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Warehouse Box

Guide for US brands

UK or EU first? Where a US brand should hold inventory first

The UK and the EU are separate markets with a customs border between them, so inventory held in one can’t serve customers in the other without crossing it. This guide shows how to choose: read your orders by country, compare what each market needs, and decide whether to start with one or run both from day one.

By Warehouse Box · Updated

Request a quoteUK and EU fulfillment for US brands
Where to start

Start here

Where did your last three to six months of UK and European orders go?

  1. Mostly to Britain

    Start in the UK

    Middlewich, England: one market and one VAT registration.

    When the UK comes first

  2. Spread across the EU

    Start in the EU

    Poland, inside the EU: imported once for 27 countries.

    When the EU comes first

  3. Both, regularly

    Run both from day one

    One provider and two warehouses, each market served domestically.

    When to run both
Step 1
Read your orders by country
UK first
One market, one VAT registration
EU first
27 countries, imported once
Both
One provider, two warehouses

How do I decide between the UK and the EU?

Start where your orders already are: pull the last three to six months of UK and European orders by country, and hold inventory first in the market with the most steady demand.

Look at order value as well as volume, and at where your marketing goes next. If both markets already order regularly, consider holding inventory in both from day one instead of sending one market’s orders across the border.

When does the UK make sense first?

When most of your European orders come from Britain, or Amazon.co.uk is your next marketplace: the UK is one market, with one VAT registration and one set of rules.

To hold inventory in the UK you register for UK VAT and get a GB EORI number for importing; specialist partners we introduce you to set these up. Our UK warehouse is in Middlewich, England, with more than 30,000 square feet of space.

When does the EU make sense first?

When your orders are spread across EU countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands: inventory imported into the EU once can reach customers in all 27 member states without another customs check.

Holding inventory at our fulfillment center in Poland means a VAT registration in Poland and an EU EORI number. If you sell into several EU countries, the VAT on those sales can be reported through the EU’s One-Stop Shop (OSS). Specialist partners we introduce you to handle these registrations.

When should I run both from the start?

When both markets already order regularly. The UK and the EU are separate customs territories, so the only way to give both sets of customers domestic delivery is to hold inventory on each side.

With us that’s one provider, one agreement and one quote: UK orders ship from Middlewich and EU orders from Poland. You decide how to split the inventory and adjust the split with each new shipment as demand changes.

Why not keep shipping parcels from the US?

Because tax and duty now reach more of those parcels: the EU has charged a flat duty on parcels under €150 since July 1, 2026, and the UK plans to end its duty relief on parcels of £135 or less in October 2028.

VAT already applies to every parcel: since 2021 the UK and the EU have charged it whatever the parcel’s value. With your inventory in the UK or the EU, duty and import VAT are dealt with once, on the bulk shipment, and each order after that is a domestic delivery.

Plan ahead

What changed for US brands selling into Europe

VAT already applies to every parcel you send to the UK or the EU. The EU now charges duty on small parcels too, and the UK plans to from October 2028. Each change is dated and sourced.

  1. UK VAT moves to checkout

    On goods worth £135 or less sold into the UK, VAT is charged at the point of sale: marketplaces collect it, and sellers selling through their own store register for UK VAT and charge it at checkout. Above £135, import VAT is due at the border.

  2. EU ends its VAT exemption

    The EU stopped exempting parcels worth €22 or less from VAT, so every parcel from outside the EU now carries VAT. The Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) lets sellers collect it at checkout on parcels up to €150.

  3. EU duty on small parcels

    The EU abolished duty relief on parcels under €150. A flat €3 duty now applies to each category of item in a parcel until July 1, 2028, unless extended, before normal duty rates take over.

  4. UK duty relief ends

    The UK plans to end customs duty relief on goods worth £135 or less, so low-value parcels will pay UK import duty too. The government confirmed the date on June 23, 2026.

Sources: GOV.UK, VAT on overseas goods sold to customers from January 1, 2021; European Commission, customs formalities for low value consignments; Council of the EU, February 11, 2026; GOV.UK, June 23, 2026.

FAQ

More questions

Can I start with one market and add the other later?

Yes. Many brands start in one market and add the second once they see where orders come from. Adding the UK or the EU later means the same provider, the same agreement and the same contact, and we confirm the second warehouse for your products before anything ships.

Who handles VAT, EORI and customs?

Specialist partners we introduce you to. Holding inventory in the UK means registering for UK VAT, and holding it in Poland means registering for VAT there; the partners handle those registrations and the import numbers you need. We don’t file registrations ourselves.

How do I get my inventory to your warehouses?

Ship it directly from your US warehouse or your supplier to our UK warehouse and our fulfillment center in Poland. We can arrange or book the freight by sea, air or courier, and every delivery is booked in, counted and checked when it arrives.

Plan where to hold your inventory first

Send us your recent orders by country, what you sell and the channels you sell on. We’ll suggest where to start and send a written quote.

Request a quote

Prefer email? hello@warehousebox.net

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