GPSR Compliance

[bojangled]

This is as clear as mud to me. Been to the gov. advice website and various others.
How does a 1972 poster fit in to this process?

It's not an exempt category. 

Advise buyers this item is for viewing only ? 

My initial reaction, sadly, to to switch EU and NI off. 
Jo

[dwtrading2015]

The CE mark is voluntary and not a requirement to sell your goods as far as I am aware.  The mark is intended to imply the product has met a set  of production standards.  Many manufacturers sign up to it because it is prety weak compared to things like BSI or ANSI standards and it keps them on good terms with EU, strokes them and makes them feel important!!!!

[ojewellery]

Is it wrong that in the need of light relief from todays slightly stressed business forum, I find myself sitting thinking what the *bleep* could possibly have been?

[ojewellery]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-marking

Extract from above:

The CE marking is required for many products because it:

• shows that the manufacturer has checked these products meet EU safety, health or environmental requirements
• is an indicator of a product’s compliance with EU legislation
• allows the free movement of products within the European market

By placing the CE marking on a product, a manufacturer is declaring, on their sole responsibility, conformity with all of the legal requirements to achieve CE marking. The manufacturer is therefore ensuring validity for that product to be sold throughout the EEA. This also applies to products made in third countries which are sold in the EEA and Turkey.

[dwtrading2015]

"CE marking is only obligatory for products for which EU specifications exist and require the affixing of CE marking. Some products are subject to several EU requirements at the same time."

https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/product-requirements/labels-markings/ce-marking/index_en.htm

Some specific items, but the CE mark is in place of BSI kite mark for example - another one of the ways the EU tried to nudge out and usurp other institutions.

[truck-88]

I think you need to read the requirement again.

[jonatjonatjonat]

The CE mark stood in for various standard marks from across the bloc. Without it, manufacturers would have had to get standard marks for every country and either print ALL standard marks on the product, or print a version for each country. It is also needed on some goods - toys for example.

The CE marking saved companies money. Small wonder that the UK government have decided the CE mark can be used indefinitely instead of UKCA.

[4_bathrooms]

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@jonatjonatjonat wrote:

The CE mark stood in for various standard marks from across the bloc.

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The CE mark is used for goods that need to meet "harmonised" legislation. For example, EN 71 for toys which was harmonised throughout the union (i.e. BS EN 71 in the UK). The legislation covering the requirement for a CE mark is the same throughout the union; each member state incorporates the legislation into their national laws.

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@jonatjonatjonat wrote:

Without it, manufacturers would have had to get standard marks for every country and either print ALL standard marks on the product, or print a version for each country.

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The Declaration of Compliance needs to be written in every local language applicable to the countries the item will be sold into - the same applies to any safety warnings or user instructions. When you buy a new item that is CE marked you will find an enclosed (or attached) DoC. The DoC typically takes the form of a small booklet with each page displaying the declaration in a different language. Big brands usually let you download the DoC from their website; just Google "<Brand> declaration of conformity". The website will usually have separate downloads for each language the DoC has been written in.

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@jonatjonatjonat wrote:

The CE marking saved companies money. Small wonder that the UK government have decided the CE mark can be used indefinitely instead of UKCA.

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That was chiefly down to complaints from manufacturers and the big importers. If the UK had gone ahead with their own compliance markings (UKCA and UKNI) manufacturers would have needed to produce specific packaging and documentation for Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the EU. Their complaint was although the UK has left the EU GB's product safety standards are remaining largely unchanged for the foreseeable future (NI effectively remains in the EU's customs union). Instead of producing packaging and documentation that would have been valid throughout the EU, Great Britain and Northern Ireland (as is the case) there would have been an increased cost in producing UK-specific and NI-specific packaging and documents - a cost they would have certainly passed on to UK consumers.  

[hillbillybob3]

Sorry, I am only finding out about this today.

I live in Ireland so I list on ebay.ie and ebay.co.uk. I am a small reseller. I do have a store (which i pay a monthly fee for) with between 600-700 items at any one time. I source all my items locally from different types of shops and sales points. Some are new, some are second hand. I only have one of each item really and I sell globally (execpt countries invloved in wars). I mainly sell DVDs, video games, book, toys and occasionallyl some clothes. There is no way I can any sort of safety documentation for all these items, if they even exist, so I guess my questions are:

Do these new regulations now mean I can no longer sell items to the EU (including my own country) unless I can provide the required documents?

Can I sell to the UK without the required documentation?

Can I sell to the rest of the world without the required documentation?

My main markets are the UK and EU so if i cannot sell to there anymore then my store is doomed.

Sorry if these are basic questions but I am totally stumped and a little taken aback by all this.

Thanks

Al

[555njp]

As far as I'm aware, you can sell to the UK, RoW and your own country without needing to comply.

All other EU member countries will require compliance if you wish to sell there.

This is why come Dec 13th, a large quantity of UK sellers will no longer be shipping to the EU or NI, which as it is in the EU customs union, also requires compliance.

[jonatjonatjonat]

You would be able to sell to GB and RoW but the rules are it applies to products pace on the EU/NI market. There isn't an exemption for your own country (int his case Ireland). You would need to comply for sales to Ireland.

if items don't have any safety documentation then there is no need to upload it, though not sure how much due diligence is expected in things like electricals that are second hand. You should be able to identify manufacturers in a lot of cases and of course you can name yourself the responsible person given you are located on the EU.

[555njp]

Thanks for correcting. 

[nutrafituk]

Since Brexit there was pretty much no point to carry on with EU sales, in our case. Any return was a massive headache, tax concerns and customers being confused, significant compliance required (food). Now there is even more to deal with so with just a fraction of orders aonly going outside the UK anyway - both EU & NI have been already restricted here. And following the latest ebay's 'private seller - no fee' idea there is no way we would let ebay make a penny through their own Global Shipping Programme.

[blacklambale]

Exactly what I'll be doing...postage preferences NI & Europe off. Nothing else we can do. Complete farce.

[4_bathrooms]

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@hillbillybob3 wrote:

Do these new regulations now mean I can no longer sell items to the EU (including my own country) unless I can provide the required documents?

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It depends. As you are based in Ireland you will be deemed the "EU-established economic operator" for anything that doesn't require specific safety regulations compliance. So you should be fine selling DVDs, video games and books. However, toys are subject to EN 71 compliance and will therefore require a Declaration of Conformity and any warnings or instructions that were originally supplied with the product. Clothing is subject to textile labelling requirements but I imagine you would just upload the information from the label.

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@hillbillybob3 wrote:

Can I sell to the UK without the required documentation?

Can I sell to the rest of the world without the required documentation?

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Note the EU rules apply to Northern Ireland (due to the Windsor Framework) and will almost certainly apply to the whole EEA. That means the EU27, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Great Britain (England, Scotland & Wales) is not affected but there is a Parliamentary Bill in progress that means GB might end up with it's own (disparate) version of the GPSR.

The rest of the world is not affected.

[ett1954]

You admit you are a reseller however you are registered as a private seller so don't worry about it.  GPSR only applies to business sellers.

[sunshine_radio_control]

Exactly what I am going to do. I do not have the time or energy to go through my 500 odd listings and provide all the info for each and every item I sell. My first thoughts when I read the email from eBay "explaining" this new enforced ruling on us eBay sellers, was is this for real!!!!

And to know that our listings will be hidden, thus even less sales than I am already experiencing this year made my heart sink even lower than usual when it comes to eBay and their daft ideas.

If I had hair - I would be ripping it out! Sorry EU and Ni, I can't sell to you any more (stopped selling to the EU after Brexit and all the rubbish that bought with it).

EBAY is dying a slow and painful death - bringing me down with it!

[a45heaven]

As for your actions in blocking sales to EU and NI, i have mirrored you (NI with a sad heart)-

in fact ceased all sales outside the UK for ebay. 

I am yet however to see any other platform issue the same warning as ebay have pushed out - funnily enough the same can be said for the HMRC info which ebay appear to be the sole participants too. 

[sunshine_radio_control]

As far  as I can work out, after 15 years of trading, eBay seem like they are pushing more and more sales toward the "Big River" with one bad decision after another. Who is running this poo show?

eBay seem to be quite happy to let private sellers do what they want and even empowering them to do exactly that (do these new rules apply to them?) and stuff us business sellers right up where the sun does not shine! Sorry for the anger but come on!

[pal_version]

eBays silence on this issue is some what maddening - they have no clue on the rules and offer no help or guidence. surely they should understand all the rules they impliment on their platform, right?

[a45heaven]

It seems you still have expectations that ebay will consider you, a seller, as important - once that thought passes frustrations diminish, and 'what will be' becomes the normal.

Very sad, but true on this platform.