Terms and conditions for online sales

Proper terms and conditions for your online sales are vital. This section provides template terms and conditions that you can use to sell and services online. It also explains the pros and cons of selling through an online marketplace and what to look out for when selling through Amazon, eBay, Not On The High Street and Etsy. See Sales from a shop or other business premises for shop etc sales and General information on a website for what you have to put on your website regardless of whether you will use it for sales.

Policies for online sales

  1. 1.What policies do I need for my online business?
  2. 2.Do I need a privacy policy and cookie policy on my website?

Terms and conditions for sales online

  1. 3.Do I need standard terms and conditions of sale for my website?
  2. 4.Where should I put my terms and conditions of sale on my website?
  3. 5.What should my online terms and conditions of sale say?
  4. 6.Can I change my terms and conditions for online sales?

Selling age-restricted goods online

  1. 7.Can I legally sell age-restricted goods online?
  2. 8.What are the common age-restricted goods that I could sell online?
  3. 9.How can I check the person I am selling to online is not underage?

Other information to include on a sales website

  1. 10.Are there any rules about what information I have to put on my website?
  2. 11.In summary, what information do I legally have to put on my website?
  3. 12.What information must I put on my sales website about my business and contact details?
  4. 13.What information about a customer's right to cancel must I put on my website?
  5. 14.What happens if I do not explain a customer's right to cancel before making an online sale?
  6. 15.In summary, what product or service information must I put on my website?
  7. 16.What information must the order pages or shopping basket of my website include?
  8. 17.If I sell digital content, what information must I give about it on my website?
  9. 18.What price information must I give about my products or services on my website?
  10. 19.What payment information must I give on my website?
  11. 20.What should my delivery policy be for goods bought online?
  12. 21.Can I add additional items to an online customer's order with a pre-ticked box?
  13. 22.Do I need customer consent to provide a service within 14 days of a customer ordering it on my website?
  14. 23.Do I need to send an order confirmation for online sales?
  15. 24.What should my order confirmation for online sales say?
  16. 25.Can I include marketing materials in my order confirmation emails?

Online marketplace versus own website

  1. 26.Should I sell through an online marketplace or my own website?
  2. 27.How do the most common online marketplaces work?

Brexit and online sales.

  1. 28.How did Brexit affect imports and exports?
  2. 29.What if I am moving goods to and from Northern Ireland after Brexit?
  3. 30.Should I use a freight forwarder for import/export from and to the EU?
  4. 31.How does Brexit affect online services provided in the EEA?

Cancellation form

This cancellation form contains all of the legally required information that you must give to consumers when distance selling (eg making online sales or sales by telephone or mail order). Consumers do not have to use this cancellation form when cancelling their distance sale contract, but you must provide it as an option. By using this cancellation form you comply with your legal requirements when distance selling. It can be used in conjunction with your terms and conditions of sale. You can also purchase this form as part of the Starting an online business toolkit .
£10 + VAT

Website terms of use

Website terms of use (also called terms of use, website terms and conditions, or terms of service) are a set of terms and disclaimers that protect your site from undesirable use and help to protect your business if something goes wrong on your site. Through your website terms of use you can set guidelines for visitors using your site, and limit your liability to users. These standard website terms of use also help to protect your site from unauthorised copying, and set out what kind of content users are allowed to post. Don’t forget to also download our Checklist of information to include to ensure your website is legally compliant . You can also purchase these terms of use as part of the Starting an online business toolkit .
£25 + VAT
See all solutions