After much anticipation Amazon has quietly launched in Australia. This makes it the 13th marketplace.

24 hours after the launch the Amazon Australia marketplace has already grown to more than 2,000 sellers.

52% of sellers indicated to be shipping from China, both a mix of China based sellers, and Australian sellers with warehouses in China. 42% are shipping from Australia.

Sellers have already made available close to 20 million products.

Shipping times are currently 3 to 7 business days in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, along with other major cities, or 7 to 10 business days for all other areas. Shipping is free for all orders of $49 or more.

Although the country is almost as large as the US, it is home to just 24 million people. Amazon has set up one distribution warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne, but it will take some time before Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service is ready for sellers, and Prime memberships are available for customers. Two-day shipping, which is now the norm in the US and other countries for most people, are still to come.

Both FBA and Prime are expected to launch in mid-2018. Until then Amazon won’t have major impact to the local retailers. eBay though is the most visited shopping site in Australia, and it will be the first one to start feeling the effects of Amazon.

Tim MacKinnon, eBay Australia and New Zealand managing director, was dismissive of Amazon, and warned retailers “we don’t use their data and then decide to cut them out and go directly to their suppliers.” This is referring to the myth that Amazon copies best selling products, and manufactures their own versions, a fallacy we have disproven before.

This is day one for Amazon in Australia. Pricing is not competitive yet, there is no Prime, and most sellers are shipping from China. But in a few years time Australian retail will have changed, and not because of stagnant local leaders.