eBay UK Promotes Orange Connex Partnership Amidst De Minimis Rules Review
eBay UK promotes Orange Connex fulfillment partnership, hoping to entice new sign ups with starter package offering reduced fees and other benefits.
The new user offer was posted in an announcement to the eBay UK community.
Scale your business with this eBay Fulfilment starter offer
eBay Fulfilment by Orange Connex can take care of storage, picking, packing and dispatch, so you can focus on sourcing stock and serving customers, especially as the peak period approaches.
To help you try the service with confidence, Orange Connex are offering a limited‑time introductory package for new users.
What you’ll receive:
- No inbound or storage fees in your first month up to £300: No warehouse or inbound goods fees on up to 100 units during your first 30 days.
- Risk-free guarantee: If you’re not fully satisfied, Orange Connex will return any remaining stock to you at no extra cost (to a UK address).
- Pay Only for What you sell: Only pay the fulfilment fees for your outbound orders.
How to get started
- Register on the Orange Connex portal.
- Link your eBay account.
- Send your stock to an Orange Connex fulfilment centre.
- List as usual and let the service handle the rest.
Terms:
- Offer valid until the end of 2025.
- Valid for new sellers - Offer expires 30 days after account-registration.
- Surcharges apply for non-compliant inbound shipments.
eBay Fulfillment by Orange Connex launched in Germany in 2020, UK in 2021 and Australia in 2022 but, while Orange Connex does operate warehouses in the US, an official eBay Fulfillment partnership has not been announced for the main eBay.com US site despite assurances in late 2022 that it would be "coming soon."
Sellers in the UK were skeptical of claims of "no hidden charges" during a similar promotional push back in 2022, saying the rate charts that eBay and Orange Connex provided were less than transparent and still left a lot of important details "hidden."
Liz Morton
So what's behind this most recent push to get new sign ups for Orange Connex fulfillment services?
The announcement and marketing materials are worded to be aimed at UK-based sellers, but eBay's real target may be sellers outside the UK (particularly in China), who could soon be facing changes to the country's de minimis tariff exemptions which may have a significant impact on cross border trade.
In April 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her intention to review the customs treatment of Low Value Imports, which allows goods valued at £135 or less to be imported without paying customs duty.
HM Treasury
While VAT is still supposed to be payable on these shipments and collected by platforms like eBay, there have been mounting concerns over tax avoidance, market fairness, and a surge in non-compliant products entering the UK via cross-border ecommerce, leading the government to announce this formal review.
The British Retail Council and large retailers have been lobbying for change to de minimis, saying it gives unfair advantage to companies shipping items in to the UK from abroad who are currently not always playing by the same rules as domestic companies.
Alex Baldock, CEO of Currys PLC said of the decision to review the rules:
All retailers selling to UK consumers should play by the same rules. If you want to sell to UK consumers, then abide by UK standards, and pay UK tax, just as UK retailers do.
Today, low-value shipments delivered from abroad straight to UK consumers avoid import duty, often evade VAT, and can fail to meet safety standards. There’s a growing risk of unsafe and tax-dodging product being dumped in the UK, as tariffs bite and the US and EU close their own import duty loopholes.
I’m pleased that the government is urgently reviewing the low-value shipment loophole, and that they’re committed to levelling the playing field between British and overseas retailers.
Similar changes to the de minimis exemption for goods made in China being shipped into the United States have snarled cross border trade, causing massive tariff turmoil which led eBay to temporarily shut down their Global Shipping Programme from the UK to US earlier this year.
Liz Morton
eBay leadership attempted to downplay the impact these US tariff changes would have on their financial performance, assuring investors that most of the inventory sold on the site that comes from China is "forward deployed", meaning stock from those sellers is stored in and shipped from US-based warehouses.
Liz Morton
Similarly, while it's true that Orange Connex fulfillment services could potentially help legitimately UK-based business sellers preparing for the Q4 peak holiday shopping season, overseas sellers who are looking to get ahead of potential de minimis changes by forward deploying inventory to the UK are much more likely to benefit from this eBay Fulfillment Starter Offer.
Do you use eBay Orange Connex fulfillment in the UK, Germany or Australia? I'd love to hear about your experiences - leave a comment below or contact VAR!
