Sell baby and nursery goods online in the UK: safety standards, gift lists and the first order

This guide is for anyone who wants to sell baby and nursery goods online in the UK, as a new shop or as a range added to an existing one. It covers the safety standards for cots, prams and mattresses, fire labels, VAT, returns of opened goods and how relatives buy gifts. The Office for National Statistics counted 585,396 live births in England and Wales in 2025, 1.6% fewer than in 2024 (ONS, released 8 September 2026). Each one brings a long list, a tired parent on a phone at 2am asking whether it is safe and whether it fits, and relatives wanting to buy. Disclosure first: we build Orbit Commerce, a hosted ecommerce platform, so weigh the Orbit parts accordingly. Every legal point was read at its source on 9 November 2026.

Which safety standards do cots, prams and mattresses have to meet?

Most nursery goods have no law of their own. They come under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005: no producer may place a product on the market or supply it unless it is safe, meaning that in normal or reasonably foreseeable use it presents no risk or only the minimum compatible with its use (regulation 5). Regulation 6 ties the law to the standards: a product that conforms to a designated voluntary UK national standard is presumed safe for the risks it covers (regulation 6). The table gives the designations the BSI catalogue showed on 9 November 2026; standards are revised, so check your supplier’s test report against the BSI page.

Write the standard as a fact, never a promise: “Tested to BS EN 716-1:2017” is a specification; “the safest cot you can buy” is a claim nobody can stand behind. File each line’s test report against its SKU. The Lullaby Trust’s safer sleep advice (a firm, flat, waterproof mattress; no bumpers, pods or nests in the cot) shapes what you stock as well.

Which fire labels do babywear and nursery furniture need?

Under the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985, children’s nightwear, for under-13s, must meet the flammability requirements of BS 5722, except pyjamas, terry towelling bath robes and babies’ garments, meaning a chest of 53cm or less, normally worn only under three months. The exceptions still carry labels: a garment that does not meet BS 5722 must say KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE in red letters on a durable label, and one that does must carry LOW FLAMMABILITY TO BS 5722 in black, the red warning, or both (Business Companion, nightwear, reviewed June 2024).

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 cover upholstered furniture and require a permanent label. The amendment regulations, in force from 30 October 2025, took baby products out of the definition of furniture: cots, cribs, cradles and Moses baskets, prams and pushchairs, cot bumpers, changing and play mats, baby nests, rockers and bouncers, highchairs and boosters, walkers, play pens, children’s car seats, upholstery for baby furniture, and mattresses for babies and children under 170cm by 75cm. Those products now sit under the General Product Safety Regulations alone (Business Companion, October 2025). A nursing chair, a child’s armchair and a full-size mattress stay in, and the chairs carry the permanent label headed CARELESSNESS CAUSES FIRE.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, Royal Assent 21 July 2025, lets the government rewrite these rules by regulation, including for online marketplaces. OPSS consulted until 23 June 2026 on replacing the 2005 Regulations, with no response published by 9 November 2026 (consultation page). Until new regulations are made, the 2005 Regulations are the law.

Who is responsible when you import or sell second-hand baby goods?

Your duties depend on whether you are a producer or a distributor. A producer is the UK manufacturer, anyone who puts their own name on a product or reconditions it, and, when the manufacturer is abroad, its UK representative or the UK business that places the product on the market (regulation 2). Import cots from abroad and the producer duties are yours: information for consumers, a name, address and batch on the product, sample testing, a complaints register, withdrawal and recall (regulation 7). A shop reselling a UK brand is a distributor: do not supply a product you know or should presume is dangerous, pass on risk information, and keep the paperwork to trace stock (regulation 8). Both must tell an enforcement authority, normally local Trading Standards, in writing straight away on learning a product they supplied is dangerous (regulation 9; OPSS advice, updated 21 July 2026).

Pre-loved is allowed with care: the Regulations cover a product “whether it is new, used or reconditioned”, and the only carve-out is an item supplied to be repaired or reconditioned before use, if you tell the buyer so (regulation 4). Trading Standards’ pram guide says to check sharp edges, the five-point harness, the parking brake and stability (Business Companion, prams and pushchairs). Check the government’s Product Recalls and Alerts site first. A second-hand car seat is one to leave out: nothing on the outside shows whether it has been in a crash.

The money: VAT on a nursery basket, and delivering a cot

One basket can hold three VAT rates. Children’s clothing and babywear are zero-rated within the conditions and size limits in HMRC’s Notice 714, and nappies are zero-rated only when held out for babies and young children. Children’s car seats are 5%, and prams and pushchairs are standard-rated (VAT rates, updated 10 July 2026).

Registration is compulsory once VAT taxable turnover passes £90,000 (gov.uk); our VAT guide explains the rolling test, and an accountant can say whether registering early suits a mostly zero-rated range. A cot bed is a two-person delivery, not a parcel (our furniture post has the detail). On Orbit a shipping class groups the bulky lines, so the cot carries its two-person charge while a cushion goes by parcel. A basket with both becomes two deliveries at checkout, and a method can be set to “charge confirmed after the order” for pallets you quote by hand. Delivery estimates show at checkout and stamp each order with a ship-by date (advanced shipping rules; carriers in Royal Mail or a courier).

How gift buyers shop a nursery range

A signed-in shopper keeps a private wishlist in their account, and gift buyers have four routes:

1. Gift cards with a message. A product type: amounts as variants, the recipient’s email, an optional name and a message of up to 1,000 characters, one card per unit emailed when payment succeeds (gift cards; the guide).
2. A note with the order. Shoppers can leave a note at checkout; you write it on the card.
3. The grandparent who rings. Build the order in the dashboard, deliver to the parents, and send a payment link that works for 7 days or a payment-due invoice.
4. A gift list as a page. A newborn checklist page, with each item linked to its product, does the job of a gift list.

Can customers return opened baby goods?

Distance sales carry the 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, counted from delivery, or from the last item of a split delivery, or the first of a regular series (regulation 30). Sealed goods not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons lose the right once unsealed (regulation 28): a sealed dummy, teat or breast pump part. A sleepsuit tried on can still come back; under regulation 34 you may deduct for handling beyond what was needed to establish the goods’ nature, characteristics and functioning, and you lose even that if you did not give the right-to-cancel information.

Our UK returns law post covers refund timing and faulty goods. Sell dummies, teats and breast pump parts sealed and say so in your policy. On Orbit the return window, reasons and an auto-approve limit sit in Settings, and returned items are marked New, Used or Damaged and sent to Restock, Quarantine or Write off (returns).

Product pages a tired parent can trust

The shopper cannot pick the cot up, so the product page does the selling. On Orbit:

• The facts, as fields. Custom fields hold the standard, age range, weight limit, mattress size and tog, and show them on the product page through the Custom Field element (custom fields).
• Sizes as variants. Clothing by age and colour, each variant with its own price, SKU, image and stock, up to 2,000 combinations; add a size guide page (our clothing brand guide covers the labels inside).
• Starter sets as bundles. A fixed kit of up to 30 physical products with its own page and price; availability follows the scarcest component and the page lists what is included. Ask us to switch bundles on.
• Reviews you approve. The free Product Reviews plugin takes one to five stars, lets guests review, and holds every review as Pending until you approve it (reviews).
• A human to ask. The Form Builder plugin puts a “help me choose” form on a product page; the Live Chat add-on adds a chat button with opening hours and an away message that opens a ticket. Both are plugin store add-ons.
• Nappies on subscription. A Subscription product runs weekly to yearly or every two weeks; each renewal charges the saved card and creates an order that carries the delivery when the product is set to ship. The renewal reminder email and customer pause, cancel and plan changes are settings you choose (subscriptions; the guide).

Your first ten orders

1. Open with one tight collection: twenty lines with the facts filled in beat two hundred with blanks.
2. Put the standard and the sizes on every page before launch.
3. Launch a starter set that makes the first decision for parents.
4. Get listed on Google for free with a product feed.
5. Have gift cards live before December for relatives unsure of the baby’s size.
6. Tell antenatal classes and baby groups, with a discount code that counts who came back.
7. Ask the first ten customers for a review by hand; after that, the Workflows plugin can send a templated email on a fulfilment trigger.
8. Publish a plain safety page: the standards you ask for, why you skip cot bumpers, how you handle a recall.
9. Set handling and transit days per method so checkout shows a date, and flag two-person deliveries before the basket.
10. Check the recalls site monthly and keep every supplier invoice.

Where Orbit fits

Everything above runs on every Orbit plan, from Solo at £25 a month (£19 a month billed yearly, ex VAT), with unlimited products and a 14-day free trial, no card needed. Products of every type start on one New Product screen (products); shipping classes and delivery estimates are part of shipping and fulfilment. Product Reviews is a free plugin, Live Chat and Form Builder are add-ons with a free plan and paid plans, and Workflows is an add-on priced on its own page in the plugin store. Payments run through Orbit Payments on Stripe at one published card rate per plan with nothing added on top: UK personal Visa and Mastercard are 2% + 25p on Solo (pricing). In the theme store, Pip was built for kids and toys shops; pick it or another theme for a nursery shop and change its colours, fonts and logo in the dashboard.

Read next: gift cards for a small shop and choosing a theme for your shop type.

Questions people ask about selling baby and nursery goods online

Do baby products need a UKCA or CE mark in the UK?

Cots, prams and cot mattresses carry no UKCA or CE mark: they fall under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, which presume a product that meets a designated standard is safe for the risks it covers. Toys for under-14s need UKCA or CE marking, and a child car seat needs its approval label with R129 or ECE R44.

Can I sell second-hand or pre-loved baby goods online?

Yes. The Regulations cover products new, used or reconditioned, so a pre-loved pram must be as safe as a new one; the only carve-out is an item supplied to be repaired or reconditioned before use, if you say so. Check recalls and record where each item came from.

Is VAT charged on baby clothes and nursery furniture?

Children’s clothing and babywear are zero-rated within the conditions in VAT Notice 714, and nappies are zero-rated when held out for babies and young children. Children’s car seats are 5%. Prams, pushchairs, cots, mattresses and the rest of the nursery are 20%.

How do relatives buy a gift from my nursery shop on Orbit?

A gift card with a message is emailed to the recipient the moment payment succeeds, and a shopper can leave a note at checkout. A relative who phones gets a draft order with a payment link that works for 7 days. A newborn checklist page does the job of a gift list. A shopper’s own wishlist stays private to their account.

Can a customer return a sleepsuit or a feeding bottle they have opened?

A customer can cancel within 14 days of delivery for any reason. Sealed goods not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons lose that right once unsealed, so an opened sealed bottle, teat or dummy is outside it. A sleepsuit tried on can still come back; you may deduct for handling beyond what was needed to check it, unless you failed to give the right-to-cancel information.

Put the standards and sizes on the page, seal the hygiene lines, price the cot as a two-person delivery, and give gift buyers a gift card and a phone number. The 14-day free trial, no card required, is long enough to build the first collection.