09/09/2026
We've received several queries asking why our mailorder service no longer allows people to order from the European Union.
From 12 August 2026, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has placed a wide range of compliance requirements on any business exporting goods to the EU. Although we welcome any initiative designed to reduce packaging waste and improve recycling, the regulation places an enormous administrative burden and additional costs on anyone selling packaged goods to an end user in an EU member state.
The Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requires businesses to cover the full costs of managing, recycling and disposing of the packaging they place on the market. To do this, they must appoint and pay an EPR provider in each member state. A recent article in Side-Line magazine calculated this would cost around 17,860 euros for the first year for anyone wishing to sell in all 27 countries.
So, we've disabled the European Union mailorder options on our website and on our Bandcamp page.
If you live in the European Union and would like us to send you a CD, vinyl record or t-shirt as a gift, in exchange for a donation of cash to antigen records, please e-mail us directly at: antigenrecords (at) googlemail (dot) com.
We'll ship at cost and the upfront cost will be cheaper than buying through Bandcamp. However, you may be charged the €3 low-value customs charge, plus VAT and/or an administrative charge by your local customs service. We have no control over this and it seems to be entirely random. For example, the last three people ordering from France, two incurred no customs charges, but the third person was charged 18 euros for a £20 LP. Caveat emptor.
