Check, country by country, what EU rules really cost you, with sources. Free, no sign-up.
Your result
Keep selling to: Germany, France and the Netherlands. Reconsider: Italy and Spain.
Yearly EU result after costsabout €512Profit from the countries worth keeping, minus the middle of each cost range and one Responsible Person (€175).
EU entry ticket: one Responsible Person, €100–250/yr, covers all countries.
This is separate from each country's packaging representative.
Sellers outside the EU must name one EU-based Responsible Person on their listings. One Responsible Person covers all EU countries. No exemption for small or handmade sellers.
After fixed costs: about €225 a year (middle of the cost range).
Strictest market. Register in LUCID yourself (free), appoint a German authorised representative, who also handles the packaging licence. Marketplaces must block your German sales without a valid LUCID number.
The rules are in force, the LUCID register is open and providers publish their prices.
Through a marketplace, French law (AGEC) makes the platform pay the packaging contribution for sellers without a French IDU. Amazon may deduct this plus a service charge from your account. The EU representative duty still formally applies to you, but in practice France via a marketplace costs little or nothing.
Own website: join Citeo (€110 flat fee under 10,000 units/yr) through a French authorised representative, then show your IDU number.
Etsy currently blocks orders over €150 from non-EU shops to France (VAT).
Own-website fees are published. For marketplace sellers the platform pays in practice, but the formal representative duty still applies and how it will be enforced is not yet clear.
No registration or fees with Verpact below 50,000 kg of packaging a year. The formal route for a non-EU representative is unclear: Verpact paused registrations from non-EU companies. Etsy does not ask for a Dutch number.
The 50,000 kg threshold is clear, but Verpact has paused registrations from non-EU companies, so the formal route for a representative is not settled.
After fixed costs: about −€235 a year (middle of the cost range).
In flux. CONAI registration is required, but whether Italy legally requires a formal representative yet is disputed, and the register was not open in August 2026. A small-trader flat regime exists when the CONAI fee is under €200. Etsy does not ask for an Italian number yet. Cost range is a typical per-country quote, not an Italy-specific one.
The register was not open in August 2026 and whether a representative is legally required yet is disputed. The cost range is a typical per-country quote, not an Italy-specific one.
After fixed costs: about −€216 a year (middle of the cost range).
If a foreign seller has no Spanish representative, the platform acts as producer for the financial and reporting duties. eBay states it registers with Ecoembes and declares for international sellers. Etsy asks for a Spanish EPR number; check your platform's EPR page.
Own website: you need a Spanish tax number (NIF), an authorised representative with a notarised power of attorney, registration in the national producer register and Ecoembes membership. Spain has no small-seller threshold.
The law lets the platform act as producer for sellers without a Spanish representative, but platforms handle this differently (eBay declares for you, Etsy asks for a Spanish number), so your cost depends on your platform.
VATEtsy collects VAT on EU orders up to €150 for you.
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