4 ms·

Every online shop has to consider the location of the customer because of legal requirements.

yonixw 5y ago
How so if I'm B2C getting payment from PayPal? Maybe if I'm B2B and want to have a deal with some Germany company\institute.
- tablespoon 5y ago
  Even if you do something like that, there may be some other enforcement (e.g. through customs or the postal service). But they'll probably not care unless you're a big fish. Also, it probably helps that German is mainly spoken in three countries: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Some quick googling leaves me with the impression that Austria has similar regulations, and the OP said Switzerland was considering adopting them. I'm guessing all almost all the publishers of quality German-language books are based in one of those countries, and they would probably be unwilling to be associated with a scheme to undermine the regulations.
- TheCoelacanth 5y ago
  Do you honestly think that PayPal will continue collecting payments from German customers for you if they get a court order from a German court telling them to stop? You might be able to continue selling a small amount to a few Germans who have a bank account in another country or who will pay you in cryptocurrency, but the vast majority of your customers won't go to the trouble.
- jimkleiber 5y ago
  Various VAT and sales taxes often apply based on where the purchaser is, not where the seller is. So if I sell an ebook from the US to someone in Germany, I believe I'm supposed to retain and remit VAT for Germany. If someone is in France and buys the ebook, I have to retain and remit the French VAT to France, etc. There are some thresholds where if I sell below that, I don't think I have to remit, and those seem to vary at least across Europe, let alone all the US states and other countries. Personally, I believe it's a mess and geographically based governments really don't know how to manage virtually based human interactions and they're just stamping old systems onto new ones. Yet, AFAIK, that's why a B2C seller is supposed to know the physical location of the buyers.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  PayPal will send relevant records to the German authorities on the regular for tax reasons and transparency. If they violate German and/or EU laws, they will get fined hundreds of millions, if not billions. And lose their licenses. They don't risk that.
Causality1 5y ago
Why? If I have a website based in the US and I accept PayPal the worst someone in Germany can do to me is dispute the charge and get a refund. I have no presence in Germany nor will I ever set foot there.
- TheCoelacanth 5y ago
  That will work until German law enforcement notices and gets PayPal to shut down payments to you from German customers. They won't even work with legal but controversial industries like pornography. They aren't going to stick their neck out for something that is flagrantly illegal.

How so if I'm B2C getting payment from PayPal? Maybe if I'm B2B and want to have a deal with some Germany company\institute.

tablespoon 5y ago
Even if you do something like that, there may be some other enforcement (e.g. through customs or the postal service). But they'll probably not care unless you're a big fish. Also, it probably helps that German is mainly spoken in three countries: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Some quick googling leaves me with the impression that Austria has similar regulations, and the OP said Switzerland was considering adopting them. I'm guessing all almost all the publishers of quality German-language books are based in one of those countries, and they would probably be unwilling to be associated with a scheme to undermine the regulations.
TheCoelacanth 5y ago
Do you honestly think that PayPal will continue collecting payments from German customers for you if they get a court order from a German court telling them to stop? You might be able to continue selling a small amount to a few Germans who have a bank account in another country or who will pay you in cryptocurrency, but the vast majority of your customers won't go to the trouble.
jimkleiber 5y ago
Various VAT and sales taxes often apply based on where the purchaser is, not where the seller is. So if I sell an ebook from the US to someone in Germany, I believe I'm supposed to retain and remit VAT for Germany. If someone is in France and buys the ebook, I have to retain and remit the French VAT to France, etc. There are some thresholds where if I sell below that, I don't think I have to remit, and those seem to vary at least across Europe, let alone all the US states and other countries. Personally, I believe it's a mess and geographically based governments really don't know how to manage virtually based human interactions and they're just stamping old systems onto new ones. Yet, AFAIK, that's why a B2C seller is supposed to know the physical location of the buyers.
Cthulhu_ 5y ago
PayPal will send relevant records to the German authorities on the regular for tax reasons and transparency. If they violate German and/or EU laws, they will get fined hundreds of millions, if not billions. And lose their licenses. They don't risk that.

Causality1 5y ago

Why? If I have a website based in the US and I accept PayPal the worst someone in Germany can do to me is dispute the charge and get a refund. I have no presence in Germany nor will I ever set foot there.

TheCoelacanth 5y ago
That will work until German law enforcement notices and gets PayPal to shut down payments to you from German customers. They won't even work with legal but controversial industries like pornography. They aren't going to stick their neck out for something that is flagrantly illegal.