Buying on a marketplace: how to tell who you’re really buying from

On a large marketplace, the company whose name is on the website often isn’t the company selling you the product. The seller might be the platform itself, a business in your country, a business on the other side of the world, or a private person clearing out a cupboard. Your rights, the returns process and what happens when something goes wrong all depend on which one it is.

Why the seller matters

Consumer law mostly protects you against businesses. Buy from a business and, in the EU and the UK, you get 14 days to change your mind and a legal guarantee if the item is faulty. Buy from a private person and most of that falls away: the goods generally have to match the description, and little more.

Where the seller is based matters as well. A seller outside your country may follow different rules, charge you import costs and be hard to reach if there’s a problem.

What a marketplace has to tell you in the EU

Since the Omnibus Directive took effect in May 2022, an online marketplace has to tell you:

• whether the seller is a trader or not, based on what the seller declared;
• if the seller isn’t a trader, that EU consumer rights don’t apply to the purchase;
• how responsibilities are split between the seller and the marketplace;
• the main factors that decide the order in which offers are shown.

The Digital Services Act, which has applied to all online platforms since 17 February 2024, adds more. A marketplace must collect and check basic details about the traders who sell on it, and show you their name, address and contact details. If it learns that an illegal product was sold, it has to tell the buyers it can reach who bought it in the past six months.

In the UK

A business selling online has to give you its identity and address before you buy, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and the full consumer rights apply to its sales. A private seller isn’t bound by those rules, so check the listing and the seller’s profile to see which you’re dealing with.

In the US: the INFORM Consumers Act

Since June 2023, US marketplaces have had to verify their high-volume third-party sellers: those with at least 200 sales and $5,000 in revenue on the platform in a 12-month period. For high-volume sellers with $20,000 or more a year, the marketplace must show buyers the seller’s name, physical address and contact details, on the listing or after the purchase. Marketplaces also have to give you a way to report suspicious sellers.

In Australia

The consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law apply when you buy from a business, including a business selling through a marketplace. They generally don’t apply to private sales.

Checks before you buy

• Find the seller’s name. Look for “sold by” on the listing, not just “dispatched by” or “fulfilled by”, which can describe the warehouse rather than the seller.
• Check where it ships from. A long delivery estimate can mean the item comes from abroad, with the import costs and slower returns that go with it.
• Read the seller’s ratings, not only the product’s. Product reviews can be shared between sellers; seller feedback is about the one you’re buying from.
• Check the returns address. If it’s overseas, sending something back may cost more than the item.
• Be suspicious of prices far below the rest. Counterfeit and grey-market goods are common on open marketplaces, and the price is often the giveaway.

Always pay on the platform

Marketplace guarantees usually only cover purchases paid through the marketplace’s own checkout. A seller who asks you to pay by bank transfer, or to finish the deal by message or email, is asking you to give up that protection. Our guide to paying safely online explains what each method covers.

When something goes wrong

Contact the seller through the marketplace first, so there’s a record the platform can see. If the seller doesn’t sort it out, open a claim under the marketplace’s guarantee before its deadline. If you paid by card, a chargeback is a further option. For faulty goods from a business seller, your legal rights are the same as with any other shop; see when something you bought breaks.

Sources

1. Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161 (EUR-Lex)
2. Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (EUR-Lex)
3. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)
4. FTC: INFORM Consumers Act
5. FTC consumer alert: The INFORM Consumers Act and online marketplaces
6. ACCC: Consumer rights and guarantees

Rules change. If something here is wrong or out of date, please tell us and we’ll fix it. This guide is general information, not legal advice.