What must the general terms of sale of an e-commerce contain?

Q&A • Law

What must the general terms of sale of an e-commerce contain?

Terms of sale are not a file to copy from another site: they are the contract you sell under. Copying them from a store that ships in three days when you take ten creates a promise you cannot keep.

Short answer

  1. They must identify the seller with name, registered office, VAT number, register number, e-mail and certified e-mail.
  2. They must describe the order process, tax-inclusive prices and shipping costs.
  3. They must explain the fourteen-day withdrawal right and the two-year legal guarantee, with the model form.
  4. They must name the ADR body and link to the European ODR platform.
  5. Onerous clauses require a second, specific approval, separate from the general acceptance.

The sections that cannot be missing

  • Seller identity and contact details, certified e-mail included.
  • Contract formation: when the order counts as accepted.
  • Prices, taxes, shipping costs and any additional charges.
  • Accepted payment methods and when the charge occurs.
  • Delivery times and methods, with the maximum term.
  • Withdrawal, returns and refunds, stating who pays for the return.
  • Legal guarantee of conformity and complaint handling.
  • Applicable law, consumer's court of residence, ADR and ODR.

How they are accepted online

  1. Make the text readable before payment, not behind a secondary link.
  2. Ask for an explicit acceptance tick box, not pre-selected.
  3. For the more onerous clauses, add a second tick box listing them one by one.
  4. Send the text with the order confirmation, on a durable medium.
  5. Keep the accepted version: if you update the terms, the one in force on the order date still governs.

Common mistakes

  • Copying another store's terms, leaving their name and delivery times in the text.
  • Inserting clauses that limit the legal guarantee: against a consumer they are void anyway.
  • Relying on the double tick box to validate a clause that is unbalanced against the consumer.
  • Updating the terms without keeping the version accepted by earlier orders.

How 4shopy helps

  • Terms of sale, privacy, returns and ADR are dedicated pages, already linked from the footer and the checkout.
  • The checkout requires explicit acceptance before the order is confirmed.
  • Order confirmations go out automatically with references to the legal pages.
  • Delivery times and charges are configuration values: the text and the checkout cannot drift apart.

See also