A trading name of A Star Supply · ContactA trading name of A Star Supply · ContactThere is no small-seller exemption and no exemption by product value. The exclusions in the General Product Safety Regulation are narrow and specific. Here they are, with the article or official guidance each comes from.
That is the whole of Article 2(2). The Commission's guidelines repeat the same list and add nothing to it.
Article 3(28) defines antiques as products, such as collectors' items or works of art, in relation to which consumers cannot reasonably expect that they fulfil state-of-the-art safety standards.
Recital 18 tightens that, to stop other products being mistaken for antiques: works of art are products created solely for artistic purposes; collectors' items are of sufficient rarity and historical or scientific interest to justify their collection and preservation; and antiques that are neither are of an extraordinary age. The same recital says Annex IX to Council Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive, could be taken into account when assessing this.
An old-looking item, or a handmade one, is not an antique because it is old-looking or handmade.
Article 2(1) says the GPSR applies to products insofar as there are no specific provisions with the same objective under EU law regulating their safety. Where products are subject to specific EU safety requirements, the GPSR applies only to the aspects, risks or categories of risk those requirements do not cover.
For products under EU harmonisation legislation, Article 2(1) switches off Chapter II for the risks that legislation covers, and switches off Chapter III Section 1, Chapters V and VII and Chapters IX to XI entirely.
The guidelines give examples of products fully inside the GPSR because no specific EU legislation covers them: childcare articles, gymnastic equipment and furniture. They also note that the duties on online marketplaces apply even to products that do have specific safety requirements elsewhere.
This is a partial carve-out, not an exemption. A CE-marked product can still be inside the GPSR for the risks its own legislation does not address.
Article 2(3) says the regulation applies to products placed or made available on the market whether new, used, repaired or reconditioned. The one carve-out is for products that have to be repaired or reconditioned before use, where they are placed or made available on the market and clearly marked as such.
The guidelines say the obligations apply fully to second-hand, refurbished and reconditioned products, including repaired ones placed on the market by an economic operator, but not to self-repairs done by consumers.
Article 51 says Member States shall not impede the making available on the market of products covered by Directive 2001/95/EC which conform with that Directive and were placed on the market before 13 December 2024.
The guidelines put the practical consequence plainly: the new requirements to affix certain traceability and product safety information do not apply to products placed on the market before 13 December 2024. They also say placing on the market means the very first making available on the EU market, and that this is determined at the level of every specific unit.
So this is a question about each unit, not about a product line or a listing.
Article 4 says a product offered for sale online or through other distance sales is treated as made available on the market if the offer is targeted at consumers in the EU, which happens where the seller directs its activities to one or more Member States by any means. Recital 21 and the guidelines weigh the countries you ship to, the languages of the offer and ordering process, the payment methods, and the currency or domain name used.
Etsy tells sellers the rules cover all EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Northern Ireland, and apply to sellers it classes as traders wherever they are based.
Great Britain is outside. OPSS guidance says the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 continue to apply to products placed on the GB market, and that in Northern Ireland those 2005 regulations were superseded by Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on 13 December 2024.
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No. The European Commission's guidelines say the obligations of the GPSR are relevant for all sizes of business. The guidelines were written to help SMEs and micro-enterprises comply, not to exempt them.
Article 2(2) excludes medicinal products, food, feed, living plants and animals and GMOs in contained use, animal by-products, plant protection products, ride-on or travel equipment operated by a service provider, certain aircraft, and antiques. Nothing else is on the list.
The definitions cover them. Article 3(1) covers items supplied whether for consideration or not, and Article 3(6) covers supply in the course of a commercial activity whether in return for payment or free of charge.
Yes. Article 2(3) applies it to new, used, repaired and reconditioned products. The exception is products that must be repaired or reconditioned before use and are clearly marked as such.
Article 51 says Member States must not impede the making available of products covered by the old Directive 2001/95/EC that conformed with it and were placed on the market before 13 December 2024. The Commission says placing on the market is judged for each individual unit.
No. OPSS guidance says the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 apply to products placed on the Great Britain market. In Northern Ireland the EU regulation replaced them on 13 December 2024.
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