European Fashion Platform About You Triples Down on Third-Party Seller Support with Three New Policies

On July 1, 2026, the European Union officially abolished the long-standing duty exemption for goods valued below 150 euros. Instead, a temporary customs duty of 3 euros will be levied per declared item for B2C goods with a value not exceeding 150 euros. Furthermore, a processing fee of 2 euros per parcel is planned to be added this November. This reform, one of the most significant changes to EU customs regulations since 1968, has significantly increased cost pressures for some low-price direct shipping platforms, making the cross-border small parcel model reliant on high volume and thin margins unsustainable. Against this backdrop, About You, a leading European fashion platform, is accelerating its push into the Marketplace (third-party seller) model. It has successively introduced three major support policies: expanding its logistics network, upgrading its warehousing and fulfillment model, and offering commission reductions, providing sellers with a channel to circumvent the policy impact and quickly enter the European market.

It is reported that for merchants with their own cross-border logistics resources who wish to independently control their market deployment, About You's Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) model is further expanding, adding last-mile coverage in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Portugal.

Sellers opting for the self-fulfillment model can independently select target operating countries and rely on their own logistics systems for fulfillment. They must adhere to standardized rules such as 72-96 hour last-mile delivery times and 30-day return labels, while the platform uniformly handles orders, customer service, and monthly settlements. This can lower the cross-border operational barriers for sellers.

Within the coverage of About You's Fulfilled by Merchant model, mature markets like Germany and Austria utilize leading carriers such as DHL and Hermes, achieving last-mile delivery within 72 hours. The newly added three-country markets are paired with local, compliant logistics service providers to ensure order fulfillment stability.

About You's Fulfilled by About You (FBAY) model is the optimal choice for merchants seeking a lightweight approach to expanding into Europe. Currently, the number of countries where this model is available has been updated to 12, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, and Portugal.

The Fulfilled by About You (FBAY) model provides sellers with a one-stop solution of 'deliver to warehouse, platform fulfills.' Merchants only need to ship their goods to About You's European-owned warehouses; the platform then handles all subsequent steps including storage, sorting, last-mile delivery, and returns processing. Leveraging the platform's multi-warehouse layout in Germany, Slovakia, and Poland, it can reach consumers across Europe in one go.

The platform provides standardized pricing for inbound, storage, and return processing for this fulfillment model, making per-item fulfillment costs transparent. It is also paired with mature OSS (One-Stop Shop) tax compliance guidance, which can solve challenges related to overseas warehouse VAT registration and compliant reporting. This model is suitable for brand sellers who wish to expand into Europe with a light-asset approach and pursue stable fulfillment efficiency.

To alleviate the profit squeeze caused by tariffs, About You has simultaneously introduced cost-reduction policies, recently lowering commissions for some product categories by 1% to 5% .

Furthermore, OTTO China, as About You's strategic partner for merchant recruitment in China, provides comprehensive support for registered sellers, ranging from account setup and marketing promotion to account security. Currently, key sellers registering on About You through the OTTO CHINA channel have the opportunity to receive additional commission reduction support.

As the tax and fee costs for low-value parcels entering the EU rise, the competitive focus for Chinese sellers entering the European market is shifting from low-price direct shipping to local warehousing and fulfillment, compliant operations, and refined logistics. About You, which currently covers 26 European markets and has over 13 million active users, aims to reduce the cost for third-party sellers to enter the European retail system through its three policies: expanding self-fulfillment coverage, improving platform warehousing and fulfillment services, and reducing commissions for certain categories. For Chinese fashion brands, the ability of such local platforms to provide stable fulfillment, tax compliance, and access to multiple national markets will become more important factors when evaluating European sales channels.