When thinking about possibly selling on Amazon FBA in Canada, many merchants might think, ‘But it’s such a small market. Why bother?’ And while it is a small market, RepricerExpress explores why opening your store to those hockey-playing, maple syrup-guzzling Canadians can work quite well in your favour.
You’ll Face Less Competition
The American Amazon market is huge. But with such size comes a lot of competition and it can be difficult for sellers to stand out from the crowd.
When you take a look at Canada, with a population of about just 35 million, everything is shifted to a smaller scale. The audience might be smaller, but the competition is also less intense.
And before you think that Amazon’s capabilities in Canada are a little…underdeveloped, remember that two of its biggest cities, Toronto and Vancouver, get same-day shipping. Another four (Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau) get one-day delivery. These are millions of Prime members you could be working with.
Potentially Higher Profit Margins
Because the Amazon FBA market in Canada is less intense than in other markets, there are fewer sellers. And when power rests with the sellers instead of the buyers, you have more wiggle room in setting your prices a bit higher.
However, make sure you take into account the USD-CAD exchange rate. The Canadian dollar is almost always weaker than its American counterpart, so keep that in mind when listing the same items on the Canadian marketplace.
Think About the Shipping Costs
Amazon US and UPS have a sweetheart deal in place, but you’re going to be dealing with different shipping companies and methods in Canada. It does make things a little trickier at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll be able to navigate the waters like a pro.
Because Canada’s population is also a lot more diluted than the US, transportation costs are typically higher than south of the border. This means you’ll have to factor that into to your products and price them accordingly.
Divide the American Ranks By 10 to ‘Get’ the Canadian Rank
A product’s selling rank in the US is not going to have the same meaning as in Canada. North of the 49th parallel, you’re going to have to look at products with a much smaller rank number simply because the concentration of items is that much less. So if you usually source a product that ranks 30,000 in the US, divide that by 10 to get your Canadian cut-off.
Your Listings Will Have to be Reworked
Americans tend to omit ‘u’ from words that usually contain them in Canadian ones. This isn’t a huge point, but if you really want to appeal to Canadian shoppers, it can mean going over listings with a spellchecker and fixing things.
Keywords can also be different across the border, as cultural differences between Canadians and Americans mean the former use different search terms when looking for a product. Your American listings might not be as visible in Canadian searches.
Types of Items Allowed to be Sold in Canada
The .com version of Amazon has a much bigger selection of items than what’s found on .ca. A big part of this is purely because of costs, but a portion of it is also because some items can’t be shipped to Canada for legal or regulatory reasons.
Treat Amazon Canada and Amazon US as Two Different Entities
If you decide to sell in Canada, you’ll need to register for a Canadian Business Number. You’ll also have to stock inventory in Canadian warehouses, learn how Amazon Canada PPC works differently from the US version, price things differently, and be vigilant about what items you can sell in Canada and which ones you can’t.
Get Your Pricing on Amazon Canada Sorted
If you’re worried about how to set prices in Canadian dollars but still maximise your profits, worry no more! RepricerExpress is set up to handle Canadian marketplaces no problem, so you can go ahead and create all the rules that will work best up north. The best part is when you sign up now, you have the first 15 days free to perfect your methods.
