Selling on eBay or Amazon in Europe? The new EU GPSR is bringing major updates that could impact your business! From the requirement to appoint an EU-based Responsible Person to stricter product safety and traceability standards, this regulation is designed to boost consumer protection. Here’s a breakdown of the key changes and what steps you need to take to stay compliant and avoid penalties.
GPSR Essentials: A General Overview of Safety Compliance
The General Product Safety Regulation (EU)EU 2023/988), effective from 12 June 2023, replaces the outdated Directive, boosting consumer protection and strengthening oversight on dangerous products, especially for vulnerable groups like children and people with disabilities.
The GPSR applies uniformly across the EU and Northern Ireland, requiring global compliance. While active since June 2023, enforcement begins on 13 December 2024, allowing GPSD-compliant products until then.
Latest Updates and Changes
These updates impact everything from product testing and safety documentation to the role of the responsible person and accident reporting. Let’s check the main areas:
- Foresight Principle: All stakeholders must adopt a proactive mindset to ensure top-level product safety, even when scientific risks are uncertain.
- Product Safety Mandates: The GPSR sets clear safety guidelines for businesses and online platforms to maintain safety throughout the product lifecycle.
- Traceability Compliance Standards: Companies must implement strong traceability systems to quickly track and recall unsafe products, backed by detailed record-keeping.
- Risk Assessment: The GPSR outlines key elements for evaluating product safety, especially concerning emerging technologies like AI, cybersecurity, and product interactions.
- Accident Reporting: Businesses must promptly report accidents through the Safety Business Gateway, particularly those involving death or serious injury.
- Market Supervision: Enhanced oversight rules ensure safety enforcement across member states, focusing on non-compliant products.
- Product Recalls: The GPSR enforces strict recalls with a standard notice template, protecting consumer rights.
General Product Safety Regulation UK
Though the UK has left the EU, some ‘retained EU laws’ still apply until updated. For UK sellers on Amazon and eBay, nothing has changed yet, and products are deemed safe if they meet BSI standards approved by the Secretary of State.
Understanding the GPSR Regulations
The GPSR applies broadly to all products sold in the EU, whether brand new, second-hand, repaired, or refurbished. This ensures a high level of safety for consumers across the board. However, some categories of products are excluded from GPSR coverage. These exceptions exist because certain items—such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or food products—are governed by more specialized regulations tailored to their unique risks and safety standards. The EU ensures that each product type is regulated with the most appropriate and adequate safety measures.
GPSR Reform: Critical Implications You Need to Know
The updated GPSR brings significant changes, including requiring an EU-based “responsible person” who ensures product compliance and provides documentation to authorities upon request. Additionally, online marketplaces now face greater accountability, with new obligations to report dangerous products and manage recalls more effectively. The regulation also extends its reach to include AI-driven products and connected technologies, reflecting the evolving nature of product safety in the digital age.
Given these requirements, businesses shouldn’t overlook IT systems that log compliance data, archive documentation, and trigger regulatory alerts. For marketplaces adapting to the updated GPSR, dedicated IT support can help ensure product-listing data, traceability records, and audit logs remain secure, accessible, and compliant. Companies such as Orange Crew can support these documentation and data-management needs, helping marketplaces meet regulatory obligations and maintain operational efficiency.
The Role of the Responsible Person: Essential Duties under GPSR
The GPSR requires appointing an EU-based “responsible person” to ensure product compliance with all applicable technical standards. This individual is tasked with verifying that the product meets safety requirements and must be able to provide documentation to authorities when requested. Their contact information must be displayed on the product, packaging, or the accompanying documentation to ensure transparency and accountability. This ensures that consumers and regulatory bodies know who to contact if compliance issues arise.
The Responsible Person can be:
- The manufacturer;
- An importer;
- An authorized representative;
- A fulfillment provider if no other party is based in the EU or NI.
For example, a company selling smart home devices in the EU must designate a local “responsible person” under the GPSR. This individual ensures the devices meet EU safety and technical standards, such as electrical and data privacy. Their name and contact information must appear on the device, packaging, or user manual. If authorities request proof of compliance, the responsible person must provide documentation showing the product meets all relevant safety regulations.
If the manufacturer isn’t based in the EU or Northern Ireland, you can:
- Request details: Ask your supplier for the EU Responsible Person’s contact information.
- Appoint a subsidiary/importer: Designate your EU or Northern Ireland subsidiary or importer to manage compliance.
- Consult experts: Reach out to your testing provider for assistance with compliance or assigning a Responsible Person.
Requirements GPSR: What’s New for Online Marketplaces?
With e-commerce growth weakening the GPSD, the new GPSR enforces stricter rules for online marketplaces. It mandates precise safety info, recall alerts, and reporting of hazardous products through the Safety Business Gateway.
Amazon and eBay are now updating their sellers on these GPSR changes.
For example, Amazon asks sellers to provide safety and warning details where necessary. If your product is safe and poses no risks, select “yes” to confirm that no warnings are needed. This helps ensure compliance with Amazon’s safety policies and regulations, like the GPSR in the EU.
If you’re uncertain whether your product needs warnings, review its safety features or consult the relevant standards to ensure compliance.
Need help selling on Amazon Europe? Check out our blog for tips on boosting your sales!
Amazon’s Guide to GPSR Compliance for EU Marketplaces
If you sell non-food products on Amazon in the EU (Spain, France, Germany, etc.), make sure your listings meet the updated General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR). Here’s what to do:
1. Appoint an EU-Based Responsible Person (RP)
Designate a person or entity in the EU to handle compliance.
2. Include Essential Information
Display manufacturer and RP contact details, along with safety warnings, on the product, packaging, documents, and your Amazon listing.
3. Update via Your Account Health Page
Access your Account Health page to check which listings need GPSR updates. Submit EU RP details, manufacturer info, and any safety documentation.
4. Use Amazon Brand Registry/Compliance Dashboard
Simplify updates and ensure information is current and accurate.
Quick Tips:
- Use proper address formatting.
- Provide info in the local languages.
- Regularly update to avoid listing removal.
Ensure your listings are compliant by visiting your Account Health page today.
Don’t delay—visit your Account Health page now to confirm your products comply with Amazon’s GPSR requirements! Want more details? Watch Amazon’s informative video.
eBays Sellers: Things to Consider About GPSR
What should you do with GPSR compliance if you are an eBay seller? Let’s start with the fact that GPSR regulations vary for eBay sellers depending on the category in which the seller is selling.
M2E Cloud provides the ability to specify GPSR information for both new and existing listings. As for existing listings, here are the benefits you, as an eBay seller, can already gain with M2E Cloud:
- Powerful Advanced Filters – Go beyond the basics! M2E Cloud lets you narrow down eBay listing searches with precision, using not only status and price but also Policies, Data Source Categories, and Attributes, giving you a custom search experience.
- Clever Groupings – Quickly pinpoint listings by marketplace, category, or policy. These groupings enhance your search filters, allowing you to manage extensive inventories with ease and efficiency.
- Time-Saving GPSR Auto-Fill – For sellers with large catalogs, entering GPSR info for each product can be tedious. M2E Cloud simplifies this by letting you complete GPSR details for an entire category just once and apply it across all relevant listings. Coming soon: GPSR mapping with Data Source attributes for a global solution, saving you even more time!
Meanwhile, here is a scoop on how to implement it by category right now:
- Add GPSR Details – A list of categories where your products are already listed will appear. Select the category you want, click Specifics to enter GPSR details for that specific category, then Save and apply the mass action.
- Select Products – Identify the products you want to update with GPSR info. Use filters and groupings to find the proper listings quickly.
- Mass Actions – Go to Mass Actions > Change Settings > Change Primary Category to initiate the update process.
Accident Reporting in GPSR
The updated GPSR requires immediate reporting of product-related accidents, especially those causing death or serious harm. Online marketplaces follow different rules, with a lower threshold for reporting, ensuring consistency in safety reporting practices.
For example, suppose a faulty blender sold by a manufacturer malfunctions and causes serious injury, such as deep cuts to a consumer’s hand. In that case, the manufacturer or importer must immediately report the accident through the Safety Business Gateway.
GPSR Compliance: Key Steps for Product Recalls
The European Commission updated the General Product Safety Regulation EU (GPSR) to improve product recalls across the EU. The regulation mandates manufacturers, distributors, and importers initiate recalls, while online marketplaces must fully cooperate to remove dangerous products from the market swiftly.
The GPSR ensures consistency and efficiency in protecting consumers through legally binding recall procedures. It also includes clear guidelines for recall notices, with the EC refining a template for broader use.
For instance, if a kitchen blender is found to have faulty blades that could cause injury, the manufacturer must immediately recall the product under GPSR rules.
How New Technologies are Shaping GPSR Compliance
Key safety considerations include:
- Impact on Other Products: How a product interacts with connected devices.
- Cybersecurity: Ensuring protection against digital threats.
- Advanced Functionalities: Assessing evolving, AI-driven capabilities.
For example, if a smart home thermostat is updated with new AI features, the entity making those updates would be accountable for its compliance with GPSR standards.
Understanding Safety Gate: Essential Tool for Product Safety
New rules are also being developed to improve the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System.
For example, a consumer who buys a faulty hair dryer that overheats could report the issue through the Safety Gate platform. The automated system would then flag this concern and forward it to the relevant authorities in the consumer’s country without checking if the claim is genuine. From there, local authorities could investigate the report and take appropriate action if the product poses a safety risk. This process ensures that potential hazards are quickly identified and addressed across EU Member States.
GPSR Penalties: What Sellers Need to Know
Initial drafts of the GPSR suggested imposing fines of up to 4% of a company’s annual turnover for non-compliance. However, the final version takes a different approach, requiring penalties to be “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive” while allowing each EU Member State to determine the specific penalties. This flexibility enables countries to tailor fines based on their legal frameworks, ensuring companies are held accountable while adapting to local enforcement standards.
FAQ: How do I add GPSR Compliance to My Products?
M2E Cloud is up-to-date and ready to help you succeed. M2E Cloud can help Amazon and eBay sellers comply with the new GPSR EU requirements by streamlining product management and ensuring easy integration of compliance features. Key benefits include:
- Automated Data Management: M2E Cloud automates the organization of product safety data, making it easy to upload and manage compliance information, such as safety warnings, labeling, and recall notices, in line with GPSR standards.
- Centralized Control: Sellers can manage all product listings across Amazon and eBay from a single platform, ensuring that any updates to meet GPSR regulations are consistently applied across all channels.
- Seamless Traceability: With built-in inventory tracking and order management, M2E Cloud simplifies the traceability requirements of the GPSR, helping sellers quickly track, recall, or withdraw unsafe products when necessary.
- Efficient Handling of Recalls: M2E Cloud can help automate the recall process, ensuring that sellers meet the new strict recall procedures, including notification templates required by the GPSR, while keeping consumers informed.
By integrating with M2E Cloud, sellers can simplify compliance with the new regulations while focusing on growth and customer satisfaction. Explore detailed GPSR compliance guides for eBay and Amazon.
Conclusion
The new GPSR brings fundamental changes for Amazon and eBay sellers in the EU and Northern Ireland. This regulation outlines laws on product safety, labeling, and marketing to safeguard consumers. Staying up-to-date with these rules is key to keeping your business compliant and competitive in the EU market. For the latest insights and updates, check out our blog!
