Global Selling vs NARF: Choosing the Right Path for International Expansion on Amazon

Taking your Amazon business global – not the huge challenge it might seem. 

Amazon has two key programs to support sellers in accessing customers around the world: North American Remote Fulfillment (NARF and Global Selling and this article will answer your most pressing questions.

What’s the difference between Global Selling and the NARF program?

	Amazon Global Selling	Amazon NARF
Purpose	Sell products in multiple marketplaces from a single Amazon seller account, with auto-currency conversion and listing translation.	US-based sellers can customers across North America (US, Canada, Mexico) and Brazil with local marketplace listings fulfilled from your US inventory.
Listings	Amazon’s Build International Listings tool means you can transfer listings over to your international accounts easily. The tool translates the text, transfers existing reviews, and suggests pricing in the local currency.	A singular US listing can be shared across marketplaces. Amazon takes care of the currency conversion and charges the import taxes to the customer.
Fulfillment	Sellers can choose to fulfill orders via FBM or FBA.	Sellers are restricted to FBA as Amazon will ship orders from US-based FBA fulfillment centers
Market Reach	Access to any of the Amazon marketplaces.	Limited to US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.

Amazon Global Selling: the breakdown

So, what is Amazon’s Global Selling program? It allows sellers like you to list your products on Amazon’s international marketplaces and leverage their global logistics network to reach customers in multiple countries, without setting up physical operations in each market. 

To sell on Amazon’s international marketplaces, you’ll need to set up a seller account for each country. The exception to this is Europe and North America, where Amazon offers Unified Accounts to make it easier for sellers to cross-sell on multiple marketplaces:

• In Europe, access 28 different countries from one account, including the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy
• In North America the unified account covers Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the U.S.

Here’s a breakdown of all Amazon’s worldwide marketplaces:

Continent	Country	Marketplace
Europe	United Kingdom	amazon.co.uk
	Germany	amazon.de
	Spain	amazon.es
	France	amazon.fr
	Italy	amazon.it
	Netherlands	amazon.nl
	Poland	amazon.pl
	Sweden	amazon.se
	Turkey	amazon.com.tr
Asia-Pacific	Japan	amazon.co.jp
	Singapore	amazon.sg
	India	amazon.in
	Australia	amazon.com.au
Middle East	United Arab Emirates	amazon.ae
	Egypt	amazon.eg
	Saudi Arabia	amazon.sa
Americas	United States	amazon.com
	Canada	amazon.ca
	Mexico	amazon.com.mx
	Brazil	amazon.com.br

Does Global Selling sound right for your business? Check out our full guide on Amazon global selling – the key to going global.

Amazon NARF program: the breakdown

What is the Amazon NARF program? The North America Remote Fulfilment program allows sellers to access the Amazon marketplaces in Canada, Mexico, and Brazil, fulfilled entirely from their US-based inventory. Your FBA products stocked in Amazon’s US fulfillment centers can be shipped across the four marketplaces rather than holding inventory in each country.

Here’s the best part – you get a single “Global SKU” for each product. So, unlike the global shipping program, there’s no need to create a separate listing on each marketplace. 

With NARF, Prime customers outside of the US still get priority shipping. Prime shipping takes 5 to 9 days in Mexico and 7 to 12 days in Canada, and the customer covers the import duties and taxes. 

Sound like a no-brainer? For a full breakdown of the program, check out our in-depth guide to Amazon’s NARF program.

The Verdict

Both programs have their merits. But our verdict? If you’re a US seller searching for a quick and easy way to test the waters in marketplaces outside of the US, the NARF program sounds like the way to go. If you’re ready to expand your reach outside of North America, Global Selling can open those doors.

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Want to read more about going global in our Amazon Scaling Series? Check these out:

• Amazon Top Selling Countries
• Going global – How to leverage Amazon’s Global Selling Program
• Amazon NARF: The Full Rundown
• Looking legit – Amazon Brand Registry

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