{"id":373672,"date":"2025-03-12T11:07:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T11:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srv83848.seohost.com.pl\/blog\/the-road-to-gpsr-compliance"},"modified":"2026-06-19T09:51:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T09:51:48","slug":"the-road-to-gpsr-compliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srv83848.seohost.com.pl\/en\/blog\/the-road-to-gpsr-compliance","title":{"rendered":"The road to GPSR compliance: Practical guide for international sellers on the EU\u2019s online marketplaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europe\u2019s ecommerce market is expected to generate <\/span>$456.14 billion<\/u><\/span><\/a> in revenue by the end of 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, the number of consumers shopping online continues to grow. In 2024, 94% of people aged between 16 and 74 used the Internet within the last year, and <\/span>77% of those people<\/u><\/span><\/a> purchased or ordered products online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These metrics show that the EU\u2019s e-commerce industry is expanding rapidly, creating significant <\/span>opportunities for international sellers<\/u><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, $4.6 billion worth of low-quality goods entered the EU in 2024 alone, posing a significant safety risk to its consumers and continuing a yearslong trend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new product safety regulation replaces the general product safety directive to make it more difficult for harmful or low-quality products to find their way to digital marketplaces in the EU member states by introducing a series of requirements for distributors, manufacturers, and importers to meet before making a product available to consumers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This article will walk you through the steps sellers must take to make product listings on eBay, <\/span>Amazon<\/u><\/span><\/a>, and other digital markets GPSR-compliant and provide tips that will make this process faster and easier.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Selling on digital marketplaces in the European Union after GPSR<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s new product safety regulations address the rapid growth of digital marketplaces and the fact that just six member states supervised <\/span>89% of imported products sold online<\/u><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This metric reveals the importance of strengthening market surveillance throughout the EU to ensure consumer protection and the need for the reduction of economic operators that aren\u2019t trustworthy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The GPSR defines marketplace providers as:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u2018a provider of an intermediary service using an online interface which allows consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders for the sale of products.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Furthermore, the document describes an online interface as:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u2018Any software, including a website, part of a website, or an application, including mobile applications.\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Consequently, as service providers, eBay, Amazon, and other European online marketplaces must comply with <\/span>GPSR<\/u><\/span><\/a> and collaborate with market surveillance authorities to ensure consumer product safety. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The regulation mandates that marketplace providers must take steps to detect, identify, remove, and prevent access to consumer product listings promoting harmful or unsafe products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, their interface must allow sellers to inform consumers about the product\u2019s manufacturer, EU Responsible Person, its safety, and potential hazards it poses to consumers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Online marketplaces must remove all product listings that don\u2019t meet the GPSR compliance requirements. They can also penalize non-compliant sellers by suspending their accounts or removing listings from their stores.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Get our free eBook<\/u><\/span><\/a> for an in-depth view of the GPSR\u2019s impact on digital marketplaces in the EU!<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding General Product Safety Regulation compliance<\/h2>\n

The GPSR imposes responsibility on the economic operator for the safety of products entering the EU. That is why <\/span>online marketplace providers<\/u><\/span><\/a> and sellers must ensure that each item meets the GPSR compliance requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the regulation sets different compliance requirements for manufacturers, importers, and distributors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, the steps sellers must take to ensure their products comply with the product safety regulations depends on the merchant’s position in the supply chain. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

eBay sellers don\u2019t have to draft technical documentation or conduct a risk analysis for the products they place on the platform\u2019s European marketplaces because they can obtain it from a manufacturer or supplier.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, merchants cannot continue their operations unless they\u2019re established in one of the EU member countries or appoint a representative established in the EU to manage their communication with market surveillance authorities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sellers don\u2019t have to appoint an EU Responsible Person if the manufacturers of all items they offer in their stores on online marketplaces have already appointed a responsible person for their products.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overview of GPSR compliance requirements<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The most crucial step sellers must take on their way to GPSR compliance is determining which product safety requirements they must meet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, a business that produces toys it wants to sell on European online marketplaces must assess the safety of its products and include the findings in the technical documentation, product labels, and listings on <\/span>online marketplaces<\/u><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The safety assessment must be conducted in accordance with the international, EU, and member state\u2019s safety standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, the manufacturer\u2019s risk assessment of a product must take into account a variety of factors ranging from the item\u2019s design and the materials used to produce it to its suitability for different consumer categories and its potential for misuse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The manufacturer must also consider the item\u2019s cybersecurity, environmental, and mental health impact to ensure a product is safe for consumers of all ages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from providing the mandatory technical documentation, manufacturers must equip each product with the necessary labels, manuals, and safety warnings. Each product should also contain the contact information of the responsible economic operator, either the manufacturer or the EU Responsible Person.<\/span><\/p>\n

Online sellers who act as distributors of products they offer on digital markets in Europe have similar responsibilities to manufacturers, with the exception of conducting the safety assessment and drafting the technical files.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the overview of GPSR requirements for distributors:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n