Consumer Contracts Regulations on eBay: the 14-day right to cancel for sellers

Do the Consumer Contracts Regulations apply to eBay sellers?

The Consumer Contracts Regulations apply to eBay sellers who are traders selling to consumers. Their full name is the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. If you are a business seller on eBay.co.uk, they apply to most of your sales. If you are a private individual clearing out your own belongings, they do not, because the rules cover contracts between a trader and a consumer.

eBay itself draws a similar line. eBay UK says a seller must register as a business if, for example, they sell items they have bought to resell, make items to sell, or buy items for their business. Business sellers must show full business contact details and create a returns policy stating how long buyers have to return items for a full refund. Our guide to eBay private seller vs business seller explains which account you need.

The Regulations cover distance contracts, which they define as contracts made between a trader and a consumer under an organised distance sales scheme, without both being physically present, using only distance communication up to the point the contract is made. An eBay sale fits that description. This article explains the rules in general; check your own situation with an adviser if you are unsure.

What is the 14-day right to cancel?

GOV.UK's guidance on online and distance selling says you must tell the customer they can cancel their order up to 14 days after it is delivered, and that they do not need to give a reason. If you do not tell them about this right, they can cancel at any time in the next 12 months, and if you tell them later, they have 14 days to cancel from when you told them.

That is why a 'no returns' setting on an eBay listing does not end the matter for a business seller. Your eBay returns policy covers returns beyond what the law requires, but it cannot take away the legal right to cancel.

What must you tell buyers before they order?

GOV.UK lists the information you must give before an order is placed. For an eBay seller of goods, the parts that matter most are:

• your business name, contact details and address;
• a description of the goods;
• the price, including all taxes;
• how the customer can pay;
• delivery arrangements, costs and how long the goods will take to arrive;
• how the customer can cancel and when they lose the right to cancel;
• a standard cancellation form, if they can cancel.

GOV.UK says this information must be easy to understand. After the order, you must provide a copy of the contract on paper, by email or in another format the customer can save, no later than when the goods are delivered. On eBay, your listing, your business details, your returns policy and eBay's order confirmation together cover much of this. Read your own listing as a buyer would and check each item on the list is there.

Refunds: what you must pay back, and when

Regulation 34 sets the refund rules for goods. In plain words:

• The deadline. Where you have not offered to collect the goods, the refund is due within 14 days after the day you receive them back, or the day the buyer provides evidence of sending them back, if that is earlier.
• Delivery costs. You must refund what the buyer paid for delivery, except that if they chose a more expensive delivery option than the cheapest standard one you offered, you only have to refund the cost of the cheaper option.
• No fees. You must not charge the buyer any fee for making the refund.
• Loss of value. If the goods have lost value because the buyer handled them beyond what was needed to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning, you may recover that amount, up to the contract price.

GOV.UK's refunds guidance puts the same point simply: you cannot deduct any fees from the refund unless the item has been used or damaged.

On eBay, the platform's own rules sit on top. eBay says that once a returned item has been delivered to you, you have 2 business days to review it and issue a refund, and that if you have not, eBay will refund on your behalf. In practice, eBay's deadline is shorter than the legal one, so eBay's is the one you will be working to.

Who pays to send the goods back?

Regulation 35 says the consumer must bear the direct cost of returning goods, unless you agreed to bear those costs, or you failed to tell the consumer that they would have to pay them. So if you want buyers to pay return postage on change-of-mind cancellations, your listing must say so clearly before the sale.

This is separate from faulty goods. If an item is faulty, damaged or not as described, eBay's help page on return postage says the seller is responsible for return postage, even if the returns policy says the seller does not offer free returns. Faulty goods are also covered by other consumer law; GOV.UK says you must offer a full refund if an item is faulty, not as described or does not do what it is supposed to.

Which goods are excluded from the right to cancel?

The right to cancel does not apply to everything. GOV.UK's refunds guidance names items that only need a refund if faulty, including:

• personalised or custom-made items;
• perishable items, such as frozen food or flowers;
• sealed items that, for health or hygiene reasons, cannot be returned once opened, such as underwear.

Regulation 28 lists further exclusions, such as goods whose price depends on financial market fluctuations the trader cannot control, newspapers and magazines (other than subscriptions), and contracts concluded at a public auction.

Are eBay auctions excluded?

Be careful with this one. The Regulations define a public auction as one where goods are offered through a transparent, competitive bidding procedure run by an auctioneer, and where consumers attend or are given the possibility to attend in person. An online auction-style listing on eBay, where nobody can attend in person, does not match that definition, so do not assume your auction-style sales are outside the right to cancel. Take advice if this matters to your business.

Worked example: a cancellation on a business account

Example: suppose you are a business seller. A buyer orders a lamp for a hypothetical £35.00 and pays £4.50 for standard delivery. Your listing says 'no returns' but your business details and cancellation information are shown. Six days after delivery, the buyer messages to cancel: they have changed their mind.

1. The buyer is within 14 days of delivery, so they can cancel without giving a reason.
2. Your listing told buyers they pay return postage for change-of-mind cancellations, so the buyer pays to send it back.
3. The buyer sends it three days later, with tracking.
4. When the lamp arrives unused, you refund £39.50: the price and the standard delivery.
5. Had the lamp come back with its shade bent from use, you could recover the loss in value, with photos as evidence.

Had your listing said nothing about return postage, you would have had to pay it too.

A Consumer Contracts Regulations checklist for eBay business sellers

• Show your full business name, address and contact details on your eBay account.
• State in your listings how buyers can cancel, and whether they pay return postage.
• Accept cancellations made within 14 days of delivery, even on 'no returns' listings.
• Refund the price and standard delivery, within eBay's deadline and never later than 14 days after getting the goods back.
• Charge no fees for refunds; deduct only for loss of value from excessive handling, with evidence.
• Know which of your products are excluded, such as personalised or sealed hygiene items.
• Deliver within 30 days unless you agreed otherwise with the buyer.

Read GOV.UK's guide to online and distance selling for businesses and the text of regulation 34 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations. For the eBay steps when a buyer cancels, see our guides to the right to cancel online orders in the UK and how to accept a return on eBay.