Setting up Amazon Selling account

[Jobby]

I'm trying to set up a seller account but Amazon keep asking for company information

"-- Provide a copy of the company’s most recent share allotment document with a breakdown of shares. It must show the number of shares held by each beneficial owner and the number of shares issued for the company. **** **and beneficial owner information should match with your email confirmation sent on Jan 25 2024. ******This usually takes the form of a Statement of Capital, an Annual Return, or a Confirmation Statement. The document must show the latest updates with a detailed overview of the beneficial owner with a breakdown of the shares."

I've been on live chat and they asked for our latest confirmation statement (CS01) but although I showed live-chat and they said "yep, that's what we want", they keep rejecting the pdf.

Now I think the CS01 from our companies house page isn't the actual CS01, is simply confirmation that it was filled with companies house last month.

Is there a way to get the information the are asking for ?

Thanks in advance.
Jobby

 

[fisicx]

Do you have a copy of the actual CS01?

You accountant should have a copy even if you don’t.

 

[Jobby]

I file our confirmation statements but the information seems to go off to companies house and I can't see how to get it (until next years return is due), the accountant just crunches numbers at year end.

 

[antropy]

I've been on live chat and they asked for our latest confirmation statement (CS01) but although I showed live-chat and they said "yep, that's what we want", they keep rejecting the pdf.

I hate these big, faceless companies where whatever you do is just automatically rejected even when you know it's correct.

Paul.

 

[Ozzy]

I file our confirmation statements but the information seems to go off to companies house and I can't see how to get it (until next years return is due), the accountant just crunches numbers at year end.

With electronic filing of documents with Companies House, the PDF you (and anyone for that matter) can download from the Companies House site is the actual CS01. I'm afraid it doesn't give you a magic bullet but the PDF you are sending to Amazon is the correct file and the person there rejecting it has made a mistake. Your only option is to keep trying, even resend the file again with a link to the actual filing history at Companies House.
You could try and organise a video call with them, they do provide that form of live support option.

Perhaps @AmazonGeek can give some further input here.

 

[Jimmy24]

let me know how your selling on amazon goes i've heard a lot about this recently and about how people can make money from it, im intrigued on the profits etc I'm thinking of maybe starting to do it along side my job

 

[anonuk]

let me know how your selling on amazon goes i've heard a lot about this recently and about how people can make money from it, im intrigued on the profits etc I'm thinking of maybe starting to do it along side my job

Same as everything really, if you put the work in, you’ll make some money. If you believe these YouTubers trying to sell courses and think amazon is some sort of goldmine, you’ll be hugely disappointed.

One of my businesses sells a significant amount on Amazon (around £600k per year) but Amazon take approx 50% of that in fees (including fulfilment fees) so that only leaves 50% to cover cost of goods, cost of shipping goods to Amazon, and all other business expenses/staff costs/etc.

 

[AmazonGeek]

"-- Provide a copy of the company’s most recent share allotment document with a breakdown of shares. It must show the number of shares held by each beneficial owner and the number of shares issued for the company. **** **and beneficial owner information should match with your email confirmation sent on Jan 25 2024. ******This usually takes the form of a Statement of Capital, an Annual Return, or a Confirmation Statement. The document must show the latest updates with a detailed overview of the beneficial owner with a breakdown of the shares."

I've been on live chat and they asked for our latest confirmation statement (CS01) but although I showed live-chat and they said "yep, that's what we want", they keep rejecting the pdf.

Now I think the CS01 from our companies house page isn't the actual CS01, is simply confirmation that it was filled with companies house last month.

Is there a way to get the information the are asking for ?

Thanks in advance.
Jobby

Sorry for the slow reply on this - been away for a week...

Anyone with 25% or more of the shares needs to be added to the Amazon account as a 'beneficial owner'. You upload a passport or driving license for each person and they may even ask for a video call to confirm identities.

Amazon is very picky when it comes to documents. If they don't match what they are looking for exactly then they will be rejected so I would check the email they refer to and make sure that whatever you have entered in your Amazon account matches the document from Companies House. Go to your company page on Companies House and click 'more' to see what docs can be ordered. The latest confirmation statement should be enough - £15 from memory.

While you are at it, make sure that the addresses on these 5 things all exactly match too...

Amazon account
Bank account
Companies House
GS1 account
IPO (if you are private label)

If they don't match things can start to unravel later on (mainly listing suppressions).

 

[AmazonGeek]

With electronic filing of documents with Companies House, the PDF you (and anyone for that matter) can download from the Companies House site is the actual CS01. I'm afraid it doesn't give you a magic bullet but the PDF you are sending to Amazon is the correct file and the person there rejecting it has made a mistake. Your only option is to keep trying, even resend the file again with a link to the actual filing history at Companies House.
You could try and organise a video call with them, they do provide that form of live support option.

Perhaps @AmazonGeek can give some further input here.

(sorry again for the slow reply - I was out of the country until yesterday)

I suspect that they are rejecting it because of a mismatch rather than because you are sending the wrong document. Everyone with 25% or more shares must be added to the Amazon account, using either a driving license or a passport. Those docs must also be current so check the expiry dates and those details must match exactly with whatever is on Companies House. If there are any inconsistencies the CS will get bounced.

It is harder to open an Amazon account than a bank account. Their KYC procedures are formidable because they are trying to make a level playing field and get rid of the hit and run businesses.

And they can also mess things up so it is entirely possible that you have done everything right and the person at the other end is wrong. Just make sure you are sending actual documents and not screenshots. Ozzy is right - they do video calls now but that tends to be when confirming identities during the account-opening stage.

 

[AmazonGeek]

let me know how your selling on amazon goes i've heard a lot about this recently and about how people can make money from it, im intrigued on the profits etc I'm thinking of maybe starting to do it along side my job

Happy to have a chat and give you the pros and cons. It isn't for everyone but it can be a great side hustle. Message me if you want a quick Zoom call. No cost or obligation - I do this for anyone that is potentially interested.

 

[AmazonGeek]

Same as everything really, if you put the work in, you’ll make some money. If you believe these YouTubers trying to sell courses and think amazon is some sort of goldmine, you’ll be hugely disappointed.

One of my businesses sells a significant amount on Amazon (around £600k per year) but Amazon take approx 50% of that in fees (including fulfilment fees) so that only leaves 50% to cover cost of goods, cost of shipping goods to Amazon, and all other business expenses/staff costs/etc.

100% agree with this. There are no shortcuts - it takes hard work, knowledge and perseverance.

Most people fall down because they have the wrong product to begin with but if you are starting with a blank piece of paper you can avoid most of the trouble and seek out the nuggets. Basically these are products that are selling well despite having problems. If you can then fix those problems (with the product, the listing or both) then you have a fighting chance because a) you know the market already exists and b) you now have a better offering. A vast over-simplification but that is the general gist.

Re the fees, 5 years ago you could work on the rule of thirds. If a product sold for £60, then £20 would go to Amazon, £20 for the unit cost and £20 profit for you. These days you want a higher multiple than that - ideally at least 6x or 7x.

It is also harder to find those single 'hero' products that you can retire on these days. But there are countless opportunities that combined together can make a very nice business.

For example, just one of my products costs about £2 landed, retails for £13.99 and I sell thousands of them each month generating a 4-figure profit. You don't need many of those to be in a great position. Oh and it is all automated too. I don't have any staff, offices, warehouses etc and I sell all over Europe