Sale of goods terms and conditions

As well as details and pricing about the goods, you need to detail collection or delivery arrangements and policy, returns policy and procedure and who is responsible for returning the goods.

Of particular significance to the supply of goods is the situation of defective or faulty goods, or where the customer simply decides they don’t want them. Many retailers choose to adopt a policy of allowing returns without quibble, but you should decide the best approach for your business.

You have overriding obligations to consumers to provide goods that are of satisfactory quality, reasonably fit for purpose and match any description given, and the law does not permit you to exclude those obligations.

Make sure that you specify the nature of goods which you are supplying and the price, particularly if you are doing business online where the customer isn’t able to actually see the goods in person, or if the items purchased are bespoke. You need to reasonably meet expectations to minmise the chance that customers - particularly consumers - will seek to reject goods which do not fulfil their expected specifications.

If you want your terms to apply, you’ll need to bring these to the attention of your customers before a transaction is completed. This can be easier to do online, by providing tick boxes which confirm that a potential purchaser agrees to your conditions of sale. It’s trickier to do this in a shop but you can display any important terms, such as a returns policy, in a prominent place with the use of appropriate signage - or simply ensure that the customer is informed about any specific terms before the purchase takes place.

A variety of Terms and Conditions relevant to your particular business can be downloaded from our Business Documents Folder. Click on any headings under "Related Documents" below for further information.