Starting July 1, 2022, all eBay sellers who ship orders to Germany must abide by the German Packaging Act (also known as VerpackG or German EPR Law). These regulations focus on sustainability and help to prevent and manage waste. As a marketplace operator, eBay is legally required to verify the compliance and impose restrictions on non-compliant sellers.
The German Packaging Act requires every distributor who uses packaging for their products and sells them to end consumers in Germany to abide by a set of rules. Since July 1, 2022, these regulations also apply to all eBay sellers shipping orders to German buyers
The Packaging Act affects business sellers whose items end up with private consumers in Germany. This includes packaging your items and shipping them as well as importing already-packaged items into Germany.
The Packaging Act concerns all packaging that ultimately ends up with the German end user and that will need to be disposed of by them. The overall term used here is “sales packaging” and this means:
Product packaging
Shipment packaging
(including filling and cushioning materials)
Service packaging
(for example carrier bags or coffee-to-go cups).
It doesn’t matter what material the packaging is made of because all packaging has to be licensed – including cardboard, plastic, and glass.
The Packaging Act concerns all packaging that ultimately ends up with the German end user and that will need to be disposed of by them. The overall term used here is “sales packaging” and this means:
(including filling and cushioning materials)
(for example carrier bags or coffee-to-go cups).
It doesn’t matter what material the packaging is made of because all packaging has to be licensed – including cardboard, plastic, and glass.
To license their packaging with a dual system waste management provider
To register in the German packaging register LUCID run by the central authority Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR)
To report the name of the dual system and licensed packaging volumes to LUCID
eBay is legally obligated to verify sellers’ compliance and apply selling restrictions to those who don’t abide by this law. They won’t be able to list their items on ebay.de, and regardless of what eBay site they list on, the new regulations will apply with respect to buyers with German addresses.
In order to be compliant with these regulations, you’ll need to complete these steps before July 1:
We’ve partnered with Lizenzero who offers a straightforward way to license your packaging using Interseroh+ (a licensing fee will be required).
Enter the name of your dual system, as well as your packaging quantities into LUCID to receive your LUCID ID number.
To facilitate the registration process, eBay has brought in its experienced partner Lizenzero. If you are not yet compliant with the German EPR law, Lizenzero offers a straightforward way to license your packaging digitally using the Interseroh + system. You can learn more on Lizenzero’s eBay service page.
How to register your packaging according to the German EPR law:
License your packaging with Interseroh+ via Lizenzero
Register in LUCID and get your EPR number. Lizenzero lets you open an account without the number, but it should be provided as soon as possible.
Enter the packaging volumes you have licensed and your dual system into the LUCID Packaging Register.
To register in LUCID, you need to provide:
The German EPR law is meant to reduce packaging waste and improve recycling rates. Compliance with these regulations ensures more sustainability in e-commerce.
Here’s how you add your Lucid number to your eBay account :
Go to the Account > Click here
Select Business Information in the Personal Information and privacy section (you may be prompted to log in again).
Go to the Business details section and select Add next to the Lucid ID field.
Enter your Lucid ID and click Save.
You’ll see the confirmation that your Lucid ID has been stored
Here’s how you add your Lucid number to your eBay account :
Go to the Account > Click here
Select Business Information in the Personal Information and privacy section (you may be prompted to log in again).
Go to the Business details section and select Add next to the Lucid ID field.
Enter your Lucid ID and click Save.
You’ll see the confirmation that your Lucid ID has been stored
No, but you have to add the LUCID ID to the corresponding text field.
