EU Investigation Reveals: 52% of Second-hand Sellers Violate Consumer Rights

What Did the Investigation Reveal?

“The results of this monitoring clearly indicate the need for increased vigilance in the second-hand goods sector,” stated the European Commission in its report.

The investigation, professionally referred to as a “sweep,” included a thorough analysis of 356 online traders, with potential violations of European legislation identified in 185 of them.

Key Violations for E-commerce Businesses

These findings are particularly relevant for the entire European e-commerce sector as they reveal the most common areas where consumer rights are being violated:

• 40% of sellers failed to properly inform customers about their right to withdraw from contracts within 14 days without providing a reason
• 45% of shops did not provide clear information about the procedure for returning defective goods
• Up to 57% of e-shops did not respect the obligation to provide a minimum one-year warranty even on second-hand goods

“These figures serve as a warning to all sellers, especially in the rapidly growing second-hand goods segment,” comments a consumer rights expert on the results.

Environmental Claims Under Scrutiny

Environmental claims proved to be a particularly problematic area. Of the sellers who used environmental claims (34% of the total):

• 20% did not have their “eco-friendly” claims sufficiently substantiated
• 28% provided false or misleading information about environmental benefits

These findings come at a time when the EU is preparing a new Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, which will clarify rules for environmental claims.

What This Means for European E-commerce

For European sellers of second-hand goods, the announcement is a clear signal that national authorities are likely to tighten controls across the market.

The European Commission stated that “consumer authorities will now decide on further action against the 185 identified traders” and will require rectification of the identified deficiencies.

The investigation covered a wide range of sectors:

• used clothing
• electronics
• toys
• books
• furniture
• cars
• sports equipment
• gardening supplies

The participating countries included:

🌍 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, plus Iceland and Norway.

Recommendations for EU E-shops

Based on the EC’s findings, European e-shops should focus their attention particularly on:

• Clearly informing about the right to return goods within 14 days
• Correctly stating information about the legal warranty even on second-hand goods (minimum 1 year)
• Thoroughly substantiating any environmental claims
• Transparently displaying total prices including all fees

This article is based on the official results of the “sweep” investigation published by the European Commission on March 7, 2025. For the full report, visit the official European Commission website.