What is the German EEE Act?
When you sell items to buyers in Germany, you must follow the requirements of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). eBay business sellers are obliged to be compliant with the Packaging Act and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive), which was implemented in Germany via the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG).
The primary goal of the legislation regulating production and sale of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) is the responsibility of sellers and manufacturers for their product and its components life cycle, including recycling and disposal. It’s an essential condition for conserving raw materials, limiting greenhouse gas emission, and climate protection.
eBay has a legal obligation to ensure that all its B2C sellers in scope of these regulations are compliant with the Packaging Act, and for those selling electrical and electronic equipment, also with the EEE Act. Once you have registered with the respective authorities, you will receive a license and so-called "Lucid Number" for packaging waste and a “WEEE number” for electronic waste. If you do not submit your Lucid number or your WEEE number to your eBay account, eBay will be legally required to remove your listings for the German market. This page will provide you with details of what you need to do in relation to the EEE Act.
Who is affected by the German EEE Act?
You will need to fulfill compliance requirements and submit your WEEE number to eBay if:
- you are considered a producer or importer under the EEE Act and
- you list electrical and electronic equipment within the scope of the Act at eBay and
- your items will end up with private consumers in Germany
If you do not have a branch in Germany, you must appoint an authorized representative to be responsible for fulfilling your legal obligations as a producer in Germany. This authorized representative needs to be registered with the Foundation for registration of electrical and old appliances (Stiftung Elektro-Altgeräte Register, Stiftung EAR) and would apply for the necessary registrations on your behalf.
The WEEE number, which will be stored on eBay, indicates the manufacturer number assigned to those who place an EEE on the market for the first time after successfully registering in the EAR system. The valid WEEE numbers consist of a country code and a sequence of 8 numbers (for example, DE 12345678).
eBay listings in the electronics category requiring a WEEE number will be removed from ebay.de, if no WEEE number has been added at account level. Once your registration number has been added and verified, you will have to relist your items. This policy applies to sales to German buyers by sellers residing in Germany as well as those selling from abroad.
What do you have to do?
- If you already have a WEEE number, please submit it to your eBay account. This way it can automatically be displayed in your listings
Submit your WEEE number now
Add WEEE number to your ebay.de account - If you don’t have a WEEE number yet, and you don’t know if you need one, check on the EAR Foundation website if you fall in scope of the law
- Manufacturers, producers or importers with a branch in Germany can register directly with the EAR Foundation or via a third party representative (Interzero)
Register directly with EAR Foundation
Reach out to a third party representative (Interzero) - Manufacturers, producers or importers without a branch in Germany need to contact an authorized representative, approved by the ear Foundation, to register their Devices in the right ear category and sub category
Learn more about authorized representatives
eBay listings in the electronics category requiring a WEEE number will be hidden on ebay.de, if no WEEE number has been added at account level. Once their registration number has been added, the listing will be displayed again.
