Buying a faulty appliance via private seller on ebay

Buying goods from online market places

Here we are referring to Internet auction sites such as e-bay, or other online market places, such as the ‘sell your stuff’ section of Amazon. In these instances, you are not buying from the sites themselves, but from individuals who have put their possessions or products up for sale on those sites. This has risks in itself where those products cannot be verified, but it also has important implications for your consumer rights.

Your statutory rights demand that any item you buy from a retailer or manufacturer must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and conform to the description given in any sales literature. However if you buy from an individual in the context of a private sale, the first two of these three rights do not apply, and this is a common cause of complaint. E bay offer lots of information on how to shop safely on their site including checking the seller’s feedback ratings, whether the item is covered by PayPal Buyer Protection, and what returns policy is offered. See: eBay UK: Safety Centre: Buying Safely In the event that you have received a mis-described, poor quality or faulty product, or if the item was never sent, report the matter to e-bay who will then take steps to ban that seller from any further trading.

Do remember however that not all transactions from these sites are with private sellers. Many are established businesses (e-tailers), and any dealings with them will be subject to your full statutory rights as well as a 7 day cooling off period under the Distance Selling Regs

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