Shipping for European E-commerce Sellers

IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) is the EU VAT scheme for B2C sellers shipping goods under €150 to EU consumers from outside the EU. If your total EU cross-border sales exceed €10,000/year, IOSS registration is required. Platforms like Etsy and Amazon handle IOSS for their marketplace sales — but your own Shopify or WooCommerce store requires your own IOSS registration.

For economy EU road: GLS is typically the cheapest, followed by DPD. For B2C residential with notification: DPD (DPD Predict 1-hour window). For express EU: DHL Express and UPS Express Saver are comparable. For international (USA, UK): DHL Express or FedEx. Always compare live on Cargosender for your specific parcel dimensions and destination.

No — for shipments between EU member states, no customs declarations or commercial invoices are required. The EU single market means free movement of goods. Commercial invoices are only required for shipments to non-EU destinations: UK (post-Brexit), USA, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, Norway, etc.

Germany's LUCID packaging register requires all sellers shipping packaged goods to German consumers to register and pay into Germany's packaging recycling system. This applies to all European e-commerce sellers — regardless of where you are based. Register at lucid.verpackungsregister.org. Non-compliance carries fines up to €200,000.