Beware buying on ebay

[Tony]

If you are buying from individuals selling on ebay there are implications that affect your rights.

Your statutory rights state that goods must:

1. be of satisfactory quality
2. be fit for purpose
3. must conform to the description

The problem is that if you are buying from an individual, the first two of these three rights are not applicable. This is a major source of consumer complaints.

Ebay acknowledges this and provides a lot of information about shopping safely with them and whether purchases are covered by the PayPal Buyer Protection.

eBay UK: Safety Centre: Buying Safely

It is important to remember that not all transactions are from private sellers and many are businesses and as long as they are UK traders your statutory rights will not be affected and you will also benefit from the protection provided by the Distance Selling Regulations i.e. you have a 7 day cooling off period. You can read more about this in this guide to shopping online.

[Paul Carcone]

Of course...remember that you are protected up to £500 for goods that you buy using PayPal...so it's worth paying for your items this way...and it also usually means that payments clear faster thus allowing you to get your hands on your goods faster too...

Paul C