I’m starting an ecommerce business. Do I need sale terms? Online Lawyer Series – Article 3

An ecommerce business is a business that sells products to customers online. If you operate an ecommerce business you need sale terms and conditions. An online lawyer can help draft your sale terms. Don’t forget to ask your lawyer to draft a disputes policy, as this can avoid the legal risk of litigation.

Why do I need them?

If you were a customer, would you purchase from a business without knowing how the business operates, whether the business accepts legitimate payment methods, whether products will be delivered to you or whether the business complies with the Australian Consumer Law? I think it is reasonable to suggest that you wouldn’t.

In saying that, if you are operating an ecommerce store that sells products to customers, it only makes sense that you should prepare a set of sales terms and conditions that your customers can review before they make any purchases from you. Not only will having sales terms and conditions highlight the fact that you are running a legitimate business that customers can trust to purchase from but it can also clearly set out the rights and responsibilities that parties purchasing from your business must agree to.

What are sales terms and conditions?

Sales terms and conditions will often cover the following points:

• Payments
• Availability and cancellation
• Delivery
• Consumer Guarantees, Return, Refund and Exchange Policy
• Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
• Indemnity
• Termination
• Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

Do I need legal advice?

If you are looking to prepare a set of sales terms and conditions, you should seek legal advice from an online lawyer who can assist you in drafting these terms and conditions to reflect your specific business needs. They can ensure that your terms comply with all applicable legislative provisions and that the terms also promote how you would like your business to operate and how customers can interact with you.

However, if you have already begun to draft a set of sales terms and conditions, don’t worry – you can ask an online lawyer to review your terms and propose amendments to ensure that they cover all of your legal needs.

Conclusion

Due to the fact that all ecommerce businesses require sales terms and conditions, we recommend speaking with an online lawyer as soon as possible to begin drafting your agreement. We understand that when setting up a business, business owners often consider legal costs as an unnecessary expense. However, if you invest a small amount of money in putting together a detailed set of sales terms and conditions, you can prevent a number of misunderstandings and disputes that may arise during the course of your business dealings in the future.