Returns, prior price and opening your site to third parties: from shop to platform
Nextica Law & Tax drafts a digital business's contracts: general terms of sale with the right of withdrawal and the guarantees of the consolidated Consumer Protection Act, a returns policy that survives a complaint, price advertising and prior-price rules for promotions following Royal Decree-Law 24/2021, contracts with dropshipping suppliers and the logistics operator, and analysis of the new obligations that arise the day the site lets third-party sellers in and becomes a platform for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.
The day it lets third parties sell on its site it stops being a shop and becomes a platform, with obligations it did not have yesterday.
What's included
1. General terms of sale with the purchase process, delivery times and the pre-contractual information the consumer must have before paying.
2. Information on the right of withdrawal and the form to exercise it, with the applicable exceptions listed and not extended at will.
3. A guarantee and returns policy consistent with what is advertised, because the contradiction between the website and practice is what opens the file.
4. Price advertising and promotion rules, with price history traceability prepared before the campaign.
5. Contracts with dropshipping suppliers
who answers for delivery, conformity and guarantee towards the end customer.
6. Contracts with the logistics operator and the carrier, with liability for loss and delay allocated.
7. Analysis of what changes the day the site lets third-party sellers in and becomes a platform.
THE DAY YOU LET OTHERS IN, YOU STOP BEING A SHOP
And most consumer files in this sector do not come from the product: they come from how you informed the customer before payment.
Failing to inform of the right of withdrawal before purchase
the omission dramatically extends the period to exercise it, and the exceptions are exhaustive —customised products, sealed goods opened for hygiene reasons, digital content downloaded with express consent— and cannot be extended.
consolidated Consumer Protection ActAdvertising a discount without respecting the prior-price rule
raising the price shortly before the campaign is exactly what the rule targets, and price history stops being an internal matter and becomes evidence.
Royal Decree-Law 24/2021Opening the site to third-party sellers without analysing the change of role
acting as an intermediary between sellers and consumers triggers platform obligations —information, seller traceability and complaint mechanisms— that an own shop did not have.
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065Frequently asked questions
Can I set conditions on returns?
You can organise them, not restrict them below the law. The right of withdrawal under the consolidated Consumer Protection Act lets the consumer return goods without giving a reason within the statutory period, and there are exhaustive exceptions —customised products, sealed goods opened for hygiene reasons, digital content already downloaded with express consent— that cannot be extended at will. Two frequent and expensive mistakes: failing to inform of the right before purchase, which extends the period dramatically, and failing to provide the form or a clear route to exercise it.
What is the prior-price rule in a promotion?
That when announcing a price reduction you must state the prior price, and that prior price is the lowest applied during a defined preceding period, under the rules introduced by Royal Decree-Law 24/2021. In other words: raising the price two weeks before a campaign so you can announce a bigger discount is exactly what the rule targets, and it is one of the most inspected points during sales and November campaigns. The practical consequence is that price history traceability stops being a shop matter and becomes evidence.
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