GPSR for US and Canadian sellers shipping to the EU: what each listing must show

GPSR is the EU's General Product Safety Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/988, and its Article 19 sets what every online offer to EU buyers must show: the manufacturer's name and contact details, an EU-based responsible person when the manufacturer is outside the EU, an image and identifiers for the product, and warnings and safety information in the buyer's language. eBay has applied GPSR to business sellers' listings for buyers in the EU and Northern Ireland since 13 December 2024. A seller in the US or Canada who ships to EU buyers meets GPSR through each of those listings, whatever the number of products.

What is GPSR?

GPSR, the General Product Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/988), is the EU law on the safety of consumer products sold to buyers in the EU through any channel, online included. GPSR covers the product itself and, through Article 19, what an online listing must show before an EU buyer can order.

This page is written for sellers based in the US and Canada. Some products, such as toys and cosmetics, carry further EU rules on top of GPSR, and the sections below name them.

What does GPSR require on an online listing?

Article 19 of GPSR covers distance sales, which includes every online listing, and asks that the offer show the following clearly and visibly:

A buyer must be able to see each GPSR item before buying, on the listing itself or one click away.

Does GPSR apply to US and Canadian sellers?

Yes, when the seller's listings reach buyers in the EU and the seller ships to them. GPSR covers consumer products sold to buyers in the EU through any channel. On eBay, the GPSR requirement applies to business sellers listing items for sale in the EU and Northern Ireland, from 13 December 2024, and eBay's wording has no small-seller exemption.

Some categories are covered by separate EU rules and sit outside GPSR on eBay, among them medicinal products, food and feed, living animals and plants, pesticides, antiques, and items clearly sold for repair or recycling. GPSR applies to what a seller sells to EU buyers; US and Canadian rules still apply to what the seller sells at home.

Who is the EU responsible person under GPSR?

The EU responsible person is a business established in the EU that holds a product's safety information and can act for the product with EU authorities. A listing needs a responsible person when the manufacturer is outside the EU, which covers a US or Canadian maker and a product made outside the EU with no EU importer named.

eBay describes the GPSR responsible person requirement this way: if the manufacturer is outside the EU or Northern Ireland, provide "an EU-based Responsible Person or entity, along with their name and contact details". eBay notes that it works with third-party providers who offer responsible person services, while staying independent of them.

Four steps give a product an EU responsible person:

1. Check the packaging. If an EU importer or responsible person is already named on the product's packaging, use those details.
2. Appoint a responsible person if none is named. Service providers offer the role for sellers outside the EU; choose one and agree in writing what the provider holds for you.
3. Give the responsible person what the role needs: the product's technical information, test reports and any declarations of conformity.
4. Put the responsible person's details in every listing that reaches EU buyers.

A responsible person is not the same as a shipping or fulfilment company. The responsible person has specific duties for the product's safety, and a shipping or fulfilment company takes them on only if it agrees to. A name in a listing with no agreement behind it does not meet GPSR.

Which product identifiers and images does GPSR need?

GPSR asks that a listing let a buyer and an authority identify the product exactly: an image, the product type, and identifiers such as a model number, a batch or serial number, or a barcode. eBay asks for the model number, images and type, and for the model, serial, batch, EAN or UPC, year and brand or manufacturer in the item specifics.

For most sellers, GPSR identifiers are already printed on the product or its box. The work is making sure each identifier reaches the listing and that the listing image shows the actual product. A clear photo of the label with the model and batch, alongside the main image, makes identification easy for a buyer and for an authority alike.

What language do GPSR warnings need?

GPSR warnings and safety information must be in a language the buyer can easily understand, as decided by each EU country where the product is sold. eBay asks for "Product safety and compliance information like warnings and safety information", in the local language. A seller who ships to France and Germany needs the warnings in French and German.

• Translate the warnings, not only the title. A choking warning in English alone does not meet GPSR for a buyer in France.
• Show the safety label. eBay has sellers upload safety information and documents with the listing.
• Include the CE marking where the product needs one; eBay lists CE marking among the information to provide.

Some product types carry further EU rules. Toys sold to the EU need CE marking and warnings in the buyer's language under the Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC), and the new Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 adds a digital product passport, most of it from 1 August 2030. Cosmetics need a named responsible person and a notification under Regulation (EC) 1223/2009. The toy rules and the cosmetics and skincare rules cover both.

How do eBay and Amazon collect GPSR details?

eBay and Amazon each have fields for GPSR details, and both ask for the same facts in different places.

Sellers on Amazon's European forum report saved GPSR entries going missing and warnings about deactivating large numbers of listings without them. A GPSR record kept outside the marketplace makes re-entry quick if a marketplace loses the details.

Does GPSR apply to a Shopify store?

Yes, when the Shopify store ships to the EU. The same Article 19 information applies to the store's product pages: the manufacturer, the EU responsible person, identifiers and an image, and warnings in the buyer's language. Add the GPSR details to each product page, or to a clearly linked page, for every product the store ships to the EU.

What goes wrong with GPSR for online sellers?

The GPSR problems sellers meet most are practical rather than legal:

• Details entered once and lost. Sellers on Amazon's European forum describe saved GPSR entries going missing.
• A responsible person in name only, with no agreement or product information behind the name.
• English-only warnings on listings shown to buyers in other EU countries.
• Old listings left out. GPSR applies to every listing that reaches EU buyers, not only new listings.
• Product details that differ between marketplaces, so the model or batch on eBay does not match the one on Amazon.

Do EU rules on green claims apply to listings too?

Yes. Since 27 September 2026, the EU's rules against vague environmental claims apply under Directive (EU) 2024/825. Words such as "eco-friendly" or "green" without proof are a risk on any listing that reaches EU buyers.

What should a GPSR record hold for each product?

A GPSR record for each product, kept outside any marketplace, fills eBay's fields, Amazon's fields and a store's product page from one place.

1. Manufacturer: name, trade name, postal address, email or website.
2. EU responsible person: name, postal address, email.
3. Identifiers: model, batch or serial, barcode.
4. A clear product image.
5. Warnings and safety information, translated into the languages of the countries you sell to.
6. CE marking and declaration of conformity, where the product needs them.
7. Test reports and technical information, held by you and your responsible person.

What are the first steps to GPSR compliance?

Six steps bring a US or Canadian seller's EU listings in line with GPSR:

1. List the products sold to EU buyers.
2. Check each package for an EU importer or responsible person.
3. Appoint a responsible person for the products without one.
4. Collect identifiers, warnings and documents into one GPSR record per product.
5. Translate the warnings into the languages of the countries you ship to.
6. Fill the marketplace fields, starting with your best sellers.

A GPSR checklist for each listing

1. Manufacturer details shown.
2. EU responsible person shown, if the manufacturer is outside the EU.
3. Product image, type and identifiers shown.
4. Warnings and safety information in the buyer's language.
5. CE marking where required.
6. Category rules checked: toys, cosmetics, electronics and others.
7. The GPSR record kept up to date.

How Commicorn helps

• Your labels, as printed. On the Untouched product route the pixels of your photo are never redrawn, so the safety label and CE marking on your product stay exactly as printed.
• One set of facts for every marketplace, so the identifiers in your eBay item specifics match the rest of the listing.
• Listing copy in French, for French-speaking markets you choose, written and checked in French. The words on listing images are in English for now.

Commicorn never redraws your safety labels on Untouched product, and keeps one set of facts for every marketplace. Start free.

Questions sellers ask

Do small sellers need to follow GPSR?

eBay's GPSR requirement applies to all business sellers listing items for sale in the EU and Northern Ireland, and its wording has no small-seller exemption.

Do I need an EU responsible person if I sell from the US?

Yes, for products whose manufacturer is outside the EU and has no EU importer named. GPSR asks for an EU-based responsible person with name and contact details in the listing.

Do GPSR warnings have to be in every EU language?

GPSR warnings must be in the language of each EU country where the product is sold, as that country decides, so a seller shipping to France and Germany needs French and German warnings.

What if the manufacturer of my product no longer exists?

eBay notes there is no specific GPSR exemption for a manufacturer that no longer exists, so the product still needs someone who can act as its responsible person.

When did GPSR start applying to eBay listings?

eBay has applied GPSR to business sellers' listings for buyers in the EU and Northern Ireland since 13 December 2024.