Earlier today, I got a message from Etsy, "reminding" me that I needed to add my LUCID ID number to my seller profile.
Ehmmm... my what number?
SIMILAR... but not the SAME
Just another piece of bureaucracy folks... nothing to see here!
So I did some reading, and turns out that if I — as an artist selling on the Etsy (or any other, for that matter) — would happen to sell a painted rock that needed to be sent to a buyer in Germany, I am legally required to have a LUCID registration.
What the hell does that mean?
Well, it means that the German Federal government has determined that as part of minimizing waste, any and all who in some way contribute to the waste problem with — for example — packing and shipping materials, must be registered to be part of this co-op/compact that deals with waste minimization in Germany.
And so, I spent the better part of two hours learning and then filling out forms on a German government website to come into compliance, because I didn't want to risk being fined "up to 200,000€" for not having registered.
I have made precisely two sales to Germany in the course of... well, since early 2011.
It's bad enough to have to keep track of a growing number of US states that require the collection of state sales taxes, but this takes "business IN-convenience" to a whole new level.
Now, I'm absolutely not any kind of conspiracy theorist, but sometimes it really does feel like the government would rather not have any small individual operators in the marketplace, just large organizations.
Let's face it, the regulation I just complied with makes plenty of sense in the context of a large corporation sending pallet loads of goods not only in plastic clamshell packaging, but then packaged in shipping boxes with all manners of plastic and styrofoam filler.
For an individual artist who doesn't use "branded" packaging, and who uses exclusively used boxes and packing materials, it makes relatively little sense as anything more than just another layer of bureaucratic nonsense.
But I am definitely in compliance, now!
Even so, it irks me a bit that the two hours I was planning to spend on creative endeavors instead got eaten up by "government forms."
But I guess that's just the way it goes!
Thanks for stopping by and looking at my work! Do leave me a comment if you feel so inspired — interaction and engagement are always welcome!
If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!
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2022.06.24 AS-TXT-104/070