The marketplace: not a dealership, but a regulated relationship
Marketplace selling is not a classic dealership: the platform writes the contract, updates the rules unilaterally and, more often than not, resolves disputes within its own processes. But this does not mean the seller is unprotected — the EU’s P2B and DSA Regulations and Türkiye’s regime under Law No. 6563 (Turkish E-Commerce Law) have placed enforceable rights inside the relationship. The seller’s task is to make these rights usable through orderly documentation.
Practical guidance
A dispassionate, evidence-backed first response that meets the appeal deadline in the suspension notice and supplies exactly the documents requested gets the account reinstated in a significant share of cases.
Let us strengthen your marketplace setup
Profile and listing compliance (DSA/GPSR), suspension appeals, the withholding and tax setup, and platform correspondence — with a single team.
1. The seller agreement and rule changes
Under P2B, the platform must give advance notice of changes to its terms, explain its ranking parameters and offer a complaint mechanism. Archiving change notifications is your evidence in any future “what was the rule” debate.
2. DSA verification (KYBC)
Platforms are obliged to verify sellers’ identity, bank and registry details; an inconsistent profile means listings coming down. Your profile details must not contradict your site, your invoices or publicly accessible registers such as LUCID.
3. GPSR fields
Since December 2024, listings must state the manufacturer and — for non-EU sellers — the responsible person in the EU. Platforms have added these fields to their templates; sellers who leave them blank see their listings removed. For details, see our GPSR entry.
4. Suspension and appeal
In a suspension, the platform must state its reasons and offer an appeal route (DSA Arts. 17 and 20). Note: the P2B Regulation protects only business users established in the EU (Art. 1(2)); a seller established in Türkiye relies not on P2B but on the DSA’s statement-of-reasons and internal complaint-handling provisions. If you have a company in the EU, the P2B rights apply as well. An effective appeal is technical, not emotional: a documented response to each alleged breach, a corrective action plan and deadline discipline. On Germany-related platforms, our Germany Desk conducts the process in German.
5. The 1% withholding and tax arrangements
In Türkiye, marketplaces have withheld 1% from seller payments since January 2025 — on the gross amount excluding VAT, with no deduction for commission. This is a prepayment, not a cost; but it affects cash flow and pricing. Exemption categories (the tradesman exemption, simplified taxation) operate on documentation. For the VAT setup of your EU sales channel, see our IOSS/OSS guide.
6. The parallel channel and the competition layer
While your own site + marketplace operate together, price parity impositions, MFN-style terms and selective distribution rules touch competition law; your brand’s relationship with third-party sellers on the marketplace is also part of your distribution network strategy.
7. Data and the customer relationship
In platform sales, control over customer data is limited; setups for safely moving customers to your own channel (warranty registration, content, community) must be designed to comply with both platform rules and KVKK/GDPR.
Conclusion
Marketplace revenue is a predictable channel for the seller who knows its rules. Regular auditing of the seven topics — profile, listings, appeal readiness, tax — is the standard scope of our marketplace compliance service; for the overall framework, see our e-commerce focus area.
