German E-commerce Platform Otto Phases in Seller Onboarding Across Multiple European Countries

According to foreign media reports, Otto, one of Germany's largest domestic e-commerce platforms (part of the Otto Group founded in 1949, with operations in over 30 countries, more than 11.5 million active users, and millions of SKUs covering categories like apparel, home goods, and 3C products) has officially begun implementing its opening plan announced in February. The platform is phasing in seller onboarding permissions for merchants from multiple European countries.

Currently, sellers from the Netherlands can submit applications to join. A pilot program for Polish sellers will launch in June. Within this year, Otto will also successively open up seller qualifications for Austria, France, Spain, and Denmark. The platform will gradually grant integration permissions to sellers from different countries and selected legal entities to ensure a smooth onboarding process.

It is reported that this opening grants access for eight major product categories, including: beauty and personal care, dietary supplements, and daily chemical products; electronics, digital goods, audio-visual entertainment, home appliances, and office supplies; fashion items such as apparel, bags, luggage, jewelry, and watches; home products like furniture, home furnishings, textiles, and soft decorations; lifestyle supplies including gardening, hardware tools, and pet supplies; health products for daily medical assistance; storable foods like coffee, snacks, and condiments; and leisure goods such as maternal and baby products, sports, outdoor, and toys.

The onboarding rules set differentiated qualification requirements for sellers based on their place of registration. German-registered businesses must possess a valid German business license and a German VAT identification number. Small-scale sellers who do not meet the requirements of Section 19 of the German VAT Act are currently unable to join. Dutch-registered businesses must have a B.V., N.V., or V.O.F. type business qualification, a valid Dutch VAT number, and must participate in the OSS declaration procedure using their Dutch VAT number. For the Polish seller pilot program starting in June, participating companies must have a Sp. z o.o., S.A., or Sp.j. type business qualification, a valid Polish VAT number, and must participate in the OSS declaration procedure using their Polish VAT number.

Additionally, all onboarded sellers must provide customer service in German, ship from warehouses located in Germany or the EU, and accept returns at designated warehouses in Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Spain, or the Czech Republic.

Regarding fees, Otto's charges include three categories: a monthly store usage fee of ?99.9, a commission on each successful transaction, and a 2.7% payment processing fee.