Any Canadian eBay LEGO sellers here? I'm extremely confused about the new July 8 CPSC/eBay requirements
Any Canadian eBay LEGO sellers here? I'm extremely confused about the new July 8 CPSC/eBay requirements
Hi everyone,
I'm a Canadian eBay seller selling primarily LEGO (roughly half new, half used). Only about 20% of my inventory is pre-2008. Around 90% of my sales go to U.S. buyers, 9% to Canadian buyers, and 1% internationally, so these changes are a huge deal for me.
I've been researching this extensively by reading the CPSC FAQs, eBay's guidance, Reddit, the eBay Canada forums, and by contacting eBay support. Despite all of that, there is still very little clear information out there. At this point, I honestly don't know if the information I've found is correct, complete, or even true. It seems like everyone has a different answer.
Unfortunately, eBay support hasn't been very helpful for me beyond a few points.
A friend of mine who also contacted eBay support was told the following:
- Used/opened retired LEGO sets generally don't require uploading a new CPC/GCC document for eBay's listing visibility, as long as the listing is completed correctly (condition, intended age range, vintage/used item specifics, etc.).
- Factory-sealed retired LEGO sets should be listed as Brand New, with wording such as "New Old Stock (NOS)" and "Factory Sealed" in the title and/or description.
- They were told that this satisfies eBay's own visibility requirements.
That said, I have no idea if this information is actually correct. There is so little information available that I'm hesitant to rely on anything until I hear from people with first-hand experience or official sources.
From everything I've read, it also seems like eBay's listing visibility requirements and the actual CPSC/CBP customs requirements when importing into the U.S. may be two separate issues, which makes this even more confusing.
I'm honestly extremely worried. I wish there were a simple, official step-by-step guide that explained everything, for example:
- Exactly which LEGO sets actually require CPC/GCC documentation.
- Which age ratings are affected (12 and under? 13+? 14+?).
- Whether used sets are treated differently than sealed sets.
- Whether retired sets are treated differently.
- Exactly how to obtain the required documents.
- Exactly what needs to be changed in the title, description, item specifics, and age range.
- Whether anything needs to be added or changed on customs forms, commercial invoices, or HTS codes.
- Whether sellers using eBay International Shipping or eBay's UPS labels need to do anything different.
- Whether this applies differently to LEGO, Funko Pops, or other collectible toys.
If anyone has specific information about LEGO, Funko Pops, or toys in general, I'd really appreciate it. Especially if you've spoken directly with eBay Regulatory Compliance, LEGO, UPS, CBP, the CPSC, a customs broker, or you've already gone through this process yourself.
At this point I'm just trying to figure out exactly what we're supposed to do so our listings remain visible to U.S. buyers and our shipments don't run into customs issues.
Any help, clarification, or first-hand experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!