Our product safety and compliance with the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR)

At the end of 2024, a significant change in EU product safety regulation applies to most businesses with only a few exceptions. The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) comes into force on 13 December 2024, replacing the existing General Product Safety Directive.

The GPSR represents a major overhaul of the EU’s product safety framework, introducing stricter requirements and expanded obligations for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and online marketplaces.  The GPSR aims to address the challenges posed by new technologies and the global growth of e-commerce.

The main obligation on a manufacturer / seller is to supply a safe product. There is an obligation for producers and sellers to provide consumers with relevant information to enable them to:

• assess the risk inherent in a product throughout the period of its use (where such risks are not immediately obvious)
• take precautions against those risks

This in essence, means clear, legible durable warnings and instructions. If your EU based supplier of vintage and antique items (or most other products) is not adhering to GPSR regulations they are operating illegally and more importantly not taking their customers safety seriously.

Producers / sellers must allow for traceability by indicating on the product or its packaging:

• the name and address of the producer
• the product reference (in our case an assigned unique number)

Vintage items are included in that legislation but antique items are exempt.

Each new vintage item / new listing offered for sale by us after the 13th of December 2024 must contain the following information to comply with the GPSR:

• Safety information: Warning or safety information should be available on the listing and is to to be affixed to the product or to the packaging. For example: This product is made of glass  Keep out of the reach of children, it is not a toy. Any safety marks or identifiers on the products should be identified on the listing, for example CE marks. These types of marks seldom appear on our products as they are so old.
• Product identifiers to include images and a product reference number: For example our typical format is: 131224001. Showing the date the item was listed and then the number of the item listed that day. All of our listings show multiple images of the actual items you are receiving.
• Producer details in terms of the EU Product Safety Regulation, Article 19, for example: Name, address, telephone, email of the manufacturer of the item but only if the manufacturer’s registered office is not in the European Union. This will apply to very few of our items.
• The above information should be supplied in relevant languages. Fortunately with the advent of online translation services our online listings are automatically translated. We will be obligated to supply the above information in the consumers home country language in the packaging of purchased items that were first offered for sale after the 13th December 2024.

We must keep records of all items we are offering for sale along with the relevant safety information for each of those items for a period of ten years.

While the GPSR will take effect on 13 December, products already lawfully placed on the market prior to 13 December in accordance with the current General Product Safety Directive regime can remain on the market. So in the case of our online offerings only new listings created after 13th December 2024 will need to comply.

We specialise in often unique vintage and antique items. While we strive to ensure the safety and quality of our products we source and offer for sale, please note that vintage and antique items may not meet current safety standards and regulations. They were generally created before such regulations existed. If you have any concerns about safety contact us directly and we will endeavour to supply all the information you require.

All items are sold as spares / repairs / props and collectibles and are generally intended for decorative purposes only. They may contain materials or components that are not suitable for use by children or in certain environments. Customers are advised to handle these items with care and to keep them out of reach of children.

Everything we sell is on 30 day approval. If it doesn’t work for you as expected just return it for a full refund. We appreciate shopping online is sometimes difficult. We do a lot of it! We are often surprised by what we receive despite being very prudent. You can usually avoid any disappointment by fully reading product descriptions and checking all listing photos where we strive to detail any defects our vintage and antique items may have. Any less than great feedback we receive is usually as a result of customers not reading product descriptions.

European Vintage Emporium is not responsible for any injury or damage resulting from the use or misuse of our products. By purchasing from European Vintage Emporium, you acknowledge and agree to these terms and conditions. For any questions or concerns, please contact us directly.

We act as our authorised representative in relation to the GPSR. If you have any queries or issues with a product you should contact our “GPSR representative” at mail@euviem.com or write to;

Last updated 20th December 2024 – Expect further updates throughout implementation of the GPSR