Who I am, and why I do this

I was going to open a small shop on Etsy, selling crystal art I make by hand. Today I'm a registered authorised representative for packaging in Germany, appointed by more than 340 sellers worldwide. That was not the plan.

My name is Jennifer Rogalski-Koschel and I work from Berlin. Every enquiry comes straight to me, and that is meant to stay that way: you write to the person who actually accepts your appointment in the register.

What I take on

When you appoint me, your German packaging duties become mine. I hold them in my own name, and the liability that comes with them sits with me instead of with you. That's the real product. Filling in forms is the easy part.

That is more risk than a normal service fee carries. It is why I read every application myself instead of handing the decision to a form.

Why German Packaging exists

While setting the shop up, I ran into EPR, registration numbers and authorised representatives. My first thought was: why is everyone so worked up about this? So I started reading, and went a lot deeper than I meant to. The shop still doesn't exist.

What surprised me was something else. I don't think these duties are a bad thing for small sellers. Having someone who keeps an eye on the deadlines and carries the responsibility at the end is a relief.

When that support costs so much that a small handmade shop shrugs and says I'll just stop selling to Germany, something is wrong. The providers that exist are built for companies with their own legal department, and many won't even publish a price.

What I bring to it

I have run Fuchswild Design for more than 14 years: marketing for small businesses, writing books, making crystal art by hand. German Packaging grew out of it and still runs under it. On top of that comes practice. Most of the cases that look unusual have crossed my desk before — the marketplace that suddenly demands a number, the contract with a previous provider, the years when nobody reported anything.

Responsibility is something you carry, not something you sign. And nothing drives me like something that has no solution yet: when it looks impossible, my first thought is there has to be a way, not that's just how it is. Everyone had been telling small sellers that the price was simply the price.

Germany is the beginning

Here I can take the duties on in full, even at twenty parcels a year. The rest of Europe is on my list. What works today and what doesn't, I'll tell you honestly. Looking for representatives in other countries, or thinking of becoming one? See the partner page.

For you that means: I look at your numbers properly and get out of them what there is to get. The right tier, the actual quantity, no costs you don't need. Giving up on Germany is the last option, not the first.

German version of this page: /de/ueber-mich