Sell in Europe · Route to market
Route to market: what each channel asks for
The rules are the same; the gatekeeper differs. Marketplaces check at listing time, importers before the first order, and on your own shop you are the seller of record.
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Marketplaces
Marketplaces must enable traders to supply the manufacturer's and the responsible person's details and the product identification, and consumers must see them on the listing. For regulated goods they ask for the certificates and the declaration of conformity before go-live, and they process product-safety notices within three working days, act on authority orders within two, and can suspend traders that repeatedly offer non-compliant products.
Document requests, delisting and trader suspension are the marketplace's tools; a listing can also be removed within two working days on an authority's order.
- The EU responsible person's name and address, shown on the listing
- Product identification: type, batch or serial number, a picture
- Warnings and safety information in the language of the marketplace's country
- Certificates, test reports and the declaration of conformity for regulated goods, uploaded before go-live
- A self-certification of compliance where the marketplace requires one
What solves it in Conphora
Validate every product against the regulations that apply, with a gap list per product.
Documentation generatorDeclarations of conformity, audit reports and the document packs retailers ask for, generated from your product data.
Audit & share linksShareable compliance status pages and document links for retailers and auditors.
One partner per country or region
Distributors and importers
The EU company that first places your product on the market is the importer. It may only do so after verifying that you have met your obligations, it puts its own name and address on the product, it keeps a copy of the technical documentation and it cooperates with the authorities. That is why a serious importer sends a supplier questionnaire before the first order, and why a complete file is your best sales argument.
Without a complete file the importer refuses the product, or takes on duties it cannot document — which comes back to you at the first inspection.
- Which acts apply to the product, and the evidence for each
- The technical file: risk assessment, test reports, drawings, bill of materials, standards applied
- The EU declaration of conformity and the CE marking where a CE act applies
- Label artwork with the manufacturer's and importer's details and the language sets
- Who registers for packaging, WEEE and batteries in the importer's country
What solves it in Conphora
Validate every product against the regulations that apply, with a gap list per product.
Documentation generatorDeclarations of conformity, audit reports and the document packs retailers ask for, generated from your product data.
Audit & share linksShareable compliance status pages and document links for retailers and auditors.
Selling direct to EU consumers
Your own web shop
When your offer is aimed at consumers in the EU, the product counts as made available on the market and you are the seller of record. The shop must show the manufacturer's details, the responsible person's details, the product identification and the required warnings in the language of each Member State you sell to. VAT on distance sales runs through the Import One-Stop Shop or the One-Stop Shop, and in a recall you must notify affected consumers directly and offer a remedy.
Authorities can require documents, order withdrawal or recall, and have the online interface removed or a warning displayed where no other means eliminates a serious risk.
- An EU responsible person, shown on the product page and on the product
- Product information, warnings and instructions per language
- IOSS or OSS registration for VAT on distance sales (a pointer, not guidance)
- A returns process and a recall procedure that reaches every buyer you can identify
- Accident reporting through the Safety Business Gateway when the manufacturer is outside the EU
What solves it in Conphora
Validate every product against the regulations that apply, with a gap list per product.
Documentation generatorDeclarations of conformity, audit reports and the document packs retailers ask for, generated from your product data.
Recall managerRun a structured product recall from first alert to closure, with a full audit trail.
How Conphora helps
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Regulation pages, the glossary, this guide and the free compliance checker. No account.
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Reviewed 10 September 2026 by Conphora compliance team
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