Amazon Australia officially launches

5 December 2017 Books+Publishing

Amazon’s Australian store has officially launched, and is selling print books and 22 other product categories through its own store and marketplace.

Online retailers selling books through Amazon’s marketplace include the Amazon-owned Book Depository and New Zealand-based online bookseller The Nile. Another Australian seller, BookFrenzy, shares phone contact details with bookselling chain QBD.

Amazon also lists the Kindle and Audible editions alongside the paperback and hardback editions of titles, and sells a range of its Kindle ereaders.

Amazon is charging $5.99 for three-to-seven day shipping on orders under $49. Shipping on orders of $49 or more is free, and shoppers can pay for faster shipping options, including next-day delivery in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra for $9.99.

Other services such as its subscription-based service Prime, which offers subscribers free delivery, and Fulfilment by Amazon, where Amazon handles distribution and deliveries on behalf of Marketplace sellers, will be launched in 2018, reports the Financial Review.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, Amazon appointed Rocco Braeuniger as its country manager for Australia and opened its first Australian fulfilment centre in Dandenong South in Melbourne’s south-east in August. In November, a panel that included Booktopia CEO Tony Nash and Gleebooks co-owner David Gaunt discussed what the arrival of Amazon means for the Australian retail industry, with a particular focus on booksellers.

Category: Local news