Purchasing parcel stamps or shipping labels via online portals such as eBay involves risks for the purchaser. Online shipping labels that are sold on via the Internet are always invalid sales or frauds. However, even the purchase of physical parcel stamps involves risks as it is very difficult for purchasers to identify counterfeits.

Purchasers are the victims where counterfeit parcel stamps or online labels are used. A consignment franked using counterfeit stamps or labels will be returned to the sender and only handed over after a levy of EUR 20 has been paid.

According to DHL Paket GmbH's General Terms and Conditions of Business, online shipping labels may not be re-used. When purchasing a label, the person who first acquires the label must enter the address data (sender and recipient addresses), which is then contained in the barcode. If online labels are offered blank or with retrospectively amended address data, these are always counterfeits.

You can identify an original DHL online shipping label (e.g. from DHL's online franking service) from the black and white design. None of these labels can thus be subsequently re-sold.

An increasing number of online shipping labels have a security code printed in the form of a data matrix code in the top right of the label, next to the address field. This means that invalid labels are identified as soon as they arrive at Deutsche Post and DHL receiving offices.

In contrast, the address fields for physical DHL parcel stamps (usually sold as a set), are not completed, meaning that if such labels are re-sold, they are generally not fraudulent. In contrast to online shipping labels, these labels are coloured.

As counterfeits are difficult for purchasers to spot, we also advise against purchasing these stamps from online portals which do not belong to the DHL Group.