Online selling in Germany: the rules a foreign shop meets

Online selling in Germany as a foreign shop means meeting German rules on top of EU ones: a complete Impressum, registration in the packaging register before the first parcel, a checkout button that says the order costs money, the withdrawal notice and button, accessible pages under the BFSG, a privacy policy and cookie consent, and payment methods Germans use, above all PayPal and purchase on invoice. None of it is hard; all of it is checked, by authorities and by competitors who send warning letters.

Germany is the largest consumer market in the EU, and German shoppers buy across borders when the shop feels German enough: German text, prices with VAT, familiar payment options, clear delivery costs, and the legal pages they expect. This guide goes through what a shop from Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK or the US settles, in the order you meet it, with what each rule costs if you skip it.

Before the first order

Packaging. The Packaging Act (VerpackG) requires every business that sends packaging filled with goods to German consumers to register in the central LUCID register before it sells, and to license that packaging with a dual system that collects and recycles it. Since July 2022 this applies to shipping packaging as well, and marketplaces and fulfilment providers must check that sellers are registered. Selling without registration can lead to a sales ban and fines.

Electronics and batteries. If you sell electrical equipment or batteries, separate registers apply (stiftung ear for electrical equipment). Check before you list such products.

VAT. Distance sales to consumers in other EU countries above a combined 10,000 euros a year are taxed in the customer's country; the One-Stop Shop (OSS) lets an EU seller declare that VAT at home. Sellers from outside the EU face other rules, such as IOSS for low-value goods or a German registration. Your accountant decides which route fits; the shop has to show German VAT in its prices once German rates apply.

Product safety. Under the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), in force since 13 December 2024, products sold online to EU consumers show the manufacturer's details and, for manufacturers outside the EU, a responsible person in the EU, with safety information in German.

On every page

Fonts and scripts loaded from third-party servers are a German speciality of their own: a Munich court ruled in 2022 that loading Google Fonts from Google passed IP addresses unlawfully, and thousands of letters followed. See are Google Fonts GDPR compliant.

In the checkout

The order button. German law (section 312j of the Civil Code) requires the final button to state clearly that the order costs money, typically "zahlungspflichtig bestellen" (order with obligation to pay). A button saying only "Weiter" or "Bestellen" can leave the contract unenforceable. Right above the button the customer sees the essential features, the total price and the delivery costs.

Withdrawal. Consumers have 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract. The shop gives the withdrawal notice (Widerrufsbelehrung) and a model withdrawal form, in German. Since 19 June 2026 EU shops must also offer a withdrawal button that lets customers withdraw online as easily as they ordered; how to build one in Shopify and WooCommerce is in our withdrawal button guide.

Payment methods. German shoppers pay differently from most of Europe. In 2025 PayPal took 28.7 percent of online turnover in Germany, purchase on invoice (Kauf auf Rechnung) 26.1 percent, SEPA direct debit 14.4 percent and cards 13.7 percent, according to the EHI Retail Institute. A shop that offers only cards loses a large share of German buyers at the last step.

How these methods compare across Europe is in payment methods in Europe.

Warning letters: why Germany feels strict

In most countries a regulator enforces consumer rules. In Germany competitors and qualified associations can do it too, under the Act against unfair competition (UWG): a missing Impressum detail, a wrong order button, an incomplete withdrawal notice or tracking without consent can bring a formal warning letter (Abmahnung) demanding that you stop, sign a declaration with a penalty clause, and pay the other side's lawyer. Since a 2020 reform, some minor online information breaches by small businesses no longer carry those costs, but the letters remain common. The cheapest defence is a shop that is right from the first day.

Language, trust and delivery

Rules are the floor; trust sells. German shoppers check delivery times and costs before they add to cart, look for a German phone or email contact, read returns terms closely, and recognise trust marks such as Trusted Shops. Machine translation shows: write the German pages with a native speaker, including product names, units and the legal pages. Our multilingual website development covers how we build a shop in several languages.

Order of work for a shop that wants to start

1. Register in LUCID and license your packaging; check electronics or battery rules if they apply.
2. Ask your accountant about OSS or a German VAT registration, and set German VAT in the shop.
3. Write the German pages: Impressum, privacy policy, terms with the withdrawal notice, accessibility information.
4. Fix the checkout: the order button wording, the summary above it, the withdrawal button, PayPal and invoice payment.
5. Test the shop with a keyboard and a screen reader, in German.
6. Check cookies, fonts and scripts before launch: nothing that tracks should load before consent.

Belgium has rules of its own for foreign sellers; see selling online in Belgium. For a UK seller, Brexit adds customs and VAT steps; see selling to the EU from the UK.

Marketplaces next to your own shop

Many foreign sellers start in Germany through a marketplace before they open a German version of their own shop. Amazon.de is the largest, and Otto and Kaufland run marketplaces that are well known among German shoppers and open to sellers from other EU countries. A marketplace handles part of the checkout and the payment methods for you, but not your duties: packaging registration in LUCID, product safety information and your own Impressum on the seller profile remain yours, and marketplaces must check that you are registered before they list your products. Selling on a marketplace and in your own shop is common; keep prices, delivery terms and returns consistent between the two.

Customer service and returns in German

German shoppers expect to reach someone in German, by email and often by phone, within a working day. They return goods more often than shoppers in many other countries, especially clothing, so a clear and cheap returns route matters: a German returns address through your carrier or a fulfilment partner is worth considering once volumes grow. Write the returns page in plain German, with the 14-day period, who pays for the return, and how fast the refund comes.