Hi, I wanted to ask if you think about opening the EU Shop again soon. I really really like your design, and would buy something in a hardiest, but sadly the EU Shop/Etsy only says that the soo is closed. I don't want to pressure you into opening again (I know EU shipping regulations are fun) but just want to know if you're planning something regarding EU shipping right now.
I honestly am not sure if myself or many others will be able to open an EU shop anytime soon. I get this ask every so often; so, I guess I'll elaborate more on why me and many other shops have stopped shipping to the EU and UK. This is my experience and understanding of the situation as a non EU small business. Thank you for asking so politely, I am happy to explain. I hope that this will be helpful.
A few years back they started requiring non EU selling countries to apply and maintain a selling license in order to ship items to the EU. At that time it was quoted to be about 1000 usd per year for the license. As you can imagine, the average small business could not afford this. There wasn't enough info on how, where, or how much and that lack of organization made many people close their EU shop or risk hefty fines and fees for doing something wrong.
Why start requiring a license? The simple answer is VAT numbers. These are needed to "appropriately" tax certain items and people. Everything that is ever shipped and has to go through customs receives what is called a "Harmonized Tariff Schedule" which is basically a code breaking down/classifying the item into what it is, what it's used for, who uses it, and what is it made of. Each HTS item has a different percentage applied that it is taxed for (tariffs and duties). Having a license for the EU ties the seller to the items via the HTS and the VAT taxes they must pay as well as a unique IOSS code for their shop. (The IOSS code tells border customs if the VAT had already been paid or not.) Some websites like Etsy could act as the middleman and provide small businesses with that. However, even Etsy hit a wall in Dec of 2024.
At the end of 2024 the EU started requiring a "EU Authorized Representative" and certifications on top of the licenses. This was refereed to as the "GPSR compliance". A representative in this situation is someone within the EU that can be a point of contact for every business and provide all the necessary certifications. We've all seen poor quality products make their way into our hands. This was supposedly to ensure products are safe for use and up to code (which isn't a bad thing). The problem for non EU sellers is that they had to start paying an authorized representative 600-5000usd per year just to be a contact point and certify certain products they sold. For example, If I made some 20cm plushies I would need to pay a minimum of 200usd for UKCA and CE testing. So even companies like Etsy could not provide this for individual sellers. The best they could do was make every listing made before Dec 13th of 2024 exempt from this. Everything after this date was and is at the mercy of the GPSR.
In the end all of these costs add up. Is some of this information different and irrelevant now? Yes, but the rate it was and is changing on top of the lack of transparency for International sellers is scary. Especially when small businesses cannot afford a surprise bill of 1000 dollars. So license fees, an authorized representative, and certification fees just to sell within the EU have snuffed out small businesses trying to sell to the EU and UK (the UK does its own thing though after breaking away from the EU, but that's a whole different bag of beans).
"But I've seen so and so's business sell to the EU". Yes, though there are some specifics to that. But it boils down to people marking sold products as gifts (this can get you into some real hot water. I do not recommend) or the value of the package/contents reaching certain requirements such as value and materials. This is all so much for small shops to figure out on top of the absolute madness of tariffs that happened in 2025. Most of us are waiting for clear and transparent instructions or guidelines to all of this. But even then, the costs would will almost always outweigh any income made from selling to the EU unless you where an established business. At that point you aren't a small business. I was personally overwhelmed by all of this and dealing with medical issues most of 2025. I simply could not keep up with all the changes.
I think a lot of people are left in the dark by what is going on both here and there. It's such a hard thing to articulate because there are so many loose ends and muddled areas. The safest thing most small businesses that actually look into and try to understand this mess is to just not sell to the EU for the time being. I'm in that boat and I really wish I could share what I make with my friends in the EU. But a 2000 dollar fine could ruin me. I just hope that things will change and I will be able to once more with confidence and appropriately offer my stuff to EU friends. I just gotta survive until then.
Thank you again for asking this so respectfully. I hope this information was helpful (sorry if it was rather long winded). This will be helpful I think for a lot of people to know.
Disclosure: Do not use any of this information as a base for your own business practices. This is not advice. It is just my experience trying to navigate what has been an extremely sloppy roll out of policies on all sides. If you are a small business you must look into the specifics for yourself. Just know that failing to do so or intentionally avoiding selling requirements for the EU can result in fines, fees, your business being banned, and legal issues. My only actual advice for all of this is to always do your research for your safety and well being.
