EU Consumer Protection Law and Information Obligations

The following text is provided in English for international business sellers.

Please note that eBay reserves the right to delete or block certain listings, which appear to not meet statutory requirements for online B2C Sale. This might especially apply to possible cases of invalid notifications about the consumer’s withdrawal rights.

When selling internationally, there are other regulations that sellers would need to adhere. Here you find the Product Safety Guidance for Sellers - opes in a new window or tab, listing on the US, EU and AU sites. These pages are for information only. Please see the applicable international selling policies on various eBay sites. Here is a link to the IT one.

When do EU consumer protection laws apply?

EU consumer protection laws are always applicable when a business seller sells to consumers residing in the EU, regardless from where he is operating his business (e.g. US, China, Hong Kong, etc.).

On eBay, a business seller sells to consumers residing in the EU when he:

• Lists items on an eBay website directed at any EU country or
• Offers worldwide shipping and makes clear reference to customers residing within the EU (for example by the language of the listing and by mentioning special shipping rates to the EU, etc.)

If you do not sell your goods to consumers residing within the EU, these laws do not apply to you. You should take the following measures:

• Do not list your items on any eBay website directed at any EU country (including, for example, eBay.co.uk, eBay.de, eBay.fr, eBay.es, eBay.it, eBay.nl, eBay.be, eBay.ie, eBay.at, eBay.pl)
• When offering worldwide shipping, you should exclude shipping to EU countries in your listings by deselecting the corresponding shipping options in your listings. It is also advisable to add a disclaimer to your listings stating that you will not ship any items to customers within the EU

When do I act as a business seller on eBay?

You typically act as a business seller, if you

• Buy goods to resell them on eBay
• Sell goods which you have manufactured
• Regularly sell large amounts of goods
• Sell identical or similar items (especially new and unused items) over a longer period of time
• Are an eBay sales agent
• Buy goods for your company

Please note: This list is not exhaustive and other activities may mean that you are operating as a business. If this is the case, you'll be obliged to fulfill the information obligations on this site.

If any of the above applies, then you have a legal obligation to declare yourself as a business seller. Declaring yourself as a private seller, even though you are acting as a business, is misleading to potential consumers and breaks consumer protection law and eBay policies.

Warranty rights

As a seller, you are obliged to hand over the goods to the buyer free of defects - regardless of whether you are a private or commercial seller.

If the goods are defective at the time of delivery to the buyer, the buyer is entitled to warranty claims. In the event of a defect in the delivery of the goods, the buyer may, in principle:

• Either demand delivery of a new item or repair of the defective item (so-called supplementary performance claim)
• In the event of failure, impossibility or refusal of supplementary performance by the Seller to withdraw from the contract or reduce the purchase price
• If the seller is at fault the buyer can demand compensation for damages or reimbursement of futile expenses

For these claims, a warranty period of two years applies in principle. Inform about this right, but do not present it as a special feature of the offer.

What information do I have to provide?

As a business seller you have to provide the following information in a clear and comprehensible manner in all your listings:

1. Contact details

• Company name and (if applicable) the full name(s) of the legal representative(s) of the company
• The geographic address of the company (a PO Box is not sufficient)
• Contact details, including an email address, telephone number, fax number
• The company registration number and register(if applicable)
• If applicable, details of any responsible chamber of commerce including the applicable laws and the applicable job title
• If applicable, details of any authorization scheme that the service provider is subject to, including the name of the relevant authority
• The company Value Added Tax identification number(if applicable)
• This information has to be in Italian or English

Please include this information in every listing in Latin characters and in English language and ensure that you use language which is recognizable and readable for European consumers. For example, Chinese sellers should not simply use phonetic language / pinyin to transcribe Chinese characters into Latin characters but should use an English version.

Please find an example for contact details in English language below:

Business seller information:

• Company name: ABC Company
• Legal representative: Zhou Xing
• Contact details: Xueyuan Road No.10, Haidian District, 100107 Beijing City, China

Show contact information:

• Telefon: [•]
• E-Mail:  [•]

Please note: Should your business seller information not display such information in English but only in phonetic language, please ensure to make use of the “Additional info” field within the public business info settings in your account settings to include and display the English language version as well.

You can find the additional information field in your account settings: Personal Info -> Public business info -> Additional info

This field’s content is displayed to buyers in listings underneath “Show contact information” in the “Business seller information” box.

2. Clear indications of prices

Prices have to be clear and unambiguous. Also, as a business seller you have to state whether prices include taxes and delivery costs. You should also mention any other costs which the buyer may need to pay (e.g. customs/import tax and fees). Goods, which are priced according to weight, volume et cetera are additionally to be listed with the corresponding unit price (price per 100 ml or 1 liter for fluids, price per 100g or 1 kg for solids).

3. EU right of withdrawal

All business sellers who list their items on an EU eBay site must allow consumers to make a return within 14 days, without needing a reason under the EU right of withdrawal.  Business sellers must clearly inform consumers of their right of withdrawal before they complete their purchase. You can add this mandatory notice to your listings in your return policy. For more information read our page on Setting up your return policy.

4. Terms and Conditions

If you offer certain terms and conditions, these have to be included in your listing. Failure to properly include the terms and conditions may result in them being void and not enforceable against buyers. Please be aware that terms and conditions need to be provided in Italian in order to become valid parts of the contract. Furthermore, Italian law provides that many clauses are invalid even if properly implemented because they are deemed to be unfair. Please contact a qualified Italian legal counsel for details.

Where does this information have to be provided?

The information described above has to be included in all of your listings.

To provide the information you can use the following table. Simply use and fill in the appropriate fields and copy and paste the table into your item description. Please use Italian or English language for completing this table.

5. Product-specific Information

Common product-specific regulations in Italy are (non-exhaustive list of examples):

• The EU Toys Ordinance prohibits the sale of toys, which endanger the safety and health of children, including detailed restrictions or limits on certain chemical substances contained within toys. Applies to manufacturers and to merchants who are selling toys under their own name or brand

   

• The EU Packaging Ordinance obligates manufacturers and distributors to accept the return of packaging and arrange the recycling in cooperation with a collection scheme service provider

   

• The German Electro Act stipulates that manufacturers and distributors of new electric and electronic devices (also electric cables etc.) have to be centrally registered and mark their products with a corresponding registration number to ensure return and recycling of used devices

   

• The EU textile labeling ordinance obligates manufacturers and distributors of textiles (clothing) to list details about the fiber composition (e.g. cotton, synthetic fibers) in the listing and as mark on the product

   

6. Specific obligations to inform when selling electronic and electric devices

As a business seller you have a legal obligation to show extensive energy labelling information for the following electronic and electric products, when you sell them as new items

• Televisions
• Household refrigerators and freezers
• Household washing machines, clothes dryer and household washer-driers
• Household dishwashers
• Lighting equipment
• Household ovens
• Room air conditioners (air conditioners)

Important: not every single product in these categories is affected – law distinguishes between certain technical aspects of the devices. There is no obligation to inform for used devices.

The information must be provided before the contract is concluded with the customer, in a clear and readable way.

Since January 1st, 2015, distributors are obliged to show the *energy efficiency class* for each device, which is brought to market with a new model number, through a standardized electronic label. Besides that, sellers have to show a *product data sheet* with additional energy-relevant information. There is an obligation to show these labels even for older models, when the manufacturer provides those labels voluntarily.

eBay offers – in collaboration with an external service provider – the possibility to show the energy-relevant information for certain products. As a seller you have the possibility to embed the electronic label and product data sheet into your item page on eBay. For that you are required to provide the brand of the device and the manufacturer part number (MPN) as an item specific, as far as this data is available in the database.

The seller is responsible for his listing. He has to make sure that the electronic label and product data sheet is available on his item page through the service provider. If the service provider can’t provide these information, the seller must provide the required information on his own, for example in the item description or as a product picture (please consult with your attorney if such a display fulfills the legal requirements).

7. Information of an EU economic operator to be included with the product for any sellers placing goods in the EU in the course of commercial activity

The EU Regulations on market surveillance - opes in a new window or tab together with the Guidelines for its practical implementation - opes in a new window or tab will come into force on 16 July 2021. Sellers will be required to put the name and contact details of the economic operator in the EU on the product or the product packaging. If you don’t do this, your goods may be seized at customs or stopped from further circulation. An EU economic operator can be a manufacturer, importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider based in the EU.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: requirements imposed on eBay-business sellers

On February 1st 2017, the paragraphs 36 and 37 of the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act - opes in a new window or tab came into force and set up further information requirements for business sellers on eBay regarding the so called "Alternative Dispute Resolution" ("ADR").

Please be aware that the following information can merely be regarded as general advice that cannot substitute legal consultation. If you have further questions, please consult your lawyer or any other legal advice office.

1. Information obligations according to the Directive on consumer ADR.
2. Practical implementation on eBay.

Information obligations according to the Consumer Dispute Settlement Act

As of April 1st, 2016, the Consumer Dispute Settlement Act - opes in a new window or tab came into force.

In addition, on February 2nd, 2017, the §§ 36, 37 of the above-mentioned Act came into force and laid down further information requirements for business sellers.

According to § 36 CDRA, traders, including business sellers on eBay, are obliged to inform about their voluntary willingness or their legal obligation to take part in the proceedings before ADR entities. This information obligation exists regardless of the willingness or the legal obligation. The notice can be given – if applicable – within the general terms and conditions as well as on the traders’ website.

If the respective trader committed himself or is legally obliged to take part in the dispute resolution proceedings, an additional notice is to be provided regarding the ADR entity by which he is covered.

Regardless of the general information obligation following § 36 CDRA, according to § 37 CDRA, the trader has to point out to the consumer both the entity, by which he is covered as well as the willingness or legal obligation in textual form, if a contractual dispute between them could not be resolved by the parties themselves.

Practical implementation on eBay

Business sellers can fulfil these information obligations either by putting the above link or the essential information according to § 36 CDRA in the item description or in the field "additional, legally required information" within the imprint. Overall, the information mentioned should preferably be published coherently.

EU Geoblocking Regulation: Impact for eBay sellers

The purpose of the Geoblocking Regulation is to counteract different treatment of customers within the European Economic Area on grounds of nationality, residence or place of establishment. The Geoblocking Regulation is in force from December 3rd, 2018.

What sales are covered by the Geoblocking Regulation?

The Geoblocking Regulation applies to sales by commercial sellers to customers with residence in the European Economic Area (EEA, i.e. EU member states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

What online sellers need to change

1. No restriction of the buyer group based on residence Online sellers may not exclude customers residing in the EEA on the grounds of their nationality, residence or place of establishment. However, this does not mean that sellers must offer shipping to each of these countries.
2. Same terms of payment Sellers may not restrict the means of payment available to customers with respect to the country they live, have their bank account, their means of payment is issued, etc. However, this only applies to the extent that

• The payment transaction is made through an electronic transaction by credit transfer, direct debit or a card-based payment instrument within the same payment brand and category
• Authentication requirements are fulfilled and
• The payment transactions are in a currency that the seller accepts

What online sellers do not need to change

• There is no obligation to offer shipping to every country in the EEA
• Different offers on different country pages are permitted
• Different pricing on different country pages is permitted
• Different shipping costs to different delivery locations are permitted
• Statutory sales restrictions and national price fixing for individual goods in individual EEA States remain unaffected by the Regulation. For detailed advice on regulations and the application of legal requirements on your specific product and sale setting, please reach out to your qualified Italian legal counsel. If you do not have a related contact in your country, the Italian Embassies or the Italian Chamber of Commerce can mediate a relevant contact to Italian business lawyers in your country

What happens if I do not comply with the law?

Failure to comply with these legal obligations can lead to costly warning letters and cease-and-desist claims from competitors and certain consumer protection agencies. It could also lead to court proceedings and penalties. Please be aware that eBay may take action against business sellers who are not compliant with the law.

For detailed advice on regulations and the application of legal requirements on your specific product and sale setting, please reach out to your qualified Italian legal counsel. If you do not have a related contact in your country, the Italian Embassies or the Italian Chamber of Commerce can mediate a relevant contact to Italian  business lawyers in your country.