{"id":21669,"date":"2018-09-13T11:43:14","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T10:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/etailhub.com\/?p=21669"},"modified":"2021-10-01T12:40:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T11:40:58","slug":"fair-trading-will-help-your-business-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etailhub.com\/blog\/fair-trading-will-help-your-business-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"Fair trading will help your business grow"},"content":{"rendered":"
I recently had a rather bizarre email exchange with a guy who required some start-up advice for his online business. I say \u2018bizarre\u2019 because this chap, nice as he seemed, was adamant that he was not going to offer a money back guarantee on any of his products.<\/p>\n
Taken aback is an understatement. I was shocked! Not least because this is potentially entrepreneurial suicide!<\/p>\n
I have always advised you offer a money back guarantee with your products \u2013 it instils trust and confidence and you are likely to make many more sales by offering a no-quibble guarantee, be it for 14 days or 30 days \u2013 but like this gentleman, you may not realise that even if you decide not to offer a money back guarantee, your purchasers are legally entitled to return their goods within a certain time frame, even if they have simply changed their minds!<\/p>\n
As an online seller you are operating a \u2018distance selling business\u2019. All this means is that rather than having a shop on the high street where buyers can come in and browse the goods you have for sale, instead you sell stock online, be it eBay, Amazon or via your own website. And, as a distance seller there are a few regulations that you need to stick by, namely to do with offering a guarantee for your products.<\/p>\n
Unlike in a bricks and mortar shop, buyers who make a purchase online through distance selling are quite obviously unable to touch or see the goods before handing over their cash.<\/p>\n
Although photos and accurate descriptions really help to let a person know what it is they’re actually getting, every so often a customer might be confused and left with a product which was not what they were after in the first place.<\/p>\n
It seems only fair therefore that online (distance sellers) should offer some sort of guarantee to customers in the case of this happening, and this is the legal requirement that I\u2019ve just mentioned.<\/p>\n
The legal regulations concerning distance selling state that you must offer to refund the customer if the product purchased from you is returned within fourteen days, in its original packaging. This is the minimum legal cancellation period. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, for example for perishable goods such as cakes, bread, dairy products and other foodstuffs, but even items sold using the auction format on eBay are required to comply with the distance selling regulations. So, it is important that you understand exactly what the legal ramifications are for your online business in terms of offering a guarantee.<\/p>\n