Does the law apply to a small artisan who sells online?

Yes. The withdrawal button obligation (Directive (EU) 2023/2673, in force since 19 June 2026) targets any professional who sells at a distance to consumers. The Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) sets no turnover threshold and no minimum number of orders. A ceramicist who sells ten pieces a month is subject to exactly the same rule as a large retailer. The only genuine exception concerns sales between private individuals (C2C), which do not fall under consumer law.

Is there any tolerance for very small structures?

No. Many artisans hope so, but the text draws no distinction by size. Selling by hand, as a micro-business, or in a one-person workshop reduces neither the obligation nor the penalty incurred (in Ireland, the CCPC can pursue fines of up to €60,000, and up to 4% of turnover for widespread infringements; each Member State sets its own scale). It is precisely because the small seller is alone facing the risk, with no legal department, that covering yourself for a few euros a month is the most rational calculation.

Does BackToMe work on SumUp?

It depends on your setup. If SumUp is only your payment method on a site running on a CMS (WooCommerce, Wix, or another), BackToMe installs normally on that CMS. If you use the SumUp E-shop hosted by SumUp, that is a closed environment which does not allow custom code to be added: you then need a site that does allow it, with SumUp remaining your means of collection. When in doubt, write to us at contact@backtome.fr with your setup: we confirm compatibility before any commitment.

Is paying a subscription for ten orders a month worth it?

The risk does not depend on volume: a single dispute or a single inspection is enough. Without a compliant button, the withdrawal period goes from 14 days to 12 months, which can turn a sale from a year ago into a compulsory refund. 25 € excl. VAT per month covers the button and the dated proof you can produce in the event of a dispute, whatever your number of sales. It is the cheapest insurance in the workshop, and it is deductible from your expenses.

Do my customers have to create an account to withdraw?

No, and this is an important point of compliance. The withdrawal mechanism must be easily accessible, including for a customer who ordered without creating an account (guest order). The BackToMe button appears in the footer, accessible without logging in: the customer enters their request, receives an acknowledgement of receipt by an email they keep, and you get a dated proof. Nothing to handle manually.

Artisans and makers

Withdrawal button for artisans and makers

Last reviewed on July 22, 2026

Ceramicist, jeweller, illustrator, soap maker, leather-goods workshop, Etsy shop or a small brand selling its creations online: the same European obligation applies to you as to the big retailers (Directive (EU) 2023/2673, applicable since 19 June 2026 across the 27 EU member states; in Ireland, enforced by the CCPC). We are not going to tell you otherwise. We are going to show you why complying costs you far less than doing nothing, and how to settle it in five minutes without touching any code.

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Yes, the law targets you too. And no, there is no tolerance by size.

This is the point that comes up most often in workshops: “ I do ten orders a month, surely I am not going to be treated like Amazon. ” The intention is legitimate. The legal reality, however, draws no distinction. Directive (EU) 2023/2673 imposes the withdrawal button on any professional who sells at a distance to consumers, with no turnover threshold and no minimum number of sales. A one-person micro-business is subject to the same text as a multinational.

We would love to be able to tell you that a “ de minimis clause ” protects small structures. It does not exist. The only genuine boundary is that of status: sales between private individuals (C2C) escape consumer law, but as soon as you sell as a professional, even on the side, the obligation applies.

Without a compliant button, the withdrawal period does not stay at 14 days: it is extended to 12 months. A piece sold ten months ago can then be returned and have to be refunded. For a workshop that has already collected payment and sometimes already bought new materials, that is the real cost of “ I will see later ”.

The calculation that changes everything when you are alone at the workshop

When every euro comes out of your own pocket, a subscription gets weighed up. So let us weigh it honestly. The reasoning is even more favourable to the small seller than to the big one, for a simple reason: the risk itself does not depend on volume.

A single dispute is enough, whatever your volume

A regulator inspection (in Ireland, the CCPC) or a litigious customer does not look at whether you do ten or ten thousand sales. The exposure is the same. The difference is that a big site absorbs a 12-month refund without flinching, whereas it can put a workshop in difficulty. Covering yourself is therefore more useful to you than to them, not less.

25 € excl. VAT per month, fixed, deductible

The price does not move with your activity: it is the same for ten orders as for a thousand. Brought down to a single order from a small workshop, it stays lower than the cost of one carefully wrapped parcel. And like any professional expense, the subscription is deductible from your expenses.

You are paying for the proof, not just a button

A free button, link or form displays an intention. On the day of the dispute, what protects you is the proof: every request is acknowledged by an email that the customer keeps, then archived, dated and impossible to alter afterwards, kept for 5 years. It is that file, put together on its own, that makes the difference before a judge or an inspector.

Want the detailed figures against the “ free ” options? Free or BackToMe: the real comparison sets the two options side by side, criterion by criterion.

“ But does it work on my small shop? ”

The most common technical worry: “ you need access to my source code, but I am on SumUp / a showcase site / a small plan, and I am not sure it is possible. ” The rule is simple and we say it plainly: BackToMe works everywhere you can paste a line of code into the site header. That covers the vast majority of tools. There is one exception, and we are not going to hide it from you.

A line of code to paste, not a building site

BackToMe is set up with a single line of code in the site header. You do not need to be a developer or to access the engine of the platform: it is enough for your tool to offer a “ custom code ” or “ header / head ” field. That is the case with Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, WiziShop, PrestaShop and most showcase sites with payment.

The SumUp case: two situations to tell apart

We often see the doubt “ and on SumUp? ”. The answer depends on the way you use SumUp, and the nuance changes everything:

SumUp as a payment method on a site which itself runs on WordPress/WooCommerce, Wix or another CMS: there, your site is not SumUp, it is your CMS, and BackToMe installs on it normally (there is even an official SumUp gateway for WooCommerce). This is the most frequent case, and it works.
The SumUp E-shop hosted by SumUp: it is a closed environment. SumUp does not allow custom code to be added (only a Google Analytics ID and a Meta Pixel). The BackToMe line of code therefore cannot be added to it. We prefer to tell you plainly rather than let you pay for nothing: on a native SumUp E-shop, the solution goes through a site that allows the code (with SumUp remaining your means of collection).

When in doubt, pay nothing: write to us at contact@backtome.fr with the exact name of your platform (and, for SumUp, whether it is your payment method or your E-shop). We confirm the compatibility and the steps to follow before any commitment.

Step by step according to your tool in the installation guides, including five on video (Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, Wix, WiziShop).

Accessible without an account, even for your guest orders

Many artisans' customers order without creating an account, in a few clicks. The law wants the means of withdrawing to stay easy to access for them too. A mechanism hidden behind a locked customer area is a weak point.

In the footer, without logging in

The BackToMe button appears in the footer, on every page, accessible without an account. The customer enters their request, immediately receives an acknowledgement of receipt they keep by email, and you get a dated proof. You have nothing to handle by hand between two kiln loads or two markets.

Five minutes, once and for all

We install the line of code once, and the setup runs on its own: acknowledgement of receipt, date, archiving. No file to put together on the day of a dispute, no follow-up to write. It is time given back to your real craft, the one of creating.

Your creations may have their own rules

Depending on what you make, certain exceptions to the withdrawal right may apply: a genuinely made-to-measure or personalised piece (the personalised-goods exception in the Consumer Rights Directive, 2011/83/EU, art. 16(c)), a product sealed for reasons of hygiene, or a perishable good. The sorting is done product by product:

The 13 exceptions to the withdrawal right: what is genuinely excluded, and what is not.
Soaps, cosmetics, care products: the rule for sealed products.
Handmade fashion and accessories: personalisation, made-to-measure, return after trying on.
Groceries and perishable products: excluded foodstuffs, returnable dry goods.
Am I concerned?: the quick test based on your status and what you sell.

Worth reading if you sell on a small scale

Micro-business and the withdrawal button: why the law draws no distinction by size.
Selling your handmade creations: when withdrawal applies, and when made-to-measure excludes it.
A free button, is it enough?: what the free option covers, and what it leaves aside.

Your sector is concerned: the proof that protects you, set up in five minutes

The withdrawal button is a European obligation (Directive (EU) 2023/2673) since 19 June 2026. BackToMe sets it up, proves every request and applies the law of each EU country. 7-day free trial, 0 € today.

Start the free trial →Am I concerned?