For online sellers it is also a dutie to have precise knowledge about the legal warranty in Germany. The legal warranty is stated in § 434 BGB.
What a lot of sellers do not know is that the product description and the product specifications will be part of the things the product need to match in order to avoid a defect as to quality as stated inside § 434 Abs. 1 Nr. 2. BGB. That is the reason you should always keep to the facts for your products and you should not exaggerate with product features that the product does not have.
When you check listings on the chinese platform Wish for example, you see that many many sellers do heavily exaggerate with the product features. This means that are of their products can be seen as having a defect as to quality if a customers refers to the legal warranty. By all means: This has heavy consequences and can result in a money refund or that the seller does not getting paid.
If there is a cusomter refering to his legal warranty there is another important thing to know for sellers. There is the so called proof of burden reversal stated in § 477 BGB which means that if the product is defective within a period of 6 months after the purchase than the law says it was defective from the beginning. It is up to the seller to proof that the product was fine at the time of the purchase. This proof can be done only very difficult. So there are mainly two cases for warranty:
- Warranty within 6 months after the purchase date: The product is seen to be defect from the beginning from legal side.
- Warranty after 6 monhts of the purchase date: The customer must proof that the defect was there from the beginning. But as a good seller you will help your customer anyway.
It is elementary to have this knowledge about the warranty from the German legal side. Otherwise you may act in the wrong way which can have heavy consequences for your business.
- Keep on the real facts for the product description and specifications. Do not exaggerate!
- If you exaggerate or inform about specifications the product does not have the customer can refer to § 434 Abs. 1 Nr. 2. BGB, which means that you could have sold a defective product.
- If his claim is withing the first six months from the date of purchase, the law is always on the customer side and tells us that the defect was there from the beginning as stated in § 477 BGB.
- This means you must fix the problem with the product but in terms of a wrong product description it is difficult to do. You are bound by law to gibe the product as you described it to the customer. Because you will not be able to do that you will need to take the product back and send a full refund to the customer.
- A refund to the customer is most time needed if you have had a wrong product description or wrong product specifications
To offer the best after sales service to your customer you should be aware of the process and cases for the legal warranty.
