eBay Promotes UK Office For Product Safety & Standards Resources For Sellers
The UK Office for Product Safety and Standards is inviting businesses and online sellers to participate in a voluntary education and research project and eBay is helping get the word out through a new announcement in the UK community forum.
uk-newsebay
This project is being run by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and has three parts:
- An initial conversation with a Trading Standards Officer to discuss your approach to product procurement and your understanding of product safety and online trading requirements.
- Participation in free training workshops delivered by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and online materials and guidance to supplement the learning.
- A final conversation between you and a Trading Standards Officer to establish the extent to which the training and guidance may have enhanced your capability on matters of consumer product safety and online trading.
The aim of the project is to establish whether, by providing free business support and training, the OPSS can improve the knowledge and understanding of product safety and associated issues among businesses that make consumer products available online. The results will determine whether the approach should be further explored and expanded.
The discussions with Trading Standards Officers will establish a baseline of your general knowledge and understanding and determine if you have benefitted from the offerings.
Individual products or specific compliance-related issues will not be discussed. Furthermore, the personal data or information you provide will not be reused for any other purposes and will not be shared with any commercial organisation.
The project is applicable to all businesses that sell products online in the UK - and participation is free and voluntary.
Sellers who wish to register their initial interest should complete the following form: OPSS Online Business Support Pilot (office.com)
More information can be found on the CTSI website at Product Safety Training for Online Sellers.
While that program is offered by the UK Office for Product Safety and Standards and is not exclusive to eBay sellers, eBay is also trialing an Account Assurance program offering dedicated assistance with select account restrictions and proactive help with GPSR and other regulatory compliance issues as well.
Liz Morton
If you're an ecommerce seller in the UK who has been through either the OPSS training or eBay's Account Assurance program, I'd love to hear about your experiences - leave a comment below or contact VAR!
