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This page is a brief introduction to the most important laws relating to the goods you intend to sell and the information you're legally obliged to give to people when you advertise those goods for sale (for example on eBay). As a business seller, amongst other things, you need to:

• Ensure your goods are of satisfactory quality, as described, and fit for purpose
• Include information about your business in your listings
• Include the correct pricing information
• Ensure that the goods delivered are the same as those ordered
• Make sure your listings are not misleading

Please also refer to the guidance produced by the National Consumer Agency regarding issues you need to bear in mind when selling online:
http://www.nca.ie/eng/Business_Zone/Guides/Full%20List/Remote%20Selling.html

Note: this page is for informational purposes and only applies to sellers based in the Republic of Ireland. If you're based outside the Republic of Ireland, different rules are likely to apply. This page is not intended to be legal advice. If you're unclear about how any of these laws apply to you, please seek advice from a lawyer or similar professional.



Are you a "business seller"?
You should register as an eBay business if you:

• sell items that you have bought to resell
• make items yourself and sell them, intending to make a profit
• are a Trading Assistant
• buy items for your business

The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, implemented in Ireland by the Consumer Protection Act 2007, makes it an offence in Ireland for a business to falsely represent itself as a private individual. So if you are misleading potential buyers into thinking that you are a private individual when you are in fact a business seller (ie: by not registering as a business seller with eBay), you will be breaking the law.

Find out more about why you should register as a business.




Ensure your goods are of satisfactory quality, as described and fit for purpose - Sale of Goods Legislation
The most important piece of legislation in Ireland relating to the sale of goods through eBay is the Sale of Goods Acts 1893 and 1980 (as amended).

The Sales of Goods Acts provide that wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means that items sold by eBay by business sellers to non-business consumers must be:

• of 'merchantable quality';
• 'as described'; and
• 'fit for purpose' (where the purpose intended by the buyer is made known to the seller).

Therefore, goods sold by business sellers to consumers must not be inherently faulty at the time of sale, must match any description given to them and, allowing for factors like price, they must be fit for their purpose, defect free (or if there are defects, they need to be brought to the buyers attention prior to the sale), safe and durable.

When considering whether goods are "fit for purpose", it's not only the obvious purpose of the goods that will be applicable. If you told the buyer that the goods will be suitable for a specific purpose (for example, "is suitable for wet conditions"), this purpose will also be relevant.

The Sales of Goods Acts apply to both new and used items. It is worth bearing in mind that second-hand goods are likely to be judged less rigorously than new goods as it's not reasonable to expect that used goods will be of the same quality as new goods. In any event, sellers of second-hand goods are obliged to ensure that the goods they sell are as they described them.

For more information on your responsibilities under this law, we recommend that you visit the National Consumer Agency's (NCA) guide to the Sale of Goods Acts.



Include information about your business in your listings –Electronic Commerce Regulations and Distance Selling Regulations
Under the European Communities (Directive 2000/31/EC) Regulations 2003 you must provide the following information in the Business Seller Information section of your listings, your About Me page or on a Shops page no more than one click from your main Shop page:

• full contact details for your business;
• details of any relevant trade organisations to which you belong;
• details of any authorisation scheme relevant to your online business;
• clear indications of price, if relevant, including any delivery or tax charges and
• your VAT number, if your online activities are subject to VAT.

Make sure your listings are not misleading – Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
The Consumer Protection Act 2007 implements the EU's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and prohibits businesses from treating consumers unfairly. It obliges businesses not to use:

• aggressive practices (such as pressure selling); or
• misleading practices (includes both acts and omissions).

One of the key tests in the regulations is whether the unfair commercial practice in question materially distorts the consumer's economic behaviour (e.g. was the consumer persuaded to make a purchase they wouldn't otherwise have made because of the commercial practice?).

The Consumer Protection Act 2007 provides for some other enforcement mechanisms to be available to the NCA. If the NCA considers that there is a case for looking for an injunction or a prohibition order against a trader, it may (as a first step) accept a written undertaking from the trader. If the trader fails to comply with the undertaking, then the NCA may look for a prohibition order.

The NCA may serve a compliance notice on a trader whom it considers to have engaged in a prohibited activity. The trader has 14 days in which to appeal the notice. If the trader fails to comply, the NCA may take criminal proceedings.