General Product Safety Regulation Regulations December 2024

[knit-in-styles]

I am part of the Ebay Expression where you participate in surveys. Today I received a survey re the new regulations which are coming in later this year if you sell to the EU. The survey was all about the wording of the email that will go out to sellers.

I have to admit, I was not aware of this and have no idea of which products this will affect but is a major change as the suggested email mentioned having to add the product manufactures name, address and contact details, add product safety and compliance information, product manuals on all listings. There is a link to to eBay EU if you are not aware where you can read some of the info.

https://www.ebaymainstreet.com/eupublicpolicy/issues/product-safety

[555njp]

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@camerapartsuk wrote:

Sooooo

I've found contact details for one of my suppliers, I've inputted the name, address and an email.

Is that all I have to do? Especially if there's no retail packaging or warranty.

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What happens if you then sell that part to a customer who is a business seller on eBay and they want to sell it on again?

They would also have to provide a supplier name etc. But would that now be you or the supplier you named?

My thinking says it's the part manufacturer but I can see this getting very complex.

[ojewellery]

My interpretation is there are more parts to it than that, unfortunately.

You need to establish who the manufacturer is (this is not necessarily the person who makes it - you can read the legislation for their definition - but this is a name and address

You need to have a unique identifier number - part number/ EAN

You need compliance statements if the item(s) fall under existing CE marking requirements - which I expect some camera parts probably do and instructions for safe use plus any warnings

You need a registered economic operator within Europe and to provide their name and address details.

[the_book_seekers]

Providing manufacturer's details for many second hand items could be problematic as these companies may no longer exist. What's the point in providing details of a defunct company? 

Articles I've read have thrown up some interesting details like the requirement for listings to have photographs of the items. Those sellers who avoid adding images and sell into the EU and NI will either have to add them or stop selling there.  Sellers can register with companies that will act as the EU-based Responsible Person which means yet another fee, but may have to register in every EU country they intend to sell into. What I've read so far seem to have the basic requirements but are light on the nitty gritty of how all this will actually be achieved.  I can see it taking up a lot of time. 

[fatbobfan]

ABE has 90 million books without seller images (30 million with) that could be interesting. Dropshippers and Megalisters could have an issue, some are on here as well, maybe not a bad thing. Print on demand?

I looked on the ABE's seller forum last week for the ramblings there, nothing doing, thought Id searched the forums, northing again, thought the search was broken, so 'Asked Abe Forum' and the response was

At this time, there is no action required from you regarding GPSR. We will promptly let sellers know of any changes in future.

Maybe different Market Places are looking at solutions in different ways?

Ebay is such a vast shpping experience trying to admin it for the platform seems a mammoth task, just in this thread, add in New / Old Preloved, ceased traders, unlabeled, OAK, Commissioned, On demand. 

Add in The Repairability Index,  Additional Disclosures, Warranties, Legal Disclaimers and Hazard information on top of the compliance information, all popped up today with our edit inventory button

Mind blowing amounts of time, Mind blowing amounts of information, 

Its intersting that different views and research are showing what an enormous task it is

[the_book_seekers]

I was thinking of the megasellers who have multiple copies of a second hand books attached to a generic image. If the image that has to go on the listing has to be the image of the item that's for sale I wonder how that will be squared away. New items should be identical so the use of a stock image wouldn't be an issue. 

I would imagine that abebooks still charges for images to be attached which would account for the massive number without images. Could be expensive.

The potential scale of work involved in this appears to be enormous which is probably why ebay and amazon are contacting sellers now. 

[historicfootballshirtsltd]

Just reading into this also and the amount of work involved for selling used shirts from the past 4 decades and getting this information is mind blowing and seems impossible. Not sure what or how this will work but if from reading this information is required it will also be a closed shop to EU and NI like many others. I am baffled to be honest.

[the_book_seekers]

Something I'd like ebay to explain if I were selling to the EU & NI would be how non-conforminh listings would be dealt with. Is ebay going to block these listings on the relevant sites or will they just take them down? 

[fatbobfan]

Took some of ours down, looks like it was testing the water so to speak,

We have toy inventory and we had a compliance document requests in May/June, we couldnt comply, inventory removed for a policy violation. 

Removed EU+NI  as selling locations and compliance documentation requests stopped. In total 5 listingsd removed.

The important bit is if you have inventory removed for policy violation and then remove EU+NI selling locations, the listing are still not available to you, sales history lost, and you have to create new listings, new photographs, more work

Well thats as of now, my 5 are in unsold awairting docs I cant supply,

It would make sense, as it appears of alot of sellers will not be able to supply the information that Ebay address this issue as in theory its a loss of potential revenue from the UK and other markets and a lot of work for sellers.

Question is will sellers comply in time? You said it, does it mean mass of policy document requests? Will it mean mass removal of inventory for Decemebr 13th? Can you imagine the chaos if sellers do n ot do this in time and this in the last minute Christmas rush, 

December the 13th will be an interesting time

[jayfive2001]

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking

"The norms (directives and regulations) requiring CE marking affect the following product groups:

Active implantable medical devices (excludes surgical instruments)
Appliances burning gaseous fuels
Cableway installations designed to carry persons
Construction products according to Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 under specific rules
Eco-design of energy related products
Electrical and electronic equipment, including radio equipment
Equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
Explosives for civil uses
Fertilizers Regulation (EU) No. 1009/2019
Hot-water boilers
In vitro diagnostic medical devices
Lifts
Machinery
Measuring instruments
Medical devices
Noise emission in the environment
Non-automatic weighing instruments
Personal protective equipment
Pressure equipment
Pyrotechnics
Recreational craft
Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS)
Toys
Simple pressure vessels"

[moonspender]

What i dont understand is if Ebay have to police this or not ? So if an item doesnt conform is Ebay liable ? Surely if i sell it and it doesnt confirm and i post it - customs check it and its doesnt conform surely they will either return or confiscate it ? Are ebay also liable because ive sold it through their platform ?

Also as far as putting in details, manufacturer etc a lot of people use sell similar so could they inadvertantly copy over acceptable GPSR informtion ? And if they do and dont correct it it would show as compliant but the information would obviously not be for the produce they are selling - ie responsible person ?

All very confusing, im going to leave it a month and see whats happening then, spending too much time on this.

[richarddesert]

Short answer is Brexit

Longer answer is Northern Ireland under the Withdrawal agreement and now the Windsor Protocol adheres to EU regulations due to its land border with the EU and government policy of all parties not to have a land border on the island or Ireland.   A hard border would result to a return to the trouble of the 1970s-1990s

There is no solution other than the UK returning to the single market and customs union

[ett1954]

This rule also applies to intertrading between EU countries, it is purely an EU law.  Rejoining wouldn't change anything other than the NI agreement; you would still need to comply with GPSR if you sold to France, Republic of Ireland or anywhere else in the EU or EEA.

[susapric-68]

That would make it much worse, that would apply to all the UK and not just NI

[bluefrogtoysltd]

Just spoke to my Royal Mail account manager who said that they know nothing about a December deadline or having a 'responsible person' based in the EU and are completely confused and worried about this.

There are some new rules for declaring product information for NI deliveries coming into effect in September...this only involves a description of goods, but no one in their office knew anything about further changes like having an EU responsilble person.

The've escalated it to get some clarification.

[camerapartsuk]

Well that's laughable, imagine they had no clue up until December!!

Their company is about to go even more down the pan.

Try explaining to dear Dorris on the counter that you need 27 pieces of paperwork and some bloke from the EU to send some unused socks she sold to a woman in Northern Ireland!!

[moonspender]

That sums it. In a perfect world what the EU what and what they will get in this world are 2 differnt things. As soon as most people in NI and the EU cant buy what they want or need things will soon change.

[ett1954]

GPSR rules will make no difference to most businesses other than yet more administration, it is small businesses and sole traders that will suffer.  Corporations and large businesses will have compliance departments that will be well on top of any requirements before they come into force; that is a compliance department's function.

What has also surprised me in this world of increasing bureaucracy and administrative requirements is that eBay don't appear to have such a department to advise their members judging by the derisory information we are presented with - lacking in detail and often ambiguous.  What does this regulatory fee actually pay for if not clear and precise information on the requirements of new regulations?   'Regulatory fee' ..... INAD.

[555njp]

The EU states & NI can ship non-conforming goods to GB though. So we could become a dumping ground for everything they can't shift in Eurozone?

[4_bathrooms]

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@ett1954 wrote:

This rule also applies to intertrading between EU countries, it is purely an EU law.  Rejoining wouldn't change anything other than the NI agreement; you would still need to comply with GPSR if you sold to France, Republic of Ireland or anywhere else in the EU or EEA.

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There would be one other difference for certain sellers.

An EU-established seller of goods that are not subject to EU harmonisation legislation (things like jewellery, certain new spare parts, packaging supplies and furniture to name just a few) will be able to nominate themself as the economic operator for their intra-EU sales. However, a non-EU established trader selling such items will need to employ a nominated EU-established economic operator in order to sell to the EEA/NI. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@richarddesert wrote:

There is no solution other than the UK returning to the single market and customs union

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France and Germany have pretty much ruled out the possibility of Great Britain rejoining the EU's customs union under any future "Brejoin" arrangement. And if "Brejoin" did happen - which I doubt it ever will - the UK would not enjoy the concessions it did before Brexit; i.e. we would be saying goodbye sterling and hello euro for a start. 

It really wouldn't be like some cheery family reunion with the EU letting bygones be bygones.