10/08/2026
I never wanted to do this. I've jumped through a lot of hoops in my business over the years to prove I'm here for the long haul, that I'm not just gonna take your money and disappear, that I'm reliable. But August 12th, as it stands today, is just a bar too high for me to clear.
Last year I had to become GPSR compliant, it cost me a little over £300 plus new labelling, introducing a SKU system, hours completing safety documentation and translating information to include in every parcel in the language spoken in the recipient country. So I'm not afraid of a little extra work, and I will pay reasonable fees to keep selling to my fantastic customers in Europe. But the PPWR and EPR fees to be imposed this week? Hand on heart, I just don't make enough money sending to the EU to justify them.
My GPSR compliance immediately jumps from £300+ per year to £250+GST per COUNTRY per year. Compliance registration to each member state handled by the company that handled my GPSR files? £900+GST per year. And on top of that is recycling fees, legal fees, administration fees and more that each country gets to decide whether to charge, and set the charges at whatever they like. I simply can't compete with this.
So tomorrow I'll be closing off EU sales indefinitely. I'm hoping things change, I know the EU commission has submitted a request for changes by October, and I've seen and signed and shared the petition. But for now, August 12th is happening and I have to tap out. I'm so sorry 💔
