EU product identifiers become mandatory for imports from 1 November

The EU's product identifier rule for low-value imports starts on 1 November 2026². From that date, eBay sellers shipping goods into the EU from outside the bloc must give Product Identifiers (PIDs) for shipments of €150 or less, according to eBay¹. The European Commission gives the same mandatory date². No source reviewed for this article gives the share of products in a supplier catalogue that carry an EAN, so a reseller has to measure that share supplier by supplier before ordering.

What changes on 1 November 2026

Product Identifiers will be required for distance sales of goods into the EU from 1 November 2026, according to eBay's help page on the change¹. The European Commission's DG TAXUD notice, published 3 November 2026, sets the same dates: 1 July 2026 is when operators could start providing identifiers voluntarily, and 1 November 2026 is when the requirement becomes mandatory and is enforced².

The Commission says the identifiers let customs authorities trace a specific product, and that if one product is found to be non-compliant or dangerous, customs can extend that result to similar products sold by other sellers or on other platforms².

The identifier rule sits alongside a temporary €3 customs duty per item on low-value consignments of €150 or less, which applies from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028³. Value Added Resource reports that almost 5.9 billion low-value ecommerce items entered the EU in 2025 and that targeted inspections found more than 60% of checked products in cosmetics, toys and electronics failed EU standards⁶.

Does the rule apply to every order value?

On eBay's wording, the requirement covers only EU distance sales where the total value of the shipment does not exceed €150¹. Shipments within the EU are not affected¹.

Value Added Resource, reporting in October 2026, says PID information is required for items shipped from outside the EU to buyers in the bloc “regardless of item value”⁶. It also says the new fields were added to the H1, H6 and H7 customs declaration datasets, “meaning the requirement is not limited to packages worth €150 or less”⁶. That conflicts with eBay's €150 limit¹.

This article follows eBay's wording, which ties the requirement to the €150 threshold¹. The Commission's notice² does not state that threshold. Sellers with shipments above €150 should confirm the scope with eBay or their carrier before relying on either reading¹.

Which identifier applies to which product?

Each covered product needs up to three identifiers: a marketplace reference, a manufacturer code and, where one exists, a standard barcode number^1,2.

eBay says an internal inventory SKU “is not necessarily a recognized standardized identifier”¹. It also tells sellers not to create or guess a GTIN, EAN, UPC, ISBN or MPN for an item that lacks one¹. The Commission says that in most cases the identifiers already exist in the supply chain, for example on listings, invoices or packaging, so no new data needs to be created².

How much of a supplier list will match by EAN before buying?

No source reviewed for this article gives an EAN match rate for any supplier catalogue or platform.

For the wholesale side of this check, eany.io works with 300+ EU suppliers and sets a €300 minimum for the whole order, with no minimum per supplier⁴. Its about page describes its product data as “matched by EAN” and names Samsung, Fiskars and Tefal among its brands⁴. Qogita, the other wholesale marketplace in this comparison, lets each supplier set its own minimum order, according to a secondary review by FBA Mogul⁵.

On these sources, the two platforms set minimums in different ways: Eany's is per order, while Qogita's is set by each supplier. That affects what a test order costs, not only what a catalogue contains.

Which stock is most exposed?

eBay's help page says that used, vintage, antique, handmade, collectible or unlabelled items “may not have a separate manufacturer or standardized identifier”¹. Value Added Resource warns that the rules “may be difficult or impossible to provide” for some used, vintage and one-of-a-kind goods⁶. It also says eBay has not explained what sellers should enter when a manufacturer-level identifier does not exist⁶.

No source gives a category-by-category breakdown of EAN coverage or PID exposure.

What this means for sellers

Analysis. The two notices agree on the date and purpose, so sellers can plan around 1 November 2026^1,2. The open question is scope, because eBay's €150 limit and the “regardless of item value” reading⁶ point in different directions.

Illustrative scenarios, not reported cases. A reseller buying mostly branded, barcoded goods should expect most lines to carry an S-PID and an NS-PID, so the main job is checking listing data. A reseller buying used or unlabelled stock may need to drop those lines, or accept that they cannot be declared with a valid identifier. A reseller who ships only under €150 has a narrower exposure, if eBay's wording is confirmed for their route¹.

Suggested check before a first order (the writer's advice, not from a source). Take a sample of 50 to 100 SKUs from each supplier's catalogue file, check each for an EAN, GTIN, UPC or ISBN, and record the share that have one. Repeat this for every supplier, because the answer varies by catalogue. Keep the minimum-order terms of each platform in the same sheet, since a per-supplier minimum and a per-order minimum produce different test costs.

Whether a marketplace accepts a product or invoice is up to that marketplace. No supplier, platform or this article can guarantee acceptance, and this applies to every supplier discussed here.

What to watch next

• eBay says “more guidance will be added to this page as it becomes available”¹. A new version is the first signal of any change to scope or definitions.
• The Commission's notice says more comprehensive product data requirements will follow in July 2028, once the EU Customs Data Hub for e-commerce is deployed².
• Detailed explanations are in the Commission's Guidance for Member States and Trade².
• Whether eBay or the Commission confirms the €150 limit or the “regardless of item value” reading^1,6.
• Whether any wholesale platform publishes EAN coverage by category or by supplier. No figure of that kind appears in the sources reviewed for this article.