Steps to make sure second-hand products sold are safe

The ACCC expects online marketplaces to implement effective measures to protect consumers from unsafe products being sold on their platforms, including second-hand products.

If you’re an online platform which hosts listings of second-hand products, you should help protect consumers from harm. Make sure products sold on your online marketplace are safe, compliant with product safety laws, and listings include accurate information.  

Provide education and resources for sellers

Verify sellers and audit listings

  • Verify sellers’ contact information for listings.
  • Have guidance and checks in place to make sure that seller policies, including warranty, return and refund policies, are consistent with the Australian Consumer Law.
  • Audit listings for non-compliance with safety standards, recalls, and bans, and quickly remove unsafe products from your platform when identified. 
  • Audit and remove listings that are identified as containing incomplete or misleading information.

Requirements of your sellers 

  • Ask sellers to indicate on their listings if they are operating as a business, as this may affect consumer remedies.
  • Require sellers to provide clear and complete information in descriptions, photographs and images, including information about warnings, ingredients, labels, instructions or limitations on use. 
  • Require sellers to disclose if a product is second-hand and to use agreed terms about product conditions such as terms like ‘as new’, ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘fair’, or ‘used’. Provide sellers with clear guidance on what these terms mean on your platform.
  • Require sellers to include in product listings, details of any defects, damage, or safety issues, and any other issues that may affect the safety, use, or lifespan of the product. 
  • For products which are subject to Australian mandatory standards, require sellers to provide evidence of compliance with those standards, such as test or compliance reports. 

Make it easier for consumers

  • Provide consumers with information on their rights, and making safe buying decisions for second-hand products. Include information on high-risk products and those which must comply with mandatory safety standards.
  • Have policies and practices in place to resolve product safety issues between buyers and sellers. Issues might include defects, recalls or bans of a product especially when buyers and sellers can’t resolve the issue themselves. Be responsive to consumers and authorities when product safety concerns are raised.
  • Make it easy for consumers to report product safety concerns to you (the online marketplace), and the seller, by having clear contact details.

Find out more about how to sell safe products online.

Join the online product safety pledge

Online marketplaces can join the Australian Product Safety Pledge which aims to protect consumers from safety risks when shopping online. It does this by working with online marketplaces to strengthen product safety measures.

See more on our online product safety pledge page.