Amazon Wholesale in Europe: Beginner's Roadmap from Zero to First Profitable Month

Somewhere right now, someone is Googling "how to start selling on Amazon in Europe" and getting buried under a mountain of conflicting advice. Half the articles are trying to sell you a course. The other half are so generic they could've been written about any marketplace in 2018.

This isn't that article.

I'm going to walk you through exactly what it takes to go from "I have zero experience" to "I just shipped my first profitable FBA order in Europe." Week by week. With real numbers, real costs, and honest talk about where people actually get stuck.

First Things First: What Is Wholesale on Amazon?

There are three main ways people sell on Amazon: private label (you create your own brand), retail/online arbitrage (you buy discounted stuff and resell it), and wholesale (you buy branded products in bulk directly from distributors or brands).

Wholesale is the one that gets the least hype but makes the most sense for people who don't want to gamble on launching their own product. You're selling products that already have demand, already have reviews, already have search traffic. Your job is to buy them cheap enough to make a profit after Amazon's fees.

Think of it this way: a private label seller creates the listing. A wholesale seller shares an existing listing with other sellers and competes for the Buy Box.

The tradeoff? Private label can get you 30-60% margins but takes months to launch and requires serious investment in product development, photography, and PPC. Wholesale gets you 10-30% margins but you can start selling within weeks using proven products. Lower ceiling, but much lower risk and faster time to first sale.

Why Europe? (And Which Marketplaces Matter)

Amazon.de (Germany) is the second-largest Amazon marketplace in the world after the US. France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands are growing fast. But what most people miss: competition in European wholesale is significantly lower than in the US. Fewer sellers per listing means better Buy Box rotation, which means more consistent sales.

Here's a rough ranking of European Amazon marketplaces by size and opportunity:

Germany (amazon.de) — The big one. Highest traffic, most product categories, most established infrastructure. If you're starting in Europe, start here. Monthly active shoppers are in the tens of millions, and the average order value is higher than most other EU marketplaces.

France (amazon.fr) — Second largest in EU. Strong in home goods, beauty, and electronics. French consumers love Amazon Prime delivery and tend to be loyal once they find a product they like.

Italy (amazon.it) — Growing faster than most people expect. Lower competition than Germany or France. Great for health & household, kitchen, and personal care categories.

Spain (amazon.es) — Similar growth trajectory to Italy. Good marketplace but somewhat smaller product catalog. Less saturated with wholesale sellers, which is an opportunity.

Netherlands (amazon.nl) — Smaller but expanding rapidly since Amazon launched there in 2020. Dutch shoppers used to buy from amazon.de, so the marketplace is still maturing. Could be a goldmine in 2-3 years.

Belgium, Sweden, Poland — Newest and smallest. Worth exploring once you've established yourself in the bigger marketplaces, but don't start here.

One Amazon Professional Seller account (€39/month) gives you access to all of these. You don't need separate accounts.

What You'll Need Before Day One

Let's talk about the non-negotiable requirements:

A registered business. Amazon Europe requires a business entity. In most EU countries, that means a sole proprietorship (cheapest and fastest) or an LLC equivalent. You'll need a VAT number too — more on that shortly.

An Amazon Professional Seller account. €39/month (excluding VAT), covering all European marketplaces. One subscription, eight countries. The Individual plan (pay-per-sale) technically exists but doesn't give you access to Buy Box competition or bulk listing tools. Professional is the only real option for wholesale.

An EORI number. If you're importing goods into the EU from outside, you need an Economic Operators Registration and Identification number. It's free and takes about a week to get. If you're buying from EU-based distributors only, you can skip this initially.

Startup capital. I'll be honest: €2,000 is the absolute minimum if you're being very selective about products. €3,000-5,000 gives you room to actually build momentum. That covers inventory, tools, Amazon fees, and a small buffer for mistakes (you will make some).

Week 1: Setting Up the Foundation

Days 1-2: Register your Amazon Seller account. Go to sellercentral-europe.amazon.com and start the registration. You'll need your business registration documents, a valid ID or passport, a credit card, and your bank account details. Amazon verifies everything — this can take 24-72 hours, sometimes longer. Don't panic if they ask for additional documents. They do that with almost everyone. If your documents are clear and legitimate, you'll get approved.

Days 3-4: Get your tools sorted. At minimum you need:

Keepa (€19/month) — this is non-negotiable. Keepa shows you price history, sales rank trends, Buy Box ownership, and seller count for every product. Without it, you're flying blind. A product that looks profitable today might have had its price tank last week.

A wholesale scanning tool — something that takes a supplier's price list (often hundreds or thousands of products) and automatically calculates your potential profit on each one. This is where tools like Profit Scanner save you hours. Instead of checking products one by one, you upload the entire list and get profit, ROI, sales rank, competition data, and restriction flags in minutes.

A basic spreadsheet for tracking suppliers, contacts, and orders. Nothing fancy. Google Sheets works fine.

Days 5-7: Learn to read Keepa graphs. I'm serious about this. Spend a few hours just looking at Keepa charts for products in categories you might sell in. Learn what a healthy product looks like: stable or rising sales rank, consistent Buy Box price, 3-8 FBA sellers (not 1, not 40). This skill alone will save you from buying inventory that sits in Amazon's warehouse collecting dust and storage fees.

Week 2: Finding Your First Suppliers

This is where most beginners freeze. They don't know where to find wholesale suppliers. The reality: it's not as hard as people make it sound.

Start with Google. Search "[product category] wholesale distributor Europe" or "[brand name] authorized distributor." Many distributors have websites where you can request a trade account. Some have minimum order quantities, others don't.

Check wholesale directories and B2B platforms. Sites like Ankorstore, Faire, and country-specific B2B platforms (Metro/Makro for Germany, for example) list legitimate distributors. Don't expect Amazon-ready price lists from all of them, but it's a solid starting point.

Contact brands directly. Go to a brand's website, find their "For Retailers" or "Wholesale" page, and reach out. Smaller European brands are often more open to working with new sellers than big multinational brands. Be professional, mention you're an Amazon seller, and ask about their wholesale terms.

Trade shows. If you're serious and want to meet suppliers face to face, European trade shows like ANUGA (food & beverage, Cologne), Ambiente (consumer goods, Frankfurt), and Cosmoprof (beauty, Bologna) are goldmines for building relationships. You won't find these connections online.

Aim to contact 20-30 suppliers in your first week of outreach. Expect maybe 5-10 to respond. Of those, maybe 2-4 will have terms that work for you. This is normal. It's a numbers game.

What to look for in a good supplier: minimum order values under €500 (ideally). Net-30 payment terms (pay 30 days after receiving goods — not all suppliers offer this to new accounts, but always ask). Clean, organized price lists with EAN/barcode codes. Products that aren't heavily restricted or gated on Amazon.

Week 3: Analyzing Your First Price List

You've got a supplier price list. Now what?

If you have 500 products on a list and you're checking them one by one on Amazon, that's easily 40+ hours of work. That's why bulk scanning exists.

Here's the workflow:

Step 1: Upload the price list to your scanning tool. Make sure it has at least a barcode column (EAN or UPC) and a cost price column. Most tools match barcodes to Amazon listings automatically.

Step 2: Filter the results. Start with: minimum ROI of 20%, sales rank under 100,000 (varies by category), at least 3 estimated monthly sales, and no more than 10 FBA sellers on the listing.

Step 3: Manually verify the top candidates. This is the step beginners skip, and it costs them money. Open each promising product on Amazon and check: Is the price stable or was there a recent spike? (Keepa graph tells you.) How many sellers have been on the listing over the past 90 days? Is the brand gated or restricted? Are there IP complaint risks with this brand?

Out of 500 products, you might find 15-30 that pass the initial filters. After manual verification, maybe 5-10 are actually worth buying. That's a normal conversion rate. If you're finding more than 20% of a list is profitable, double-check your numbers — something might be off.

Week 4: Your First Order and FBA Shipment

You've found products. You've verified the numbers. Time to order.

Start small. Order the minimum quantity your supplier allows, or enough for about 2-4 weeks of estimated sales. For your first order, aim for something in the €300-800 range total. The goal isn't to make huge money immediately — it's to learn the process without risking too much.

Prepare your FBA shipment. Once your inventory arrives, you'll need to: label each product with Amazon's FNSKU barcode (either print them yourself or pay a prep service), create a shipping plan in Seller Central, pack following Amazon's box and weight requirements (they're picky about dimensions and weight limits), and ship to the fulfillment center Amazon assigns you.

If you're starting from a country without a local Amazon fulfillment center, consider using a prep center near one of Amazon's warehouses in Germany, France, or Poland. This saves on shipping costs and processing time.

Pricing strategy for your first products: Don't try to be the cheapest seller. Price at or slightly below the current Buy Box price. Use a repricing tool if your budget allows (BQool, Repricer Express, and Seller Snap are popular options in Europe, starting around €20-30/month). If not, check your prices manually every few days for the first couple weeks.

The Money Question: What Does This Really Cost?

Let me lay out a realistic budget for your first month:

Amazon Professional account: €39/month
Keepa subscription: €19/month
Scanning tool: €30-80/month depending on your choice
First inventory order: €500-1,500
Shipping to FBA: €30-100 (depends on weight and distance)
Labels and supplies: €15-30
Repricing tool (optional): €20-30/month

Realistic first-month total: €700-1,800 (plus the inventory investment you'll get back as sales come in).

Your first month won't be wildly profitable. If you break even, you've done well. The real money starts in month 2-3 when you've established supplier relationships, understand which products actually sell, and can start scaling your orders.

The VAT Situation (Don't Skip This)

VAT in Europe is the topic that makes most sellers' eyes glaze over. But ignoring it means either paying too much or getting into legal trouble.

The short version: if you're selling in your home country only, you charge your country's standard VAT rate (19% in Germany, 20% in France, 22% in Italy, 21% in Spain and Netherlands) and file regular VAT returns.

If you use Pan-European FBA or sell across borders, it gets more complicated. Amazon might store your inventory in multiple countries, and each country where stock is stored requires a local VAT registration. VAT automation services like Taxdoo, AVASK, and Hellotax handle multi-country filings for €50-150/month.

For your first month? Start with your home marketplace only. Get comfortable with the basics before expanding to other countries. Don't let VAT paralysis stop you from starting — you can sort out multi-country compliance later when the revenue justifies it.

Best Categories for Wholesale Beginners in Europe

Not all categories are created equal for new wholesale sellers. Some are more beginner-friendly than others:

Grocery & Gourmet Food — Requires ungating in most marketplaces, but once you're in, competition is lower and margins can be solid. Consumable products mean repeat purchases.

Health & Household — Steady demand, good margins on cleaning products and household supplies. Watch out for restricted items (anything with health claims needs careful compliance).

Office Products — Boring? Yes. Profitable? Often. Low return rates, consistent demand, and fewer sellers chasing these products.

Sports & Outdoors — Seasonal spikes can be lucrative. European brands in this space are often open to working with new sellers.

Pet Supplies — Growing fast across Europe. Pet owners don't cut spending on their animals even during economic downturns.

Categories I'd avoid as a beginner: Electronics (too competitive, thin margins, high return rates), Clothing (sizing issues, returns nightmare), and Toys (heavy seasonal dependency, strict safety regulations in the EU).

Common Beginner Mistakes (I've Seen All of These)

Buying too much inventory on the first order. Your first order is a test, not a business launch. Start with €300-800, not €3,000. You need to learn the process before scaling.

Ignoring sales rank trends. A product with a rank of 5,000 today that was 500,000 a month ago had a temporary spike. Don't buy based on current rank alone — look at the 90-day average on Keepa.

Not checking the number of sellers. A product with 25 FBA sellers on the listing means you'll get the Buy Box roughly 1/25th of the time. Your sales will be a trickle. Look for listings with 3-8 FBA sellers for better rotation.

Forgetting about gating and restrictions. Some brands and categories on Amazon require approval to sell. Nothing is more frustrating than buying €500 of inventory and discovering you can't list it. Always check before you buy.

Skipping manual verification. Bulk scanning gives you candidates, not decisions. Always verify the top results by checking price history, seller count trends, and reviewing the actual listing. Five minutes of verification can save you hundreds of euros.

Not tracking your true costs. Amazon's fee calculator shows you the obvious fees. But there's also: storage fees (especially if inventory sits longer than 180 days — Amazon charges an aged inventory surcharge that gets expensive fast), returns (budget 2-5% of sales), and currency conversion fees if selling across multiple EU marketplaces.

What Realistic Success Looks Like

Let's kill the "make €10,000 in your first month" fantasy. That's not how wholesale works for beginners.

A realistic timeline:

Month 1: Setup and learning. You'll spend more than you earn. Getting your account set up, finding suppliers, making your first small order, shipping to FBA, and learning how everything works.

Months 2-3: You start seeing consistent sales and finding better products. €500-1,500/month in revenue is reasonable. You're starting to develop an eye for which products actually work.

Months 4-6: If you're persistent, €2,000-5,000/month in revenue with 15-25% profit margins. That's roughly €300-1,250 in actual profit per month.

Not life-changing money yet. But wholesale scales. Once you have 5-10 suppliers and know which products perform, you can grow from €5,000 to €20,000+ in monthly revenue by ordering more of what works. The hard part is the first three months. After that, it's about optimization and relationships.

64% of Amazon sellers become profitable within their first year. The ones who don't usually quit in the first 90 days or never took the time to learn the fundamentals before throwing money at inventory.

Your First Week Action Items

If you've read this far and you're serious about starting, here's what to do this week:

Register your Amazon Professional Seller account (or start the business registration process if you haven't already). Sign up for Keepa and spend an hour browsing product charts in a category that interests you. Make a list of 20 potential suppliers to contact next week. Set your budget — how much can you realistically invest in your first order without stressing about the money?

That's it. Don't try to do everything at once. The sellers who succeed treat the first month as an investment in learning, not a get-rich-quick sprint. Get the basics right, and the profits follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much money do I need to start Amazon wholesale in Europe?

You need a minimum of EUR 2,000-5,000 to start Amazon wholesale in Europe. This covers your first wholesale order (EUR 500-2,000), Amazon Professional seller account (EUR 39/month), product prep supplies, and shipping to FBA warehouses. Many successful sellers started with EUR 3,000 and scaled from there.

Which European Amazon marketplace should I start with?

Amazon.de (Germany) is the best starting point for most wholesale sellers. It has the highest sales volume in Europe (over 500 million monthly visits), a large customer base willing to pay premium prices, and the most product categories. Amazon.co.uk is second if you are UK-based.

Is Amazon wholesale profitable in Europe in 2026?

Yes, Amazon wholesale is profitable in Europe in 2026. Average net profit margins for wholesale sellers range from 15-25% after all fees. With Amazon reducing FBA fees by an average of EUR 0.17 per unit in 2026, margins have actually improved. The key is choosing the right products and suppliers.

Do I need a company to sell wholesale on Amazon Europe?

Yes, most wholesale suppliers require a registered business entity to open a wholesale account. You need a business registration, VAT number, and a professional Amazon seller account. Sole proprietorship works in some countries, but a limited company (GmbH, SRL, Ltd) gives more credibility with suppliers.

What is the difference between Amazon wholesale and private label?

Wholesale means buying existing branded products in bulk from authorized distributors and reselling them on Amazon. Private label means creating your own brand and manufacturing custom products. Wholesale has lower risk, faster startup (no product development), and no need for marketing/PPC, but typically lower margins (15-25% vs 25-40% for private label).

How long does it take to see profit with Amazon wholesale in Europe?

Most wholesale sellers see their first profit within 4-8 weeks of sending inventory to FBA. Week 1-2 is setup, week 3-4 is finding suppliers and ordering, and products typically start selling within days of going live on Amazon. Break-even on your initial investment usually happens within 2-3 months.