Online Auction Sites
The practice of buying goods from internet auction sites such as e-bay, and other online market places such as Amazon’s ‘Sell Your Stuff’ is becoming more and more mainstream. 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.
The Distance Selling Regulations
One of the major benefits of buying goods and services on the internet is the fact that you are covered by the distance selling regulations. Under the regulations, you have the right to a 7 day cooling off period and a full refund without financial penalty of any kind. However, if you have bought an item as the result of a successful bid on e-bay, the distance selling regulations (and hence your cooling off rights) do not apply. Neither will the regs apply if you have bought the item through a private sale with an individual who is not acting as a commercial entity.
If however you have bought the goods as a result of a ‘buy it now’ transaction, or from a commercial trader acting in the course of business, you will be covered, and can take full advantage of your cooling off period.
Your statutory right to quality
One of your statutory rights is that any item you buy from a retailer or manufacturer must be of satisfactory quality. However if you buy from an individual in the context of a private sale, this statutory right does not apply and you will have no legal redress if the item is unsatisfactory. 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: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/buying_safely.html In the event that you have received a misdescribed, 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
Regardless of whether you buy the item from a commercial trader or a private seller, it must still conform to the description given in any sales literature.
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I’m a little confused. I have bought boots on e-bay described as size 6 but they were 5.5 (it says it on the sole. Am I entitled to a refund and the return postage? Any tips if the seller refuses the return posatge
Sharon, if they are significantly not as described (and therefore do not fit) you have the right to return them and get a full refund, plus delivery costs. But you also have this right under the distance selling regs anyway. If the seller refuses, you can make a claim via Paypal – assuming that was how you paid.
I bought a second hand stereo off eBay, but found that the cooling fan didn’t work so the unit got very hot (to my mind a problem), having returned the stereo to the shop (face to face), and asking for a refund (via Paypal) also opening a dispute through Paypal (due to an email I received from the seller) I was wondering what my rights were, can I expect to get a full refund? I bought the item emailed about the overheating 2 days later (told to return the item if I wasn’t happy) but it was 9 days after purchase when I was able to take the stereo back.
Grahame, your consumer rights will be less cut and dried where the item is second-hand, but where the seller is an established trader (and not a private seller) you still have the right to a good quality item which is fit for purpose. if the item is found to be of significantly poor quality and cannot reasonably be repaired, you can reject the item and claim a refund. You also have buyer protection offered by Paypal – for what this is worth…
I bought a second-hand ham radio transceiver from a private seller on “junksale”.
When it arrived it was broken – supposedly damaged in transit.
I immediately informed the seller and he asked me to hold onto the radio until contacted by the post office, as he was claiming damage compensation. I did this and the radio has been seen by the post office and returned to the seller. What are my rights to claim a refund ?
Geoff, you won’t benefit from the consumer protection offered under Sale of Goods because this was a private sale. However as this was a legally binding contract, the seller is in breach of contract by providing you with a unfit product. Therefore under contract law you have the right to a full refund.
I purchased HOT PINK ghd hair straighteners from a private seller, listed as ghd’s used in box, good working order, delivery 2-3 days after cleard payment, HOWEVER, 9 days later i recieved the item after 2 emails asking where my item was, then once opened i realised they were counterfeit, this has been confirmed by ghd official and ebay help files (wish id read those first, a little to trusting for my own good) anyway, i contacted seller straight away and polietly informed her they were “fake” and wished to return for a full refund. The lovly lady replied…”i do not except returns” and suggested that i re sell them to get my money back!!!! er “fake”??!!! obviously not an option to me. So i opened a dispute, the reply i got was almost comical, basically she has lied about communication and the sequence in corrispondece exchanged, and accused me of being abrupt and abusive, i was straight to the point but never any of the above, i also corrected her comments (nicely) re sequence of emails (this took 3 messages in the resolution centre, all sent one after another) her reply was ebay please tell the buyer to stop sending me messages upon messages and harrasing me, i have said i dont accept returns. Fair enough but what about the fact you sold countrfeit item???? – she has been a member since 2004, 100% feedback on 47 items – i have been a member from 2004 also with 100% feedback on 348 item, im a regular buyer and seller with no previous problems, SO where do i stand here i have to allow the open case to run until the 14th april then ebay will review and make final desicion (seller will no longer communicate) and im affraid to send another message after being accused of harrasment! thanks in advance sue
Hi,
As a recent business seller on Ebay, I sold a refurbished games console to a buyer who after 3 months claims it has develloped 2 minor faults.
What would my stance be on this as the item was refurbished (refurbished by myself) and not stated as a Manufacturer Refurbished, the buyer is claiming to be entitled to 6 months warranty as that is the length of time they expect it to work for, sure I don’t expect it to fail after 30 days but….
Ebay Auctions should themselves be covered by DSR on B2C transactions.
Ebay themselves make a point of stating that their Auction Style Format is not a proper auction as such.
A listing for an item using the auction format where a seller can cancel the listing early and or add to or change the description after the auction has started is not n the truest sense an auction.
Ebay simply liken the format of the listing to how a regular auction works.
In addition, there is no physical auctioneer running the auction which again declassifies it as an auction.
Hi. I recently bought a LCD TV from uk-liquidations.co.uk last friday. It was listed as a “Returns” item. When I got it back home, the stand panel was broken in the box. The TV wont show any picture except a white screen. I called the manufacturer customer service immediately & they said its an internal damage & to return it back asap. As UK-Liquidatiions is closed on the weekends, I called them MONDAY. The dispute team says whats sold is sold, they dont check before selling & wont take it back either. Where do I stand with this? Do I have the right to a refund?