What do consumer rights rules require of an online seller?
Substantially more than selling in a shop — because distance selling adds a cancellation right that has nothing to do with the goods being faulty, plus specific information duties, and the penalties for getting the information wrong are disproportionate to the effort of getting it right.
The cancellation right. Consumers buying at a distance generally have 14 days to change their mind, running from receipt of goods, with a further 14 days to return them. No reason is required and the goods need not be faulty.
The trap that catches sellers: if you fail to tell the consumer about the cancellation right before they buy, the cancellation period extends — by up to a further 12 months. A missing paragraph converts a two-week window into a year.
What you must refund: the price, plus the standard outbound delivery cost you charged. You may deduct for diminished value where the consumer handled goods beyond what is necessary to inspect them — the shop test. Return postage may be charged to the consumer only if you told them in advance.
Exceptions, including personalised goods, perishables, sealed hygiene items once unsealed, and digital content once downloaded with agreement.
Information you must provide before purchase: your identity and geographic address, total price including taxes and delivery, delivery arrangements, the cancellation right and how to use it, complaint handling, and the duration and termination terms of any subscription.
Order buttons must be clearly labelled as creating a payment obligation. Where they are not, the consumer may not be bound.
Separate from all this, the goods themselves must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. Faulty goods carry a short-term right to reject, then repair or replacement, then a price reduction or final rejection — and these rights run against you as the seller, not the manufacturer, regardless of any warranty.
Subscriptions and auto-renewal attract particular regulatory attention, as do fake reviews, drip pricing and pressure selling.
General information, not legal advice.