If so, you can find answers to them here. We’ve combined the most common questions on this website and given concise answers to them.
You must have a German corporate legal form, a German VAT ID, act as a seller to end customers, offer a German-speaking customer service and dispatch your goods from a German warehouse. Small businesses are excluded according to § 19 UStG.
Currently, you can offer products from the following product ranges:
For a detailed overview of which products you can already offer on OTTO Market and which ranges we do not yet offer please have a look at the assortment overview.
It is prohibited to sell sand-blasted textiles and products containing Uzbeck cotton or real fur. Also banned are products containing angora wool from angora rabbits or mohair from angora goats. Furthermore, the sale of fluorescent tubes containing mercury, as well as products in which they are incorporated, is not allowed.
We also have special requirements for products made using leather and hides, feathers and down, wool, tropical timber and endangered wood species.
You can find more information here:
List of prohibited products and Business Partner Declaration on Sustainability
Currently, it is also not possible to offer products from all of the product ranges. These will be activated gradually over time. For a detailed overview of which products you can already offer on OTTO Market and which ranges we do not yet offer please have a look at the assortment overview.
The applicable fees consist of a monthly basic fee and a percentage sales fee (commission) and are each incurred plus the applicable sales tax. The basic fee is due after you have concluded the contract with us and you are technically able to sell products on otto.de. The contract can be terminated at any time with one month's notice to the end of the month.
Monthly basic fee:
The monthly basic fee of €99.90 will be charged for the first time in the first part of the following month after the marketplace activity has been technically enabled. This means that it will be charged as soon as you are technically able to sell products on otto.de - regardless of whether and how many products have already been added. You will be invoiced for the basic fee plus VAT. OTTO-Payments will deduct it from your sales credit or a direct debit will take place.
Percentage sales fee (commission):
In addition, you pay a standard market commission for each successfully sold product, which is determined by assortment, as well as a payment fee of 2.7%. In some product groups, different commission rates may apply depending on the sales price. An overview of the product groups with the respective applicable total commission can be found in the assortment overview. The commission is based on the sales price (incl. VAT) and the shipping costs (incl. VAT). You will be invoiced for this commission plus VAT on a weekly basis, and OTTO-Payments will deduct it from your sales credit.
We aim to provide our customers and partners with the best possible online marketplace in Germany. Quality is our top priority. Therefore, we review all registrations personally and in detail. This process may occasionally take a bit more time. If the review is successful, you will receive an invitation link to the partner portal and can begin the integration process.
Every time you log in, you are asked to authenticate yourself using a second factor after entering your access data. You have to configurate this factor at the first time. Please install a compatible authentication app on your smartphone or tablet for this purpose. OTTO supports the apps Google Authenticator and FreeOTP Authenticator. After successfully scanning the barcode via the app, you will receive a six digits security code on your smartphone or tablet, which you can use and enter directly into the field below. Did you receive an error message? Please try to scan the barcode again. When using the FreeOTP Authenticator you also have to delete your profile/token in the app (3 small dots -> "delete"). Afterwards scan the barcode again (in the bar "Scan QR code" at the top). The person logging into the OTTO Partner Connect Portal must be the same person on whose smartphone or tablet the authentication app has been stored and configurated. You can create up to nine users at the portal so your colleagues can also log in.
For more information, see the video on the 2-factor authentication.
To draw up the contract, we need the full company name including legal form, the company address and further information about your company depending on its legal form (e.g. stock exchange listing). We then compare the data you provide with the information stored at the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
If your company is obliged to take back waste electrical and electronic equipment in accordance with §17 paragraph 1 and 2 ElektroG, you must state this in the connection process. The same applies to the system participation of your packaging in accordance with §7 of the German Packaging Act and §9 of the German Packaging Act to register at the Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR).
We also require you to state whether you have a WEEE registration number and whether you have an FSC certification number.
In order to successfully complete the connection to OTTO Payments, our own payment service provider, various steps are necessary.
The legitimation check includes the following four individual checks:
The legitimation check can be performed by a legally representing person of the company, such as a managing person. Within the scope of the identification of persons, the persons legally representing the company must identify themselves via video. You can do this via various devices (smartphone & tablet, computer & webcam).
The applicant must also be an authorized representative for the company. An authorized representative is a natural person who acts on behalf of the company.
The authorized representative is the main contact person for the legitimation process.
Legally authorized representatives are individuals who are legally responsible for the company and act on its behalf.
Persons with procuration or similar titles are not considered legally authorized representatives according to the German Civil Code (BGB).
As part of the legitimation process, legally authorized representatives must identify themselves via video. They can do this using various devices (smartphone & tablet, computer & webcam).
You can use the shipping information to set which shipping service provider you work with and which shipping costs are incurred for each shipping type (parcel or forwarding agency). For freight forwarding goods, it should be noted that the shipping costs for the customer are made up of the standard shipping costs and the freight forwarding surcharge. The shipping profiles offer you the opportunity to design your delivery times individually and flexibly in order to achieve the highest delivery accuracy and increase the satisfaction of our customers.
With the new shipping profiles, you can display precise and customer-oriented delivery times by specifying the shipping method, processing time, cut-off time, working days and transport time. Thanks to the cut-off time, we can dynamically update the delivery statement on the same day, which significantly increases delivery accuracy and thus contributes significantly to an optimized shopping experience for our mutual customers.
We offer our merchants at otto.de an uncomplicated and simple shipping and returns process for their products via various carriers within Germany. For outbound shipping, you can use the carriers DHL, DHL Express, GLS, Hermes, UPS and DPD. For your returns, you can only use DHL, GLS and Hermes at the moment. A shipment tracking must always be guaranteed.
For shipping goods, you can use a shipping company of your choice.
If a customer wants to send a return, this must first be registered via the customers account. To do this, the customer clicks on "Return" in the "My orders" area for the relevant item, selects a reason for return and registers the return under "register return". OTTO now generates the return label from the data you have provided and makes it available for 14 days in form of a PDF. The shipping confirmation must therefore contain the parcel number of the return (Return-Tracking-Number).
Customers can print the return label themselves, stick it on the parcel and send the return.
For more information, see the video on the return process.
The Return-Tracking-Number is the tracking number of the return. Each parcel receives a tracking number as well for the delivery to the end customer as, in the case of a return, for the return journey to the seller.
For more information, see the video on the return tracking number.
The Return-Tracking-Number is used to create the return label and to track the return. Each parcel also needs a tracking number for the return to verify that it arrived back at the seller.
For more information, see the video on the return tracking number.
The Return-Tracking-Number is not subject to a charge.
The costs are only incurred when the return label is actually used, i.e. a return takes place.
For more information, see the video on the return tracking number.
OTTO Payments GmbH is OTTO‘s own payment service provider. We offer payment processing between customers and sellers from a single source: OTTO Payments bundles and manages all payment activities for OTTO Market. This enables customer-friendly payment processing for purchases on the marketplace and in the future convenient payment through just one payment process, even if purchases are made from several partners. This gives our customers a more uniform check-out and a better overview of their bills and installments. In addition, OTTO Payments assumes the customer’s risk of payment default for our partners.
The following payment methods are available: purchase on account, advance payment, paypal, payment by installments and credit card/debit card.
In addition to payments customers make to you, your monthly fee and any commissions for succesfully sold products are also important parts of billing. With us you will benefit from a billing process which bundles all these components together.
We deduct your expenses from your revenues, so all expenses are covered. In the future, bookable services will also be billed using this process. This keeps the billing process as simple as possible for both you and us.
Your balance will be paid out weekly, always on Thursdays, with a due date of 14 days.
You can use various marketing services to increase the visibility and sales of your products on otto.de enormously.
Currently, you can book these marketing services primarily as a managed service via OTTO Advertising, otto.de's central marketing unit. This means that you are advised, receive an offer and, if you accept it, the booking of the service is taken care of for you. You will then receive a detailed report. Advertising formats that you can book in this way include Sponsored Product Ads (SPA), InShop Promotion and Audience Extension. We recommend booking SPA at the beginning, so that you can quickly achieve a high visibility of your products, stand out from your competitors and directly increase your sales. Parallel to this, there is also a marketing service that is completely available in self-service in the partner portal OTTO Partner Connect: Sponsored Display Ads. Here you can easily book high-reach online campaigns yourself with just a few clicks. These are then played out in a network that includes known online advertising environments relevant to the target group. For this you also receive a reporting.
For further information or questions on the subject of marketing, please contact OTTO Advertising.
Yes, because your customers are also customers on otto.de, which means they have passed a credit assessment. This is how we ensure that your customers pay their dues.
As a retailer on OTTO Market, you have the option to work with other Service Partners with whom we are currently also partnered. This option is not compulsory, but simply offered to assist you with your marketplace activities and make selling on otto.de faster and easier. If you are interested in such a cooperation, please see the overview of Service Partners we already work closely with. Of course, cooperation with other Service Partners is also possible.
For more than 30 years, we at OTTO have combined economic goals with sustainability and social responsibility. This has not changed with the transformation to a platform and the establishment of the marketplace. We have high standards for our merchants in terms of fair production conditions and high requirements for our products in terms of quality and safety. These requirements apply as the scale for all products on otto.de and, accordingly, we also place high demands on our partners.
Our goal is to make sustainability a matter of course and that is why we promote fair consumption and sustainable action. We specifically look for partners with sustainable products and offer them increased visibility on the platform. In our sustainability strategy, we focus primarily on the following fields of action: Climate Protection, Materials & Products, Packaging, Circular Economy, Supply Chain and Compliance & Policies.
Merchants can call themselves sustainable if their product range contains at least 10% sustainable products and consists of at least 20 products.
To be labeled with the sustainability badge, a product must meet the following criteria:
An overview of the sustainability seals can be found here.
A high standard in all our services as well as a fair cooperation based on partnership are our focus. If you do have a reason for a complaint or criticism, please do not hesitate to contact us. OTTO-Market-Support gratefully accepts your concerns and will examine them immediately. To submit a complaint or criticism, please proceed as follows:
1. Create a ticket in the Partner Help Desk and select "Feedback" (subcategory "Comment, Praise, Criticism") as the category for submitting feedback. If you would like to submit a complaint, please select the category "Legal violation" with an appropriate thematic subcategory (e.g. OTTO Terms of Use, Technical Problems, Sanctions, etc.).
2. In the subject line, please tell us the topic, such as one of the above-mentioned examples of use.
3. In the field "Description" please describe your request.
As soon as you send your request, a corresponding ticket with an associated number will be created, through which we will contact you. The more information you provide about your request, the faster and easier the subsequent review will be for us. After receiving your request, we will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours (working days).
The following table is intended to give you an overview of how many complaints/criticisms were submitted to us in the period June 2022 - June 2023:
| Category | Number of complaints/criticism submitted |
| Billing Process | 3 |
| Logistic-Process | 1 |
| Product Data Management | 1 |
| Sanctions & Other Conduct by OTTO | 3 |
| Support Availability & Functions | 7 |
| Total | 15 |
All complaints/criticisms were examined in detail and resolved in full. The average processing time for an inquiry (from receipt of the inquiry to the final response) was 5.3 days. The processing time depends on various factors such as the scope of information, clarification of the facts and any queries.
In 2020 the Otto Group introduced the new whistleblower portal SpeakUp, which integrated a digital channel into its whistleblower system. SpeakUp offers everyone the opportunity to report suspected criminal activities and compliance violations in the Otto Group. Messages can be given anonymously. An internal mailbox within SpeakUp enables, even anonymous, whistleblowers to exchange messages with the recipient. No information, such as your e-mail-address or IP address, can neither be traced nor read. Here you will find the link to the new
SpeakUp portal: https://www.bkms-system.com/ottogroup-speakup