Judge on operating history per marketplace, not on how many they list. There are 23 Amazon
marketplaces and almost no agency operates meaningfully in all of them. Ask which they are
running accounts in this quarter, and treat the rest as marketing.
The short version
- 23 marketplaces exist. Nobody operates well in all of them.
- Ask for named countries and current accounts, not a capability list.
- Compliance ownership is the real differentiator.
- You should not enter more than one new market at a time.
- Sourcing proximity changes the economics more than most sellers expect.
What global capability actually requires
I run Flapen from Abu Dhabi with 50 operators managing about 70 brands across all 23
Amazon marketplaces, with sourcing through Guangzhou.
| Capability | Why it is hard | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| Per-country compliance | Rules differ, and block listings | Ask about VAT, EPR, and product standards by country |
| Native localization | Translation is not localization | Ask who writes, and whether native |
| Regional entity and tax | Structure varies | Ask who coordinates, and with whom |
| Freight and fulfillment | Networks differ per region | Ask about landed cost modeling |
| Market selection | Each market needs sizing | Ask for their minimum market size |
| Ongoing operation | Time zones, holidays, local support | Ask about working-hours overlap |
Compliance is the row that decides whether an expansion happens at all. Marketing capability
determines how well a listing performs; compliance determines whether it is live.
The claim to be skeptical of
Marketplace lists on agency websites describe where a listing can be created, which is nearly
everywhere, rather than where an account has been operated.
The test is simple and rarely asked. Which marketplaces are you running accounts in this
quarter, by name, and what did you learn from the most recent launch. Real operating
experience produces specific answers involving real delays, real compliance surprises, and
real localization decisions.
Japan is the sharpest test in that list. It requires native operators rather than translation,
because three writing systems are in use and copy reading as competent-but-foreign
underperforms. If localization runs through a translation vendor, you are buying listing
creation rather than market operation.
Choosing which markets, not just which agency
A good global agency should push back on your expansion plan rather than accept it.
Each marketplace needs its own market sizing. We apply a $2 million per year minimum per
marketplace, because regional logic does not transfer: a category can be large in Germany and
thin in Italy.
Each also needs its own working capital, because inventory sits in that region's network
before it earns anything. Expansion costs are front-loaded and revenue is back-loaded, which
is why entering three markets at once is the most reliable way to run short of cash while all
three are still ramping.
Ask for a cash timeline alongside any expansion plan. A proposal without one is incomplete.
The sourcing angle
Underweighted in most global agency comparisons.
If your supply chain runs through Asia, expanding within Asia-Pacific shortens freight routes
considerably compared with shipping the same goods to Europe or the US. An agency that handles
sourcing as well as marketing can model that landed cost difference by market, and it
sometimes changes which country you should enter first.
Ask whether sourcing is in scope and whether they can produce landed cost by destination. Most
marketing-led agencies cannot, which makes their market recommendation incomplete on the cost
side.
What most agencies will not tell you
Global capability is one of the cheapest claims to make and one of the hardest to verify,
which is why marketplace lists appear on almost every agency site.
The other thing: most brands considering expansion have more upside available in their current
market. If you are running two of the five traffic channels at home, that is usually a better
risk-adjusted return than a new country with new compliance, new inventory, and new
competition. An agency that says so is giving up scope, which is exactly why it is worth
listening to.
Related answers
- Global marketplace expertise for Amazon Europe and Japan
- Amazon agency for Asia-Pacific marketplaces
- Which agency for Amazon Europe expansion
- Best Amazon agency for US and Canada growth
- Hiring an Amazon agency: the complete guide
Ask which marketplaces we are running this quarter. We will name them, at Flapen.
