Australians are now free to accidentally order giant teddy bears with hideously long legs and mistake doll’s house furniture for actual furniture: Amazon Marketplace launched today.The Seattle-based ecommerce monolith, founded as an online book shop back in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, also operates in the US, Canada, the UK, and a handful of Asian and European countries. The premise is pretty simple: buy whatever you want, at a cheapish price, with speedy shipping options.Both local and international sellers have signed on to the Australian store, which will offer products from 23 categories, from books to electronics to clothing to kitchenware. Previously, we only had access to Amazon’s eBooks category. Amazon’s new 24,000 square metre Australian warehouse is based in outer east Melbourne, and offices are located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, and Perth.“Small businesses and retailers across the country should be excited about Amazon launching in Australia.,” said Adam Mills, Amazon Australia’s Chief Technology Officer, in a media statement provided to VICE.
“While it can be a challenge to ensure potential customers find your website, Amazon already has hundreds of millions of customers around the world searching for new products. The visibility and access Amazon provides is an enormous opportunity for all businesses.”
So how does Amazon stack up to Australian online retailers? Shipping costs are…okay? $9.99 for priority (one business day) shipping in major capital cities, and $5.99 for expedited speed (two to three business days). Standard shipping is free for orders over $49.Australia won’t be getting the full Amazon experience just yet, with a number of initiatives still to roll out over the next few years. Its famous “free” (you pay an annual fee for a year of unlimited shipping) Prime service is still TBA, and its “Alexa” cloud-based voice speaker won’t launch until early next year. There are no plans for Amazon to launch an Australian version of online supermarket Amazon Fresh.Follow Kat on Twitter