If you operate an online selling platform, it will help to keep consumers’ trust in your brand and business if you host listings with safe products.
Hosting safe products
Online selling platforms (also known as online marketplaces) provide an online space for a range of sellers, including small businesses, hobbyists and individuals.
Here are some positive steps you can take to ensure the products supplied on your site are safe:
- Know which products are banned or unsafe and audit listings for non-compliance.
- Identify and quickly remove unsafe products from your platform.
- Check Australian recalls and international recall sites such as OECD GlobalRecalls portal.
- Make sure the seller’s contact details are visible. This makes it easy for consumers to report a product safety concern.
- Promote product safety compliance on your platform and encourage new sellers to read training materials before they launch their online business.
- Encourage your sellers to provide clear product descriptions, good quality product images and ingredient lists. For some products, such as cosmetics and toiletries, suppliers need to make the ingredients list available to consumers before they pay.
- Provide guidance for consumers about safe purchasing decisions.
- Work cooperatively with the ACCC and other authorities to help protect consumers from unsafe products.
- Visit our website to find information and tips for online suppliers, download and read factsheets applying to specific products and subscribe to email updates.
- Join the ACCC’s product safety online compliance initiative.
ACCC working with online platforms for product safety compliance
Over the last few years, the ACCC has started working together with online marketplace providers to ensure better product safety outcomes for consumers in the online marketplace.
The online selling platforms we have been working with include:
- AliExpress
- Catch.com.au
- eBay
- Etsy
- Gumtree.
Join us
If you run an online selling platform/marketplace and are interested in working with the ACCC to address product safety compliance, please contact us via our enquiry form.