Receiving a fine for products put up for sale on Ebay.de from a German office
Hello, we received a letter from the KBA because they reported some products listed for sale on eBay that did not have an approval code. I contacted eBay support and they have no reports on their side. I checked the letter by contacting the KBA itself and they confirmed that it is all true (not a scam)
These products were never sold, but I’m wondering whether it’s possible to receive a fine (still to be quantified) for products sold on eBay. From the rules I read that it has to be eBay that checks whether the listings are compliant, otherwise they will be closed:
eBay.de rules on international selling
https://www.ebay.de/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/international-trading-policy?id=4338
eBay.de rules on electronic products
All of this seemed very strange to me... so are we supposed to fear receiving fines? A competitor (at the level of a portal you all know) assured me that “external” fines are not possible on their portal... how does eBay protect us?
marioelegio
·2 years agoAccording to eBay, the person responsible for the things that are put up for sale is only the seller.
https://www.ebay.it/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/accordo-per-gli-utenti?id=4259#7.%20Condizioni%20per%20la%20messa%20in%20vendita%20degli%20oggetti
Even in Italy there is the AGCM, which could fine sellers for unfair commercial practices, in case of listings that could mislead the consumer.
Just as an example, the various headlights or LED lamps, normally sold, are almost never approved for road use. Sellers know this, but they fail to specify in the listings that those headlights and lamps can only be used outside public roads. In my opinion this is an unfair commercial practice and the listing alone could be sanctioned in any EU country.
hi
mario
etneeitaly
OP2 years agoand if I as the seller specify that the lamps are to be used only outside public roads? are they still at risk of a fine? that's the point
marioelegio
·2 years agoAs for the lamps, if you specify it, I think the listing is correct.
For other products, for safety reasons, sales are allowed only if you have certain certifications.
The problem is the scam, which many people carry out by omitting basic information.
hi
mario
vonbalden
·2 years agoThe KBA (Krafthart Bundesamt) or federal office for motor vehicles or transport
however you want to put it, is a German agency that issues approvals for vehicles and components
of vehicles for all of Germany and Europe. They speak German and, as far as I know,
you can't really speak English or Italian with them easily. In any case, it's not clear why
you would have received this unexpected report referring to items
that you supposedly owned but never sold through the platform. Are you dealing with parts of car
articles or parts for heavy vehicles maybe, intended for a specific market?
Maybe you need to explain a bit more that you've been keeping to yourself and be more thorough, don't you think?
Best regards
etneeitaly
OP2 years agoWe sell additional lights for motorcycles, the letter arrived in German and I spoke with the contact person by email, specifying that the products reported (the lights were listed on ebay.de and in fact do not have road approval but are not actually prohibited because they can be used for other purposes)
the issue is more than anything whether they can act freely in this way, shouldn't eBay be held responsible? what should I ask them for? (for now I only had them send me a confirmation email in which they themselves confirm that the reported products have not had any sales)
etneeitaly
OP2 years agoI mean, generally if the product isn’t compliant it gets closed and a warning is issued, but instead they’re bypassing eBay... talking with a lawyer (only one so far) he confirmed to me that since I’m under eBay as a listing I’m “shielded” from interventions like this, as soon as they apply the fine to me then we could act, I’d like to avoid going against a federal office though, but at this point I’d have to hire a mind that studies all the laws in the world for every product listing, I don’t know how I could act... potentially all products could be non-compliant for listing under this principle... moreover I don’t know what fine would be waiting for me...without selling anything...
vonbalden
·2 years agoLet’s say that offering unapproved products even if they’re allowed on German eBay was, on the one hand, legitimate in order to have a wider profit margin (I should point out that I don’t know what kind of business yours is or how it is regulated), but on the other hand, right now, tied as we are to Europe in a relationship of obvious subordination for every kind of activity undertaken, it is a losing strategy from the outset. Besides the KBA, Germany also has other bodies on its territory that can spring into action in the most unexpected ways through the relevant police forces. The TUV for example (umlaut), an organization that deals with testing motorcycle parts and components that must meet certain requirements to receive their approval seal. Acquaintances have been heavily fined in Germany for having motorcycle parts not approved by TUV. I wouldn’t want to add anything else, since sales have become an expensive and often counterproductive field to manage. And very complicated, because as sellers you are expected to carry on your shoulders a world of problems like Atlas did. Problems that the seller has to solve and that arise every day like mushrooms. Get out of any activity on foreign platforms. And take your time whenever possible. Best regards.
etneeitaly
OP2 years agoThank you, I can absolutely agree with you, so I’m considering removing the products on eBay Germany, but before doing that I’d like to be sure of 2 things:
Whether they can seriously issue a fine outside eBay
the type of fine
in addition to that I’d like to understand whether the problem essentially concerns the German market, I wouldn’t want to throw away months and months of work because of a possible improper practice, because one thing is certain, I haven’t made any sales of the reported products and I’d really like to understand what kind of fine they will apply to something that hasn’t even entered their territory. (with written proof issued by eBay)