I have a bit of an issue with my current company, and my accountant has advised me to close it. While I have no issues with doing so, my Amazon account is obviously linked to my business with hundreds of feedback and thousands of product reviews (FBM).
Transferring the company takes months, and I can’t wait that long. So, I was wondering—would it be faster to change the amazon account from an LTD to a sole trader and then later add the new company details at some point?
Would that require the same amount of waiting time again? Is there any waiting period when switching back from an LTD to a sole trader?
I think that you are asking for trouble by doing what you are suggesting. I’m not even sure whether you can transfer from LTD to sole trader as the legal entities are incompatible. I switched from sole trader to LTD a couple of years ago and it was completely painless. The other way, I think it is not possible but I could be wrong. Remember that a limited company is not owned by you, you are just its caretaker.
As long as you have everything at hand for the transfer, it needn’t take too long although undoubtedly, it will be painful.
I would go LTD to LTD.
Have everything ready and have all documents like bank statement, ID documents, utility bills etc BEFORE you apply to transfer the account.
In case you haven’t seen this, this is available on the transfer account page:
Process Agreement
To change your account’s legal entity:
You and the new legal entity will need to sign a transfer agreement to accept terms and conditions
The new legal entity will be required to complete an account verification process
You may need to provide us with documents for the new legal entity
During the legal entity change process:
Your listings will be temporarily suspended
Disbursements to your account will be suspended and will transfer to the new legal entity once finalized
You will sign out after accepting terms and conditions to allow the new legal entity to re-sign in and complete the process
thank you for posting into the forum. Regarding the legal entity transfer, you don’t need to worry about it taking too long, as long as it is the European Amazon marketplace.
You can transfer from a sole proprietorship into a LTD, which shouldn’t take more than a weeks. Personally, I updated my EU-based sole proprietorship into a virtual UAE company, which doesn’t even have an a address and Amazon accepted it within 2 to 3 weeks and reactivated the account.
On the other hand, account ownerships can be difficult on the Amazon US marketplace but not impossible to pass.
So, my advice would be to go ahead with the transfer rather than closing the account, which would wipe out your ratings and established status. Newly opened selling accounts are treated completely differently to established ones. With a new account, you could get suspended over anything.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to post here whenever you need help.
Switching your Amazon account from an LTD to a sole trader and then back to a new company later could be risky and may still involve verification delays. Amazon typically reviews major account changes, including business structure modifications, and may require re-verification of your identity, tax information, and bank details. While transitioning from an LTD to a sole trader might be faster than a full company transfer, it could still trigger a review that temporarily limits your account activity. Instead of switching twice, a better approach might be to update the existing company details directly to your new entity once it’s ready. If you need to act quickly, you could consider keeping your existing Amazon account operational while setting up a new one under the new company, though you must ensure compliance with Amazon’s multiple account policies by having a legitimate business reason, separate bank accounts, and different tax details. Consulting with an Amazon-savvy accountant or legal professional before making changes is advisable to avoid unnecessary account suspension risks.