Amazon Backtracks, Lets Aussies Shop US Site

Reading Time: 2 mins

By Power RetailPublished On: November 22, 20180 Comments

Amazon has backtracked on its decision to stop shipping products from its US-based marketplace to Australian shoppers, after a slew of customer complaints.

When the Australian government passed its new GST laws for international purchases back on July 1, Amazon.com copped a lot of criticism for its decision to block Aussie shoppers from buying from its US and UK sites.

Now, the company has decided that maybe it will let Aussies shop from its site after all; with the block being lifted at midnight tonight (Thursday, November 22), just in time for the site’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

“As a result of customer feedback, from 22 November Amazon customers will be able to ship eligible items from amazon.com to Australian delivery addresses,” the company said in a statement.

“Earlier this year, Amazon assessed changes to the Australian GST law as a global company with multiple international stores and, in order to remain compliant with the legislation, made the difficult decision to suspend exports from our international stores to Australia,” Amazon continued. “Following the announcement of these changes, we listened to the customer feedback and assessed how we could respond. Since that time, our teams have continued to focus their efforts on building the complex infrastructure needed to enable exports of low-value goods to Australia and remain compliant with GST laws.

“We are pleased to be able to offer Australian customers selection from amazon.com, complementing the over 80 million products available on amazon.com.au. This includes almost 20 million items from Amazon US through Global Store on amazon.com.au, many of which are eligible for free shipping for Prime members in Australia.”

The catch? Only products sold directly by Amazon will be eligible, while consumers will still be unable to access products from international third-party sellers, unless they also sell on the Australian marketplace.

Amazon says it will continue to “work constructively with the government on the implementation and enforcement of its legislation to ensure it achieves its objective of a level playing field for retailers and marketplaces”.

Never miss our best stories. Sign up to Power Retail’s free weekly newsletter and find our daily stories on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.