Pay attention to the private sale clause on eBay
As a private seller, you are also subject to a warranty for private sales on eBay. However, you can exclude your liability as long as you formulate the clause correctly and do not hide errors in the goods.
If you sell something on eBay, you have to hand over the goods to the buyer free of defects and legal defects in accordance with the sales law of the German Civil Code.
Be careful when selling privately
- If the object of sale shows a defect, you are subject to a warranty for a period of two years.
- Commercial sellers can restrict or exclude these statutory warranty rights of the buyer. As a private seller, however, you have an advantage. You can agree on a warranty disclaimer.
- You are a private seller if you only sell something on eBay occasionally and do not trade commercially. However, the limits are fluid, so that you have to check again and again in each individual case when you exceed this limit.
Proposal for a disclaimer clause
- When selling privately on eBay, you can formulate the following clause: "It is a private sale. The item is sold to the exclusion of any warranty ".
- However, if you use this clause multiple times, it is referred to as general terms and conditions. According to eBay specifications, it is sufficient to use such a clause two or three times at short intervals.
- General terms and conditions are subject to particularly strict legal content controls. In this case you can formulate the clause as follows: "It is a private sale. The object of sale is sold to the exclusion of any warranty. The exclusion does not apply to claims for damages resulting from grossly negligent or willful breach of the seller's duties as well as for any harm to life, limb and health. "
- If you formulate this clause incorrectly, your statutory warranty obligation will be revived.
eBay: Returns for private sales - this is how you use buyer protection
A private sale is when the seller is not acting commercially, i.e. goods ...
You should also provide complete and correct information on eBay
- Make sure that you clearly state the disclaimer in your item description. The buyer must before the purchase to be informed.
- Avoid general expressions such as "no return" or "no guarantee".
- Please note that your exclusion of warranty does not protect you in the event of fraudulent misrepresentation or the assurance of a certain property of the object of sale. So if you know that your item for sale has a bug, you need to let the buyer know about it. Even if you advertise the object of sale with certain properties in the item description, you are liable if this property is missing. If in doubt, seek legal advice.
The author of this article also excludes any liability for the absolute correctness of this article. The article was created to the best of our knowledge and belief.
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