Selling on Amazon UAE and Saudi Arabia: The 2026 Guide

Two marketplaces, not one

Amazon runs the UAE store at Amazon.ae and the Saudi store at Amazon.sa. Sellers often treat them as one Gulf launch because the language, time zone and shipping routes overlap. The rules do not. Each marketplace has its own seller registration, its own tax regime, its own import requirements, its own fee schedule and its own customer expectations. Plan them as two projects that share a catalog.

The practical consequence is that a listing, a price and an advertising campaign that work in Dubai will often need changes before they work in Riyadh. Start with the market where your product has the clearest fit, learn from it, and then bring the second one in.

Rules, rates and thresholds in this table change. Confirm each one with Amazon Seller Central and a local tax adviser before you commit stock.

Setting up your seller accounts

You register through Seller Central and choose the Amazon.ae and Amazon.sa stores as selling destinations. Expect to supply business and bank details, identity documents for the account owner, a trade licence or equivalent company registration, and tax details. Requirements differ by seller location, so a UK, US, Indian or China based seller will be asked for different documents from a company registered in the Gulf.

• Decide which legal entity will hold the accounts before you start. Moving an account to a different entity later is slow and sometimes impossible.
• Use a business email address you control, not a personal one, and keep the login with the owner.
• Set up two step verification and record who has access. This matters if you later hire an agency; see our guide on what a good agency contract covers.
• Check whether your categories are open or restricted for your seller type before you spend on inventory.

VAT and how it changes your pricing

Shoppers in both countries see prices that include VAT. That means the price on your listing is not your revenue. The tax portion belongs to the tax authority, so your margin has to be calculated on the net amount.

The mistake we see most often is copying a UAE shelf price into Saudi Arabia. A shelf price of 105 leaves only about 91.30 net at 15% VAT, a drop of nearly nine percent of revenue on the same product before any other cost. If your UAE margin was thin, the Saudi price needs to move up or the unit economics fail.

Work the sum for every product: shelf price, divided by one plus the VAT rate, gives net revenue. Then deduct the referral fee, the fulfilment fee, landed cost and your advertising allowance. Our cost guide uses the same break even logic for agency fees.

Imports, importer of record and SABER

Selling into the Gulf means goods cross a border, and someone has to be legally responsible for that crossing. That party is the importer of record. If you ship stock to Amazon fulfilment centres yourself, you may need to act as the importer or appoint a local company to do so.

• Duties and taxes: decide who pays duty and VAT at the border. Shipping delivered duty paid means you pay them up front and build them into your cost. Delivered at place means the receiver pays, which can delay stock at the port if the receiver is not ready.
• SABER in Saudi Arabia: many regulated product categories need a product conformity certificate before they can be imported. Check your HS code against the Saudi requirements early, because certification can take longer than the production run.
• Labelling and documents: Arabic labelling, ingredient or material declarations and invoices that match the shipment all reduce delays.
• Restricted goods: some categories, such as certain supplements, cosmetics, electronics with radio parts and food, carry extra approval steps.

If your stock is stuck at customs, your listing is live but your inventory is not selling, and your advertising spend is paying for clicks you cannot fulfil. Build the import timeline into the launch plan, and pause campaigns until stock is receivable.

Fulfilment options: FBA, merchant fulfilled and local stock

Fulfilment by Amazon is generally the stronger choice for conversion because it carries delivery promises that shoppers trust, and it keeps your offer competitive for the Buy Box. Merchant fulfilled works for large, slow moving or customised products, and as a way to test demand before sending stock in.

Cash on delivery remains important in the region. Returns and refused deliveries are higher on cash orders than card orders in many categories, so price in a returns allowance for products with a high refusal risk.

Arabic and English listings that rank

A direct machine translation of an English listing rarely performs. Shoppers search in Arabic using different words from the ones a translator picks, and they search in English using transliterated terms and mixed phrases. Treat the two languages as two keyword sets.

• Run keyword research in Arabic and English separately. Look at autocomplete suggestions on Amazon.ae and Amazon.sa and at competitors that already rank.
• Write titles and bullets in natural Arabic, not a literal translation. Have a native speaker review them, ideally from the country you are selling in.
• Use backend search terms for the other language and for spelling variants.
• Create Arabic A+ Content with images designed for right to left reading. Do not simply flip an English layout.
• Keep brand and product names consistent across languages so the listing is recognisable.

Our UAE agency page and Saudi agency page describe how we handle this for clients, including listing writing in both languages.

Advertising on Amazon.ae and Amazon.sa

The advertising tools are the same as elsewhere: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display. The competition is different. Some keywords are expensive because Amazon, noon and local brands all bid on them, and the English and Arabic versions of the same search often have very different costs.

• Start with exact and phrase match campaigns on your best converting terms in each language, and keep Arabic and English campaigns separate so you can read their results.
• Set a daily budget you can sustain through the long tail of cash on delivery returns.
• Use search term reports to find the Arabic queries you did not expect and add them to your listing.
• Protect your own brand terms with a small defensive campaign once competitors start bidding on them.

Ad spend is paid to Amazon. On our plans it is separate from the management fee; see our pricing.

The Gulf sales calendar

Demand in the region follows religious and national calendars as much as the usual retail moments. Some dates move each year, so the dates below are approximate and must be checked against the current year.

Amazon Prime Day also reaches the region. Check the dates with Amazon each year, as they vary by marketplace.

Competing with noon and local brands

Amazon is not alone in the Gulf. Noon is a strong local competitor, and many shoppers compare both before buying. You do not have to be on both, but you should know where your category's search traffic lives. Check price and delivery promise on both sites for your top products, and decide whether a presence on a second marketplace is worth the extra operational cost.

What to do and in what order

1. Confirm that your product is legal to import and sell, and identify any certification such as SABER that applies.
2. Calculate net margin at the local VAT rate for each market, and set prices accordingly.
3. Register your seller accounts under the correct legal entity.
4. Fix your importer of record and customs arrangements before the stock ships.
5. Write Arabic and English listings from separate keyword research.
6. Send a first shipment to FBA and launch advertising once stock is receivable.
7. Review search terms weekly for the first two months, and adjust listings and campaigns.
8. Plan stock and ads for Ramadan, White Friday and the national days at least eight weeks ahead.

If you want a second opinion on the sequence for your catalog, request a free audit and we will map your product against both markets.

Mistakes that cost sellers money

• Using one price for both countries without recalculating for VAT.
• Skipping Arabic keyword research and relying on translation.
• Letting stock arrive late for White Friday or Ramadan.
• Appointing an importer of record without a written agreement over who controls the stock.
• Advertising before inventory is receivable.
• Ignoring cash on delivery returns in margin planning.

Frequently Asked Questions