Online retailer: information about warranty terms

A popular warning topic for online retailers, be it in their own online store or on trading platforms such as Amazon and/or eBay, is the lack of information regarding an existing manufacturer’s warranty for a product. Many sellers probably do not even know that there is an obligation for traders to inform consumers about guarantees and their terms. This obligation derives from Article 246a, Paragraph 1, of the Law on the Introduction of the German Civil Code (BGB iVm). Section 312d of the German Civil Code (BGB). Incidentally, everyone is advised to study the paragraph here, as there are numerous other traps and obligations lurking.

Irrelevant for the justification of a warning and thus costs for lawyers etc. is of course, if one did not know about this obligation. However, it is particularly irrelevant if you were unaware of the guarantee as such, for example because you bought the product yourself unsuspectingly from a wholesaler or even via dropshipping. In this case, it is the sole duty of the seller to inform the manufacturer of the existence or non-existence of such a guarantee and to have this information given in writing in case of doubt. Of course, this also applies if at some point you have listed a product, the manufacturer should introduce a warranty afterwards, and you do not subject the product description to any update.

By the way, the information on the warranty must be complete, easily recognizable and adhered to in the product description. For example, an email after purchase would not suffice.

Moreover, as with so many topics related to offering an online shop, it is not even done with the mention of the guarantee. If you add all the information to the product description, you can no longer be warned. However, it may now be warned that the consumer has not been informed that such a voluntary manufacturer’s guarantee will not, of course, restrict consumer rights of revocation and, most importantly, a guarantee in any way.

The issue of guarantee, in all its colours, has probably been one of the most frequent warning grounds in recent years. It is definitely worth looking at which products this affects. Although it often concerns consumer electronics, this list is not, of course, exhaustive.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.