Amazon US site open again to Australian shoppers

Amazon has reversed a decision from earlier in the year when it barred Australian shoppers from purchasing goods on the U.S. site after opening Amazon Australia store.

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READ MORE: Amazon to Block Australians from U.S. and UK Marketplaces

The decision coincided with a change in tax policy by the Australian government that required out-of-country marketplaces to collect GST on smaller orders.

Amazon justified the ban claiming difficulty to comply with the policy. Instead, it offered a much smaller selection of products from its “Global Store” in exchange.

Contrary to Amazon, eBay accommodated the new tax policy with little problems. The marketplace added the required GST to all purchase prices from its marketplaces located outside of Australia.

READ MORE: eBay to Collect GST Tax on Australian Shipments

However, now in a statement to Reuters, an Amazon spokesman said after listening to customer feedback, the retailer had built the “complex infrastructure needed to enable exports of low-value goods to Australia and remain compliant with (Australian) laws.”

Boost Australia Marketplace?

But many shoppers in Australia felt the Amazon ban was mostly an attempt to boost the newly launched Amazon Australia site.

Also, within a month of announcing the ban to purchase goods from the U.S. site, Amazon Australia launched its Prime membership service.

This added to the suspicion the ban was more about promoting Amazon Australia then complying with Australia tax law.

READ MORE: Amazon Prime Launches In Australia – Ready For Prime Day?

Whatever the real motivation, Australians can again purchase from Amazon.com. This may provide a small benefit to U.S. marketplace sellers that used to receive a fair amount of orders from Australia.

What About Other Amazon Marketplaces?

While the announcement by Amazon was not specific to other marketplaces, the removal of the ban may apply to the UK marketplace as well.

On the Amazon UK website, there are no restrictions listed for Australia and instead shows Amazon will collect appropriate taxes.

If you are in the U.S. or UK, have you noticed orders within the last couple days from Australia? Please use the comments section below or head over to our Facebook Group for Small Business Sellers and interact with other small business owners.

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