was needed for startupbros.com? Startup Bros LLC is the business so would it have to be startupbrosllc.cim in order to avoid registering a DBA, or is it just that state's rules to register a DBA when using a website?
I have registered an LLC in NY to do online business on Amazon. My profile name on the account though is different from my LLC's name. Do I need to file Doing Business As (or assumed name) paperwork with the state for my amazon seller profile name?
Yep, if you're operating on Amazon under a name that's significantly different from your officially registered LLC name, New York would require you to file a "Doing Business As" (DBA) to keep everything above board.
No DBA was needed for StartupBros.com, as the company name is StartupBros LLC (and the LLC part is just there out of legal requirement, not in the actual name of the LLC). DBAs are more about how your business is represented to the public and in transactions. If your brand differs significantly from the name of your LLC, you probably need a DBA. If not, I wouldn't worry about it...
From Amazon's point of view - if you are selling the products under your brand name, then you are the manufacturer. Just like Nike is technically the manufacturer of their shoes (not their actual overseas factory). You typically will not need to reveal supplier details to Amazon (though there are exceptions).
Personally I wouldn't worry much about incorporating until $5k-10k in revenue (with decent profit of course), along with a strong belief the business will still be operating profitably in 6-months. But I am not a lawyer 🙃 There are exceptions of course (such as you having lots of assets in your name). So make sure to read that section of the article again!
The business license number (in this case) is likely referring to a document number on your Articles of Organization or Certificate of Status. For instance, in Florida each LLC is assigned a 'Document Number' which would be considered the Business License ID Number. I believe in Indiana it is called the 'Business ID'.
Yep, Walmart accepts either SSN or EIN as Tax ID (meaning you can sell as an individual). It's also a 'marketplace facilitator', so they will handle sales taxes for you. So you should not need anything other than a Tax ID to start selling via Walmart.
I believe all those marketplaces will allow you to just download the app and start selling. Eventually you'll be required to input some Tax ID (SSN would work just fine, so nothing required there). Since they are all 'marketplace facilitators', they will collect & pay sales taxes for you. So there's technically no limit on how much you can sell without worrying about incorporating or sales tax permits.
It should be extremely easy for you, as Canada/USA/Mexico are all wrapped into a single 'North America Unified Seller Account'. I believe you can even get set up on Amazon Canada first, then seamlessly get set up in Amazon USA. There may be some filing required at some point, but I am not even sure there would be. Definitely nothing that would stop you from getting up & selling. Work on that, and then deal with any issues that arise as they happen. But I think you'll find it's easier than you're expecting since they're all wrapping into the one North American Unified account.
Etsy & Facebook Marketplace are not going to require any business license to sell soap. But there may be local business licensing that are required. I personally would test the waters and get it profitable first, then worry about legal structure & insurance once you know you have a good business on your hands.
Amazon is considered a 'marketplace facilitator', and is required to handle sales tax collection & payment for you. There was a Supreme Court Case (South Dakota vs Wayfair) that recently forced this change. Previous to that, it was your responsibility to handle every individual State on your own. Now it is MUCH simpler.
I would contact the supplier and tell them your company is based in Georgia and has a sales tax permit there, but has not met the threshold to require one in California yet. They should not mind.