Do I need GPSR compliance to sell on Etsy in Europe?

Yes. Regulation (EU) 2023/988 makes no distinction between large industrial manufacturers and small artisan sellers. If you sell a non-food product to a buyer located in any EU Member State through Etsy — candles, jewellery, ceramics, clothing, wooden toys, soaps, bags, home accessories, or anything else — the GPSR applies to that sale. The determining factor is what you are selling and where the buyer is, not how you make it or how large your shop is. A one-person Etsy shop with five monthly sales is subject to the same fundamental obligations as a factory producing thousands of units.

Etsy operates as an online marketplace within the meaning of Article 22 of the GPSR, which means Etsy itself has obligations to ensure that products sold through its platform comply with safety requirements. Etsy can — and increasingly does — request safety documentation from sellers and remove listings that do not meet compliance standards. However, Etsy's obligations do not replace your own: you remain personally responsible for your products' compliance, regardless of what Etsy does or does not ask of you. If an EU market surveillance authority investigates a product you sold on Etsy, your documentation — or lack of it — is what they will assess.

As the maker of your own products, you are treated as the manufacturer under the GPSR. This means you must: conduct and document an internal risk assessment of your product (Article 9.2); keep a technical file available for 10 years from your last sale (Article 9.4); include your name, postal address, and electronic contact on your product, packaging, or an accompanying document (Article 9.6); and provide safety warnings or use instructions in the language of the buyer's country if needed for safe use. If you are based in the EU, you act as your own Responsible Person — no separate designation is needed. If you are outside the EU, you must designate an EU-based representative.

What the law says

Consequences of non-compliance