In Germany, anyone selling goods to consumers by weight, volume, length or area must show the unit price (Grundpreis) together with the total price — since 28 May 2022 per 1 kg, 1 l, 1 m, 1 m² or 1 m³ as a rule (§§ 4 and 5 PAngV). This guide covers when the duty applies, how to calculate it, how Amazon, eBay and Kaufland display it, and the mistakes that most often lead to an Abmahnung.
The rule: § 4 PAngV
Under § 4(1) of the Price Indication Ordinance (Preisangabenverordnung, PAngV), a business that offers consumers goods in prepackages, open packages or unwrapped sales units by weight, volume, length or area — or advertises them with a price — must state the unit price “in addition to the total price” (“neben dem Gesamtpreis”) in a way that is unambiguous, clearly recognisable and easily legible. The unit price is the price per unit of quantity including VAT and all other price components (§ 2 no. 4 PAngV).
So the duty covers not only the product page but every advert with a price: Google Shopping ads, newsletters, social media posts. You may leave the unit price out only where it equals the total price, for example exactly 1 l of cooking oil or 1 kg of flour.
On placement, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH, 19 May 2022, I ZR 69/21, still on the old wording) required that the shopper can see the total price and the unit price at a glance, and practice continues to follow that. A unit price that appears only on mouse-over, in the description or behind a link is not enough.
Units: 1 kg and 1 l, not 100 g
Under § 5(1) PAngV the unit is 1 kilogram, 1 litre, 1 cubic metre, 1 metre or 1 square metre. The old exception that let small packs of up to 250 g or 250 ml show a price per 100 g or 100 ml ended when the new PAngV took effect on 28 May 2022. “100 g = €1.20” is no longer a permitted format.
- Goods usually sold in large quantities (50 kg, 100 l or 100 m and more) may use the unit customary in the trade (§ 5(1)).
- For food with a drained weight, the unit price refers to the drained weight (§ 5(4)).
- Detergents and cleaning products may use a customary application as the unit, such as “per wash”; for portioned products, if the number of portions is stated as well as the total quantity (§ 5(5)).
Exceptions that matter to marketplace sellers
§ 4(3) PAngV exempts certain goods. For online sellers these are the relevant ones:
- Goods with a nominal quantity under 10 g or 10 ml, such as cosmetic samples.
- Goods made up of different products that are not mixed together. Courts read this narrowly: tea sets of separate varieties were exempt, oil paints in several shades were not. A gift set of shower gel and body lotion is more likely exempt; a three-pack of the same shower gel is not.
- Cosmetics used solely to colour or beautify skin, hair or nails — lipstick, nail polish, make-up. Shampoo, cream or shower gel are not covered.
- Perfumes and scented waters with at least 3 % fragrance oil and at least 70 % pure ethyl alcohol.
Cosmetics still need the nominal quantity even where no unit price is required — see the guide on cosmetics claims.
Worked examples
Unit price = total price ÷ quantity in the reference unit. For multipacks, use the total quantity in the offer.
| Offer | Unit price |
|---|---|
| Shampoo 250 ml for €4.95 | €4.95 ÷ 0.25 l = €19.80/l |
| Coffee beans 500 g for €7.49 | €7.49 ÷ 0.5 kg = €14.98/kg |
| Cashews 125 g for €2.99 | €2.99 ÷ 0.125 kg = €23.92/kg |
| 3 × 300 ml shower gel for €8.97 | €8.97 ÷ 0.9 l = €9.97/l |
| Cotton fabric 2.5 m for €22.50 | €22.50 ÷ 2.5 m = €9.00/m |
| Wood stain 750 ml for €18.99 | €18.99 ÷ 0.75 l = €25.32/l |
On a German listing it reads: “4,95 € (19,80 €/l) inkl. MwSt., zzgl. Versand”. When the price changes — a promotion or a repricing tool — the unit price must change with it.
How Amazon, eBay and Kaufland show the unit price
| Marketplace | What you maintain |
|---|---|
| Amazon | The attributes unit_count (quantity) and unit_count_type (unit, e.g. gram, millilitre, metre). Amazon calculates the price per unit from them. Since 30 September 2021 Amazon has required both fields on Amazon.de for many product types; new or updated listings without them are rejected. |
| eBay | Number of units and unit of measure in the item specifics. eBay divides the price by the number of units and shows the unit price below the Buy It Now price. eBay’s own example: 100 g for €3.99 with a price per kg → enter 0.1. Pure auctions without Buy It Now need no unit price. |
| Kaufland | The base price unit in the product data. Kaufland states that sellers are responsible for correct unit price information. |
On every marketplace the platform does the maths but you carry the liability. After publishing, check the product page, the variations and the search results list. On eBay listings with variations that have different unit prices, each variation needs its own.
Typical mistakes that get sellers an Abmahnung
- No unit price at all — common with cosmetics, cleaning products, paint, food and fabric by the metre.
- Still “per 100 g” or “per 100 ml” instead of per kg or l.
- Wrong quantity in the marketplace field: pack count “1” with unit “count” instead of the content, or only one bottle’s content for a multipack.
- Unit price only in the description, in an image or on mouse-over instead of next to the price.
- Price in search lists, gallery views or “customers also bought” boxes without the unit price.
- Sets and bundles without a unit price where the mixed-products exception does not apply.
- Price changed, unit price not updated.
Missing unit prices are a classic Abmahnung ground because they are easy to find automatically. How an Abmahnung works and how to respond is covered in Abmahnung for marketplace sellers.
Check your listing
The free listing check reminds you of the unit price for cosmetics with a stated quantity and flags risky wording. It does not recalculate your unit price — use the table above and check the live page. For titles that follow each marketplace’s rules, try the title checker.