FLUF Connect

Sell on OBI Marketplace: Partner Requirements and How to Apply

Who OBI accepts as a product partner in Germany, what it asks for, how fees are set, and connecting an approved account to FLUF Connect.

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Key takeaways

  • OBI takes manufacturers and retailers whose products add to its home improvement, building and garden range.
  • You need an entry in the commercial register, a company base and dispatch point inside the EU, and customer service in at least German.
  • You handle delivery, invoicing and returns yourself.
  • OBI charges a monthly base fee plus transaction fees, and gives the amounts during onboarding instead of publishing them.
  • Once approved, you can connect your seller account in FLUF Connect and list stock whose barcodes are already in OBI’s catalogue. FLUF does not create catalogue products or import orders.

This guide is for a manufacturer or retailer of tools, building materials or garden products that already sells online and wants to reach OBI’s customers. If you are clearing a garage as a private person, OBI will not take you. Kleinanzeigen is the place for that.

What the OBI marketplace is

OBI is the German home improvement chain, and its partner site has two programmes. Product partners sell goods on obi.de. Service partners offer a complete job, from materials and advice to fitting. This guide covers product partners, because that is the side FLUF connects to.

OBI’s own figures for its online shop are about 230 million visitors a year and a prompted brand awareness of 95%, from a 2023 survey. Those are the numbers it gives to win partners, so treat them as the reach on offer and not as a forecast of sales for your range.

What sells there

OBI asks for an offer that fits and fills out its range for home improvement, building and garden. A seller with a narrow specialism has the stronger case: one bathroom specialist quoted on its partner page credits the arrangement with faster growth. Your pitch should say what your range adds that OBI’s shelves lack, because a copy of what it already stocks gives it little reason to accept you.

Who can sell

OBI’s FAQ for product partners sets these conditions:

  • You are entered in the commercial register (Handelsregister).
  • Your company is based in the EU, and your goods start their delivery from inside the EU.
  • You provide customer service in at least German.
  • You deliver to customers, issue the invoices and process returns.

The register requirement is the one that stops most small sellers, since a sole trader without an entry does not meet it. Check it first.

What you need for listing

New products need German product content written to OBI’s content guidelines, plus a GTIN. You receive the guidelines after you sign the contract, so budget time for adapting your data once you have them. If your catalogue is only in English or Polish, translation is part of the job.

How you apply

  1. Register. Send your company details and name a contact person.
  2. Review. OBI’s partner management team contacts you and goes through the data with you.
  3. Activation. After a successful review you get access to OBI’s partner platform.

No documents are mandatory for the first application, though OBI says a product catalogue, company presentation or register extract can speed up its assessment. Before you can sell, you must pass the identity checks of its payment provider. These ask for an official photo ID, such as a passport, and proof of your bank details, such as a statement or a letter from your bank.

Fees

OBI charges a monthly base fee plus transaction fees on the sale price of the goods. It calls them customary for the market but does not publish them, and tells you the amounts during onboarding. Get the figures per category in writing and test them on your lowest-margin lines. A bulky item with free delivery can look healthy on price and lose money after commission, freight and one return.

Is it right for you?

It suits an established EU business with barcoded home improvement or garden products, German-language support and its own delivery set-up, including for heavy goods if that is what you sell. It suits less well a business outside the EU, a seller without a register entry, or anyone with used or unbranded stock.

For other retailers in the same market, see the guides to home24 and MediaMarkt, or the overview of selling in Germany. Sellers of DIY products elsewhere in Europe may also want the guides to Leroy Merlin and B&Q.

Using FLUF Connect with OBI

OBI approves its own partners, so FLUF has no application link for it. On the Channels screen in FLUF Connect its card is marked “Invite only” and covers one country, Germany. When your seller account is live and your products are in OBI’s catalogue, choose “Already approved? Connect” on the card.

The OBI card on the FLUF Connect Channels screen, before an account is connected.
The OBI card on the Channels screen in FLUF Connect, before a seller account is connected. View full size

FLUF can then list items from your inventory that already exist in OBI’s catalogue, matched by barcode. Stock you already manage in FLUF for eBay or Amazon can be offered here without typing it in again.

Task On OBI through FLUF Connect
Apply and get accepted You do this with OBI
Connect your approved seller account Yes, from the Channels screen
List stock that the catalogue already holds, by barcode Yes
Write German content or create new catalogue products No. You do this with OBI.
Detect sales or import orders No. Manage orders in your OBI partner account.
Relisting or offer management No

FLUF does not see OBI orders, so a sale there will not lower your stock elsewhere on its own. When an order takes your last unit, mark it sold in FLUF and it comes down from the other marketplaces you list it on.

FLUF’s plans for businesses selling on several channels are on the pricing page. Start with 7 days for £1, then from £9/month to see the Channels screen with your own stock.

Sources

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Frequently Asked Questions

Manufacturers and retailers entered in the commercial register, with a company base and dispatch inside the EU and customer service in at least German. Their range should add to OBI's home improvement, building and garden offer.

A monthly base fee plus transaction fees on the sale price. OBI does not publish the amounts. It gives them during onboarding, so ask for them in writing.

German product content that follows OBI's content guidelines, and a GTIN. OBI sends the guidelines after you sign the contract.

None are mandatory for the first application, though a product catalogue, company presentation or register extract can help. Before selling, you pass the payment provider's identity checks, with an official photo ID and proof of your bank details.

You do. Product partners deliver to customers, issue the invoices and process any returns.

Once OBI has approved you, connect your seller account from the Channels screen. FLUF lists items already in OBI's catalogue, matched by barcode. It does not create catalogue products or import orders.

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