IberTrust GlobalRejected by your representative? What we learned re-checking 200 marketplace link requests
2026-11-02 · IberTrust Global
From our case files · one marketplace representative-confirmation queue we manage, reviewed line by line in October–November 2026
The message from the seller was short: “Our shop is blocked again. The platform says our representative rejected us. But we signed with you!” They had signed. The problem was that the company on the agreement and the company behind the shop were not the same legal entity. To the marketplace, that looks exactly like a shop borrowing someone else's representative.
Some marketplaces now ask the representative named by a shop — EU Responsible Person, UK Responsible Person or Turkish authorised representative — to confirm or reject that link before it counts. Most sellers never see this step. They only see the result: approved, or “rejected by representative”. Here is what happens on our side of the screen, based on a queue of roughly 200 pending shop links we recently re-checked one by one.
Why platforms ask the representative to confirm
Under the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR, Regulation (EU) 2023/988), a consumer product cannot be placed on the EU market unless an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for it (Article 16). For a non-EU seller shipping directly to consumers, that is usually an authorised representative holding a written mandate from the manufacturer. Every online offer must show that person's name and contact details (Article 19), and marketplaces must give sellers the fields to enter it (Article 22(9)). On top of that, the Digital Services Act requires marketplaces to collect and verify trader identity (Article 30).
Put together, the platform needs to know two things: who the seller legally is, and whether the representative it names really holds a mandate from that seller. Asking the representative is the simplest way to find out. Turkey and the UK have their own legal bases, but the confirmation logic on the platform side is the same.
What we actually compare
When a link request arrives, we do not see a friendly profile. We see a shop name, a request ID and the shop's verified legal entity — sometimes only partly visible. We then check it against our signed agreements.
| Check | What we compare | Typical reason for rejection |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Entity verified by the platform vs. the contracting party on the agreement | Agreement signed by a trading company or agent; shop registered to an individual or a different company |
| Spelling | Romanised or English name on both sides | Pinyin on one side, English name on the other, or a missing “Co., Ltd” |
| Validity | Agreement start and end dates | Agreement expired or not yet renewed |
| Scope | Markets covered by the mandate (EU, UK, Turkey) | Shop links an EU agreement to a Turkish or UK listing |
| Use pattern | How many different shops cite the same contracting party | One agreement cited by many shops whose verified owners are all different people |
What the re-check showed
Most rejections were right, and they fell into a few clear patterns.
- One agreement, many owners. The most striking case: one contracting party appeared on more than 20 different shops, and the platform showed a different individual behind almost every one. Someone had signed once and shared the agreement with a group of sellers. A mandate covers the manufacturer who gave it — not friends, not sub-sellers, not a whole sales team.
- The agent signed instead of the seller. A service company or channel partner signed in its own name, while the shops belonged to its clients. Commercially that makes sense; legally the representative has no mandate from the shop owner.
- Expired agreements. The shop kept the representative's details after the yearly term ended.
- No agreement at all. A shop copied our company details from another listing.
But the re-check also found 5 links that had been rejected by mistake: the shop's verified entity matched a valid agreement exactly. They had been caught in a batch rejection because the shop names looked unrelated to the company name. After the line-by-line check we confirmed them. The lesson for sellers: if you are rejected and you are sure your entity matches, ask your representative to re-check. Bulk processing does make mistakes.
How to get confirmed the first time
- Find your verified entity first. Look up the exact legal name the platform verified from your business documents in seller central. Copy it character by character.
- Sign the agreement with that exact entity. If an agent or trading company handles your compliance, the agreement should still name the shop owner as the manufacturer or principal.
- One entity, one agreement. Several shops owned by the same company can share it. Shops owned by different people or companies each need their own.
- Give both spellings. If your licence is in Chinese, put the official English or romanised name on the agreement too, the same way the platform shows it.
- Tell your representative before you link. Send the shop name, the market (EU, UK or Turkey) and the entity name. A representative expecting the request can confirm it quickly.
- Renew before the end date. Expired agreements are rejected even if everything else is right.
Common mistakes
- Using the representative's details because “our supplier already has one”.
- Signing under a holding company while the shop is registered to a subsidiary or an individual.
- Linking an EU mandate to a Turkish or UK store front.
- Opening new shops under new entities and assuming the old agreement covers them.
- Ignoring a rejection instead of asking why — the reason is usually fixable in a day.
Who this does not apply to
Sellers whose manufacturer is established in the EU, or who sell through a real EU importer named on the product, do not normally need a separate authorised representative for GPSR. Marketplaces that do not run a confirmation step will not show this rejection — but the mandate still has to match the manufacturer if a market surveillance authority asks.
FAQ
Why did my representative reject my shop when I have a signed agreement?
Usually because the legal entity on the agreement differs from the entity the platform verified for the shop, or the agreement has expired or covers a different market.
Can several shops use one agreement?
Yes, if the same legal entity owns all of them. Shops owned by different people or companies need separate agreements.
Can my agent or service provider sign for me?
It can handle the paperwork, but the mandate should name the shop owner as the manufacturer or principal, not the agent.
What should I do after a rejection?
Compare the verified entity name in your seller account with the agreement, then ask your representative to re-check. Wrong rejections happen and can be reversed.
Does the same apply to UK and Turkey?
The legal basis is different, but platforms apply the same entity-matching logic, and each market needs a mandate that covers it.
Need a representative who checks properly?
IberTrust Global S.L. acts as EU Responsible Person and supports UK and Turkish representation for non-EU sellers. Before you link a shop, send us the shop name, market and verified entity, and we will tell you whether the agreement matches.
Request an EU Responsible Person quote →
Or email contact@ibertrust.info.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), Articles 16, 19 and 22(9); Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 4; Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), Article 30; Commission guidelines on the GPSR, C/2025/6233 (EUR-Lex); IberTrust case files (anonymised). General information, not legal advice.