The European Union's General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR): A Huge Mess For Some Small & Micro Businesses
Above is an email Amazon sent to sellers many months ago that covers the basics. Not all marketplaces were as forthcoming - or early - with info.
UPDATED: February 25, 2025
As many of you know, new laws coming into effect Friday December 13, 2024 affect businesses' ability to sell products into the European Union and Northern Ireland (EU and NI). The General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) impose various requirements on most goods being sold to the EU and NI, and some of those new rules will be very onerous for some small businesses. Furthermore, there are still some unanswered questions that the relevant government bodies hadn't covered until the European Commission did release some more details and an FAQ page very recently [pdf for download at the end of the first section on that page], and until public Q & A sessions were held.
This post contains a brief summary of the GPSR and of the key questions for common small business types, with the best answers I can find at this time. There is a section discussing problems on Etsy (which hasn't yet adapted their platform to the new regulations). I also compiled a list of helpful links including government and marketplace information pages, and places to obtain an "EU Responsible Person" to represent your business.
If anything gets clarified in the near future, this post will be updated.
What Does GPSR Require?
The Amazon summary in the screenshot at the top of this post is one of the easiest to understand, but a shorter overview may work better for some, so here is what eBay has to say:
To comply with the GPSR and related regulations, all business sellers listing items for sale in the EU and NI must include the following information: 1. The product manufacturer's name and contact information 2. If the manufacturer isn’t located in the EU or NI, you’ll have to indicate an EU-based Responsible Person or entity, along with their name and contact details 3. Any relevant product information like model number, pictures, and type 4. Product safety and compliance information like warnings and safety information (which can be included in labels and product manuals) in the local language 5. The CE marking when required by the related regulations applicable to your product
And yes, all of this applies to merchants of all stripes, including small and microbusinesses. Per the EU, “...the GPSR obligations apply to businesses of all sizes. Consumers are entitled to only safe products and therefore exceptions cannot be made based on the size of a business.”
Clearly there are significant hurdles for small and micro businesses: the cost of hiring a responsible person, and the cost of producing the required safety and use instructions and of translating them into local languages. Some may choose to stop sales to the EU and NI instead of complying.
Are There Any Exceptions?
Yes, several types of products are excluded, but most of those already subject to equally strict or even stricter regulations, e.g., medicine, foods, animals etc.
The two main known exceptions of interest to most of my readership are:
Antiques, which seem to be limited to items that are old (but no age is given, as far as I can tell) and generally to art or other collectible items.
Items already available for sale before December 13 of this year.
That second point is good news for many businesses, but please note it only seems to apply to stock made before December 13, not just listings made before that date. Once you run out and need to order or make more products, they then become subject to the GPSR.
Does The GPSR Apply To Digital Products?
It now appears that the new regulations cover items such as digital downloads. The FAQ pdf put out by the European Union very recently states "[t]he GPSR applies to all types of products (physical or digital products too, including software) that are placed or made available on the EU Single Market". At least some analysts agree this can include pretty much everything digital:
I can understand why some folks think that a knitting pattern or a simple art downloadable file should not be covered, and in the future once there is more discussion of and action taken under the GPSR, those products might be excluded. But note that the pdf of FAQs also states "[t]he GPSR is about avoiding and preventing “risks to both physical health and mental health”. Including image files and similar downloads therefore makes some sense.
How Do I Find A "Responsible Person" To Represent My Digital Download Business In The EU?
That's a good question, because I haven't found any verified sources saying they will cover digital items, or any digital sellers mentioning they have found coverage. Many have been denied by the companies they have contacted. [UPDATE: A company called EAS has agreed to represent at least one digital seller.]
If you are aware of any other firms or individuals offering "Responsible Person" services for digital products, please let me know!
(Remember, If you are in the EU/NI, you are the Responsible Person. If your products are manufactured in the EU/NI, the manufacturer is the Responsible Person.)
Does the GPSR Apply To Free Products?
Yes. From the FAQ pdf: "an item provided free of charge falls within the scope of the GPSR.”
In addition to complimentary physical items ("free gifts") sent out with orders, this would seem to include free downloads provided on blogs and social media, on a Patreon site, in YouTube descriptions etc. I’ve not seen much discussion on this aspect of the law for some reason.
Items Offered For Sale Before December 13 Are Exempt, But How Would The Government Know When I First Offered The Product Or When It Was Made?
If you had 100 widgets in stock before December 13 and had them listed on a marketplace or website, by law you can continue to sell those widgets to the EU and NI until all 100 are gone. And if you created a digital file and offered it online before December 13, it should be exempt forever, as long as you do not edit the file after December 13.
But proving you had 100 widgets already made, or that you listed a specific product before the law took effect could be difficult, especially for anyone handmaking their own items. If you are going to continue to sell to the EU and NI after December 13, keep careful records of which stock needs labelling, safety information and translations of use instructions.
Online marketplaces could also create problems if they don't display the date an item was first offered for sale, as happens on Etsy, for example. Every time an item renews, the visible date is reset, and it can be difficult to go through spreadsheets looking for the original listing date, and csv files may not be adequate proof under this law (since they can easily be changed after downloading).
Unfortunately, we won't truly know what evidence will be accepted in these circumstances until the authorities start enforcing these regulations, but this will only be a concern for anyone continuing to sell "old stock" into the EU and NI after December 13, so it is far from the largest concern.
The Case of Etsy - Failure To Comply With The GPSR
Unlike some other marketplaces, Etsy was fairly late in warning its sellers that the GPSR affected them, and how Etsy will approach the law. The blog post included the line "[s]hould Etsy receive a notification from an authority that your product is non-compliant, we will take appropriate action, which may include removing your listing and/or suspending your account." So, the stakes are high here - you could lose your Etsy shop if accused of not complying with the GPSR.
There are currently 2 problems for sellers who decide they can't/won't comply with the GPSR and therefore do not want to offer their items to the EU and NI any more:
Shipping to the UK on Etsy includes Northern Ireland, and sellers anywhere within the UK cannot remove the UK from their shipping profiles. That means they are forced to offer their goods to NI even if they don't want to.
Digital products on Etsy are sold to the whole world by default; there is no way to exclude any countries that Etsy allows sales to. That means every digital listing on Etsy is currently offered in the GPSR jurisdictions, regardless of the seller's wishes or compliance.
The GPSR was published on May 10, 2023. That gave everyone 19 months to get their ducks in a row. However, Etsy has so far done nothing to allow UK and digital sellers to remove their listings from being available in the EU and NI. Nothing.
Support has told some sellers that the corporation is working on it, and that UK sellers could just cancel any sales to NI:
However, it is not good enough to refuse to complete orders to the EU and NI. Any item offered for sale in the EU and NI is automatically subject to the GPSR; just allowing someone to check out is a violation, if the listing and product does not meet the law's requirements.
As of December 13, there is still no way to stop selling to Northern Ireland on Etsy if you are a seller in the United Kingdom, and there is no way for a digital product to be excluded from offer in either the EU or NI. Sadly, this means the only way shops can follow the law is to close for the time being, and some are planning on doing that.
Etsy has failed its sellers, and there is no excuse.
UPDATE (February 25, 2025): Etsy has finally Etsy has updated settings for excluding GPSR countries from those you sell to. Change it here under "Choose how you sell to GPSR states".
More changes to come here under the February updates, including fields for safety information and your responsible person.
And probably the biggest news: Etsy is working on vetting companies that will act as a "responsible person" for its sellers - you know, like eBay already did months ago. Still no word on why Etsy was caught unprepared by legislation that was released almost 2 years ago.
UPDATE (April 15, 2025): Etsy has added fields for safety compliance and an EU responsible person, and now warns shops that "If a product is subject to the GPSR but does not meet the requirements, it may be classified as a “dangerous product” by EEA or NI authorities. This may result in enforcement actions, including fines, product bans, or the removal of your products from the marketplace.
Should Etsy receive notification from an authority that your product is non-compliant, we’ll take appropriate action, which may include removing your listing and/or suspending your account."
Resources and Responsible Person Offerings
I've compiled a separate post on my Patreon, listing some of the official legal and government resources on GPSR, as well as rules and Help pages from some major marketplaces and Print on Demand companies, and a short list of places you can hire a "Responsible Person" for your products:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/sources-and-for-117871846
Please let me know if you find any broken links there, or have other resources to add!
This post will be updated as required.
UPDATED: April 15, 2025
