Selling on US retailer marketplaces from the UK or Europe: who takes you, and on what terms.

At a glance

What each marketplace says about sellers based outside the US, from its own terms and help pages or from UK trade bodies.

Best Buy: a written route for sellers based abroad

Best Buy opened its US marketplace on BestBuy.com and its app on 19 August 2025, powered by Mirakl⁶. It vets every seller before they join⁷. A dedicated section of its Marketplace Standard Terms covers any seller “not a resident of or incorporated in the United States”¹. If that is you, you must:

• sell as the registered brand owner, or with the brand owner’s authorisation to sell in the US¹;
• ship from a US warehousing partner or centre, since Best Buy offers no storage for these products¹;
• be the importer of record and carry every tax and duty yourself, so nothing beyond the invoice falls on the customer¹;
• name a return address in the US, as all returns of these products go to a US return centre¹;
• receive electronic payouts in US dollars, write descriptions in English and back products with a manufacturer’s warranty that is valid in the US¹.

Payouts run through Payoneer¹⁰. Linking an existing Payoneer account is open only to US, China or Hong Kong legal entities, and the set-up page does not explain how other sellers proceed¹⁰. Insurance is a further cost: commercial general liability cover of $1,000,000 per occurrence and in the aggregate, with Best Buy as additional insured¹. Some categories need $2,000,000 or $5,000,000¹.

Fees are $29.99 a month, charged only after your first sale, and commission of 8% to 15% depending on the category¹¹¹². In most cases orders should ship within 2 business days and arrive within 7 days¹¹. The Best Buy page has the full commission table, seller metrics and returns rules.

Lowe’s: domestic inventory only, for now

Lowe’s FAQ asks whether the marketplace is open to sellers shipping internationally, and answers “No”². It says its initial launch will focus on “sellers shipping domestic inventory from within the US”, and that “we’ll carefully select sellers”². Approved applicants get an invitation, review the marketplace agreement and upload product information before a final review².

Lowe’s seller documentation shows what selected sellers then work to¹³. Every product needs a valid GTIN of 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits, and offers go up manually, by Excel template or through the Mirakl API¹³. Customers can return marketplace items to more than 1,700 Lowe’s stores². Details are on the Lowe’s page.

Ulta Beauty: a business registered in the US

Ulta Beauty launched UB Marketplace on 14 October 2025 with more than 100 brands, powered by Mirakl⁸. Ulta says it is “only open, by invitation, to brands and not third-party sellers”⁸. Asked whether it is open to brands shipping internationally, Ulta’s FAQ answers “No”³. Orders have to leave from US-based warehouses and can go only to the lower 48 states³.

The FAQ lists these business requirements³:

• US business registration and an Employer Identification Number (EIN)³;
• a valid W-9 tax form³;
• an address and bank details in the US³;
• a UPC on every item, bundles included³.

Brands apply through RangeMe³. Once approved and invited, they sign the Marketplace agreement and must ship orders within 2 business days, with tracking³. See the Ulta Beauty page.

Macy’s: by invitation, with a UK government route

Macy’s says: “We carefully select sellers that align with the brand, experience and quality our customers expect”¹⁴. UKFT reported in September 2025 a partnership between Macy’s and the Digital Commerce Team at the Department for Business and Trade¹⁵. According to UKFT, Macy’s wanted “UK brands across a wide variety of categories, including home, fashion, beauty, lifestyle and more”¹⁵. UKFT’s notice set out a free webinar for 15 October 2025 on the steps into the US market through Macy’s Marketplace¹⁵.

BHETA, a UK trade body relaying the government’s Digital Exporting Programme, calls the marketplace “selective and by invitation only”⁴. It describes these requirements as non-negotiable⁴:

• GS1-certified UPCs on your products⁴;
• a tax ID for a US business, and a business address in the US⁴;
• fulfilment from a warehouse based in the US⁴;
• orders shipped within 48 business hours⁴.

Macy’s own seller site asks you to fill in a questionnaire, and its confirmation reads: “We’ll be in touch as soon as our application process is in place”⁹. Commission and any monthly fee are set by Macy’s, so ask about them if you are invited. More on the Macy’s page.

Nordstrom: invitation-only, with British brands in mind

Nordstrom launched its marketplace in April 2024, with its digital team and merchants choosing the brand partners¹⁶. The British label Mulberry was among the launch partners¹⁶. UKFT describes the marketplace as an “invitation-only platform”⁵.

UKFT announced in March 2026 that a Department for Business and Trade webinar on 19 March would pitch Nordstrom Marketplace to British brands⁵. Fashion, beauty, home, baby, kids and lifestyle were the categories it highlighted for British brands⁵.

Mirakl reports that one US brand went live on Nordstrom through Mirakl Connect in 15 to 20 days¹⁷. Nordstrom describes immediate refunds and in-store returns from day one for marketplace shoppers¹⁸. See the Nordstrom page.

Other US retailer marketplaces

Other US retailers run marketplaces too. This is what their own pages, or recent reports, say:

Where a page is silent on sellers based abroad, ask the retailer about US entity, tax and returns requirements before you apply.

Sales tax and US tax forms

Texas shows how marketplace collection of sales tax works²⁶:

• Marketplace providers engaged in business in Texas must collect, report and remit state and local sales and use tax on all sales made through the marketplace²⁶.
• They must certify to their sellers that they will collect it on the sellers’ behalf²⁶.
• Remote sellers selling only through certifying marketplace providers need no Texas tax permit, but must keep records for at least four years²⁶.
• Sellers based in Texas still need a permit and must file returns, even if they sell only through a marketplace²⁶.

Marketplace terms reflect this. Best Buy calculates, collects and remits applicable sales taxes and may issue Form 1099-K²⁷. Its terms bar sellers from adding sales tax unless the law expressly requires the seller, not the marketplace, to collect it and the seller has told Best Buy in writing first¹. Lowe’s seller documentation links a marketplace facilitator state-by-state guide and its own marketplace tax policy¹³.

The IRS form for a foreign entity to document its status is Form W-8BEN-E; individuals use Form W-8BEN²⁸. Not every marketplace takes it: Ulta Beauty requires a W-9 and states that “W-8 forms are not accepted”³.

The INFORM Consumers Act: seller verification

The FTC’s guidance sets the test for a high-volume third-party seller²⁹. You meet it with 200 or more separate sales of new or unused consumer products and $5,000 or more in gross revenue on one marketplace²⁹. Both must fall within any continuous 12-month period in the past 24 months²⁹. Once you meet the test²⁹:

• the marketplace must collect your bank account details, tax identification number and contact details within 10 days²⁹;
• it must verify them within 10 days of receiving them²⁹;
• you must certify at least once a year that your information is unchanged, or update it²⁹;
• once your annual gross revenue on the platform reaches $20,000, buyers must be shown your name, physical address and contact details; a seller working only from home shows its country and, if applicable, state, plus a way to contact it²⁹.

For a company, the marketplace also needs a government-issued ID for the person acting for it, or an official record or tax document showing the business name and physical address²⁹. If you do not supply the information within 10 days of a notice, the marketplace must suspend your future sales until you do²⁹. The FTC and the states can enforce the Act, and the FTC says violations could result in civil penalties of $53,088 per violation, a figure it updated in January 2025²⁹.

Customs and the de minimis suspension

Executive Order 14324 suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for goods from all countries entered on or after 29 August 2025³⁰. For postal shipments, the order made carriers collect and remit the duty and required the country of origin to be declared³⁰. An interim final rule from US Customs and Border Protection, effective 24 June 2026, suspends the de minimis exemption indefinitely for imports valued at $800 or less that arrive by any route other than the international postal network³¹. Check the current position before you price US orders shipped from abroad.

Retailers settle the import question in their own terms. Best Buy designates an overseas seller as importer of record in all cases, responsible for all taxes and import duties¹. Ulta Beauty requires fulfilment from US-based warehouses³, and BHETA lists US warehouse fulfilment among Macy’s requirements⁴.

Product safety certificates

The Consumer Product Safety Act requires domestic manufacturers and importers of children’s products to issue a Children’s Product Certificate³². A children’s product is one designed or intended primarily for children aged 12 or under and covered by a children’s product safety rule³². The certificate must rest on tests by a third-party, CPSC-accepted laboratory, and it and the test reports must be in English³².

General-use products need a General Certificate of Conformity, and certificates must accompany the product or shipment they cover³³. From 8 July 2026, importers of most regulated consumer products must file certificates electronically with US Customs and Border Protection³². Best Buy’s terms make an overseas seller the importer of record¹.

Retailers add their own checks. Best Buy requires consumer electronics to be certified by a “nationally recognized testing laboratory (NRTL)”³⁴. It also has policies on Proposition 65, toys and children’s products, and embedded batteries³⁵.

California Proposition 65 warnings

Proposition 65 requires businesses to warn people before exposing them to chemicals on California’s list, which is updated at least once a year³⁶. A warning is not needed if the exposure is low enough to pose no significant cancer risk, or is well below levels that cause reproductive harm³⁶. Penalties for failing to warn can reach $2,500 per violation per day³⁶.

OEHHA’s guidance for businesses adds these points³⁷:

• Primary responsibility for warnings sits with manufacturers, producers, packagers, importers, suppliers and distributors³⁷.
• Online, the warning must appear on the product display page, through a clearly marked hyperlink, or prominently before the purchase is completed, as well as on or with the product³⁷.
• Out-of-state internet retailers are not exempt, though they may limit warnings to exposures in California³⁷.
• Companies with fewer than 10 employees are exempt from the warning requirements, though contracts may still oblige them to warn³⁷.
• Products made and labelled before 1 January 2028 can carry the earlier short-form warning or the new one³⁷.

Marketplaces build this into listings. When the Prop 65 warning flag is set to yes, Lowe’s requires the warning attribute before the item can be sold on Lowes.com¹³.

Running US Mirakl storefronts alongside your other channels

Best Buy, Lowe’s and Ulta Beauty run their marketplaces on Mirakl⁶¹³⁸. Once a marketplace approves you, invtri’s Mirakl channel connects its storefront with the shop API key from your seller back office. Your US storefronts are priced from the same Mirakl margin rules as any others, with a fee percentage set for each storefront. It lists your offers by EAN against the marketplace’s catalogue, brings in orders for you to accept or refuse, and sends your tracking back. Approval rules and fees stay with each marketplace. See Mirakl marketplaces for how the channel works.