EU Consumer Protection Law and Information Obligations

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

Cette page est en Anglais car destinée aux vendeurs professionnels internationaux.

Under EU consumer protection law, business sellers who sell items over the internet to consumers must provide their customers with information about their business, their contact details and provide further details that may be important to complete the transaction prior to the conclusion of the contract.

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, 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 FR 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 they operate their business from (e.g. US, China, Hong Kong, etc.).

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

• List items on an eBay website directed at any EU country or
• Offer 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.fr, eBay.de, eBay.co.uk, 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
• 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)
• Information on the existence of the ODR platform (if applicable)

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. Information about the consumer’s right of withdrawal

If you sell over the internet to consumers residing within the European Union you have to offer consumers a right of withdrawal. This means that the buyer can return the item within a certain timeframe without giving any reasons. Generally speaking the seller has to refund the full price of the item as well as the shipping costs to the buyer, unless the item is returned in a damaged condition. According to Distance Selling Regulations, consumers who purchase new or used goods from a business seller via the Internet have a 14-day (not 14 business days) right of withdrawal. The consumer has the right to withdraw from the purchase without giving any reason in order to return the delivered goods and to claim a full refund of the purchase price. This withdrawal period begins when the consumer has been informed about their right of withdrawal and the goods have been handed over to the consumer. In general the buyer bears the return shipping costs if the seller informed the buyer accordingly. The seller may decide to bear the return shipping costs by choosing that option in the instructions on withdrawal and the structured fields.

In order to comply with the legal requirements, business sellers may use the following return policy template, provided by the legislator.

Include ONLY the French Wording (left part of the table) in your Return Policy Field. The English version is for information and translation purposes only. Amend the information in the red text as follows:

For detailed advice on regulations and the application of legal requirements on your specific product and sale setting, please reach out to your qualified French legal counsel.

 

MODÈLE DE FORMULAIRE DE RÉTRACTATION	SAMPLE WITHDRAWAL FORM
(Veuillez compléter et renvoyer le présent formulaire uniquement si vous souhaitez vous rétracter du contrat.)	(Please complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.)
A l'attention de [ le professionnel insère ici son nom, son adresse géographique et, lorsqu'ils sont disponibles, son numéro de télécopieur et son adresse électronique (1)] :	To the attention of the professional inserts his name, geographical address and, where available, fax number and e-mail address ]:
– Je/nous (*) vous notifie/notifions (*) par la présente ma/notre (*) rétractation du contrat portant sur la vente du bien (*)/pour la prestation de services (*) ci-dessous :	— I/we (*) hereby notify you/us (*) of my/our (*) withdrawal from the contract for the sale of the good (*)/for the provision of services (*) below :
— Commandé le (*) /reçu le (*) :   – Nom du (des) consommateur(s) :   – Adresse du (des) consommateur(s) :   – Signature du (des) consommateur(s) (uniquement en cas de notification du présent formulaire sur papier) :   – Date	— Ordered on (*)/received on (*):   — Name of consumer(s):   — Address of consumer(s):   — Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper):   — Date:
(*) Rayez la mention inutile.	(*) Delete as appropriate.

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 French in order to become valid parts of the contract. Furthermore, French law provides that many clauses are invalid even if properly implemented because they are deemed to be unfair. Please contact a qualified French 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 French language for completing this table.

English	French
Company Name:	Nom de la société :
Company representative:	Représentant de la société :
Address:	Adresse :
Phone:	Téléphone :
Fax:	Fax :
Email:	Courriel :
Trade registration number:	Numéro d'immatriculation :
Value Added Tax ID number:	Numéro de TVA :

Return policy
Please use the returns policy template offered by the French legislator (see above)

Terms & conditions
Please use the free form text field in the business seller framework for your terms and conditions.

5. 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

• electronic screens
• household refrigerators and freezers
• household washing machines, clothes dryer and household washer-dryers
• household dishwashers
• lighting equipment
• household ovens
• heating equipment
• room air conditioners (air conditioners)
• range hoods
• water heaters

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.

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.

In this context, please select a valid value from “A +++” to “G” via the drop-down menu for the item specific “Energy efficiency class”. This value can be classified by specifying the range with the item specific "Range" that corresponds to the type of the product.

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 this 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).

Note: If you are not sure whether you have to provide mandatory information or how to integrate it into your offer, please contact a lawyer or legal advice center.

6. 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 together with the Guidelines for its practical implementation will come into effect on 16 July 2021. Sellers are 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.

Online Dispute Resolution and Alternative Dispute Resolution: requirements imposed on eBay-business sellers

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.

Since January 1st, 2016, any professionals must allow any French consumers to access a consumer mediation system in the event of a dispute. It is therefore necessary to identify the consumer mediator to whom you report and to adhere to his consumer mediation system.

In addition, you must provide to the consumers with the contact details and website of the mediator(s) to whom you belong.

Information obligation according to ODR-VO

In accordance with Article 14 of the Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013, business sellers on eBay are obliged to provide a link to the Online Dispute Resolution platform in an "easily accessible way". As a business seller on eBay, you have the opportunity to provide this link in the item description (as a clickable link), in the field "additional, legally required information" (as clickable link; please consult your lawyer whether such a link fulfils the legal requirement of easy access) within the seller information and additionally (if applicable) in your general terms and conditions.

Besides, business sellers are obliged to provide their email address as well as information both about the existence of the ODR-platform as well as the possibility to use it for the resolution of disputes.

Practical implementation on eBay

Overall, the information mentioned should preferably be published coherently.

If you make use of the field "additional, legally required information", you can apply the following HTML-Code in order to comply with the above named ODR linking-obligations. For similar linking obligation please use a corresponding version the following HTML-Code:

<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/</a>

This practice does not violate our links policy for links to external websites, as the placing of the link is legally required.

New German Packaging Act: Impact on eBay sellers

Since 2019, the German Packaging Act requires retailers who circulate packaging with their products and sell them to German end consumers to license the packaging with a dual system and to register it in the "LUCID" register, provided by the Central Packaging Register Office (ZSVR).

Starting July 1, 2022 eBay is required by law to check whether sellers comply with their obligations. Learn more about the requirements for business sellers.

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 French legal counsel.

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 French legal counsel.