Consumer rights for faulty goods on eBay: what UK business sellers owe a buyer, and when

What are consumer rights for faulty goods on eBay?

Consumer rights for faulty goods on eBay come from two places at once: UK law, mainly the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and eBay's own Money Back Guarantee. If you sell as a business to a consumer, the law applies whatever your returns policy says. A "no returns" line in a listing does not remove a buyer's right to reject a faulty item.

This guide sets out what a buyer can ask for, in what order, the time limits, who pays to send the item back, and how to handle a fault claim on eBay without turning it into a case. It is general information, not legal advice; for a specific dispute, check the official guidance or take advice.

Who do these rights apply to?

The Consumer Rights Act applies when a trader sells to a consumer. If you are registered on eBay as a business seller, or you sell items you bought to resell, you are almost certainly a trader. eBay's business seller policy says you must register as a business if, for example, you sell items you bought to resell or make items to sell.

A sale between two private individuals falls mostly outside the Act. A private seller still has to describe the item accurately, and eBay's Money Back Guarantee still covers buyers when an item does not match its listing. If you are unsure which side you are on, our guide to private seller vs business seller covers the test.

What makes an item faulty in law?

Under the Act, goods sold by a trader must be:

• Of satisfactory quality: what a reasonable person would expect, taking into account the price and the description, including freedom from minor defects, safety and durability.
• Fit for purpose: including any particular purpose the buyer told you about before buying.
• As described: matching your title, description, item specifics and photos.

On eBay the third point matters most, because your listing is the description. A charger listed as "fast charging" that is not, or a jacket listed in a size it is not, fails this test even if nothing is broken.

What can the buyer ask for, and when?

The remedies run in a set order. The table summarises them for a business selling goods to a consumer.

The 30-day right to reject

Section 22 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets the time limit for the short-term right to reject at the end of 30 days, starting the day after the buyer has the goods and they have been delivered. For goods that can reasonably be expected to perish sooner, the limit is that shorter period. Within this window the buyer does not have to accept a repair: they can ask for their money back.

Repair or replacement

After 30 days, the buyer can ask for a repair or a replacement. The Act says the trader must do this within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer, and must bear the necessary costs, including in particular labour, materials and postage. If the item still does not conform after one repair or one replacement, the buyer can choose a price reduction or the final right to reject.

The six-month presumption

If a fault shows up within six months of delivery, the law presumes it was there at delivery, unless you can establish that the goods did conform at that time or the presumption does not fit the nature of the goods. After six months, gov.uk says you can ask the customer to prove the item was faulty when they bought it. The gov.uk page on accepting returns and giving refunds also says customers have up to 6 years to make a claim, or 5 years in Scotland.

How do these rights fit with eBay's returns process?

Most buyers will not quote the Act. They will open a return on eBay and choose a reason such as "doesn't work" or "not as described". eBay's Money Back Guarantee lets a buyer request a return for an item not as described within 30 calendar days of delivery, or within your longer return window, and you must respond within 3 business days before the buyer can ask eBay to step in.

eBay's page on return postage says that for items that are damaged, faulty or not as described, you need to accept the return and cover the return postage, even if you do not normally offer returns. That matches the law's position that the trader bears the cost of putting things right.

Faulty goods are also different from change of mind. Separately from faults, a consumer who buys online from a business can cancel within 14 days of delivery without giving a reason, under the distance selling rules. Our article on the right to cancel online orders covers that, including who pays postage for a change of mind return.

A worked example

Example: suppose you sell a £45 Bluetooth speaker. The buyer receives it on 2 March.

• On 20 March it stops charging. That is inside 30 days, so the buyer can reject it for a full refund of the price and the standard postage they paid, and you pay the return postage.
• If instead it fails on 15 May, the buyer can ask for a repair or a replacement. You send a replacement at your cost.
• If the replacement also fails in July, the buyer can now ask for a refund or a price reduction. Because this is within six months of the original delivery, you cannot deduct anything for the use they had from it.

The numbers are hypothetical, but the sequence is the one the Act sets out.

Where sellers go wrong in this example

The common mistakes are offering a repair on 20 March when the buyer has asked for a refund, asking the buyer to pay to send the speaker back, and in July arguing that the buyer has had four months of use. Each of those turns a simple refund into a dispute that eBay is likely to decide in the buyer's favour. A second, quieter mistake is relisting the returned speaker as new. A returned faulty unit is not new stock: test it, and if you sell it again, list it in its true condition.

How should you handle a fault claim on eBay?

1. Reply within a day. Thank the buyer, ask for a short description and a photo or video of the fault, and say what happens next.
2. Accept the return with your label where the item is faulty or not as described. Do not ask the buyer to pay the postage.
3. Check the item when it arrives. eBay says you need to send the refund within 2 business days of receiving the return, and it may refund the buyer itself if you miss that.
4. Refund in full. eBay says the buyer of a faulty or not as described item gets a full refund including the original postage cost. Deductions are only for lost value when an item comes back used or damaged, never for return postage or restocking.
5. Offer a replacement after 30 days if you have stock, or a refund if you do not.
6. Record the fault. Note the product, the batch and the fault. Three similar faults on one product is a reason to pull it.

Our step-by-step guide to accepting a return on eBay shows the Seller Hub screens.

What to do next

• Check your returns policy wording does not suggest faulty items are excluded.
• Write a short fault reply template that asks for a photo and offers a label.
• Review the descriptions of your three most returned products: "not as described" is the fault you control most.
• Ask your suppliers what they do with faulty units, because your duty to the buyer does not depend on their answer.

Handled quickly and in the right order, a faulty item costs you the refund and the postage, and nothing more.