YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS AS A USER OF THE MARKETPLACE
By using our Marketplace, you expressly agree to accept the rights and obligations embedded in applicable French laws and regulations as well as those specified in our general Terms and conditions of use and sale.
The nature of these rights, obligations and guarantees may differ depending on whether you use our Marketplace as a professional or as a private seller.
The advertiser’s professional or private seller status
When you place an advertisement on our Marketplace, you must specify whether you are acting as a professional or as a private seller.
The professional advertiser:
If you place an advertisement within the framework of your professional activity, but falsely declare to be acting as a private seller, you may incur the sanctions provided for in Article L132-2 of France’s Consumer Rights Code, namely:
“Misleading commercial practices as mentioned in Articles L. 121-2 to L. 121-4 are punishable by two years imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros.
The amount of the fine may be adjusted – in proportion to the benefits derived from the violation – to 10% of the offender’s average annual turnover based on the previous three fiscal years, or to 50% of the total amount invested in the misleading advertising or practices by the offender.”
As a professional seller you must comply with the provisions of France’s Consumer Rights Code for the protection of non-professional buyers, and notably (but not exclusively) with the following injunctions:
– To refrain from any dishonest or misleading practices (Article L121- 1 et seq. of the Consumer Rights Code)
– To communicate in a clear and understandable manner all the information stipulated by the Consumer Rights Code (your identity, your contact details, the essential characteristics of the goods being offered and any additional costs related to the sale, etc.)
– To respect the terms and conditions relating to applicable consumer retraction (cooling-off) periods, consumer mediation and any applicable legal guarantees.
The private advertiser:
If you place an advertisement as a private seller you must comply with the following provisions:
– Your offer must clearly state the price of the good being sold and, where applicable, of any additional costs relating to the sale.
– Sale cancellation: when a good is sold by a private seller, the buyer cannot request the seller to refund or exchange the acquired good if the advertisement relating to its sale does not specifically mention a “cooling-off period”. Any private seller wishing to offer the possibility of a return or an exchange must clearly specify the terms and conditions of any such provisions in the relevant advertisement.
– Legal guarantees: The “Legal Conformity Guarantee” – as provided for by the Consumer Rights Code (Articles L217-4 et seq) – does not apply when the seller is a private seller; however, the private seller is bound to guarantee that the good being offered for sale has no hidden defects.
According to Article 1641 of France’s Civil Code: “The seller is bound by an “absence of hidden defects guarantee”, whereby “hidden defect” means any characteristic(s) of a good being sold that would render it unfit for the use for which it is intended, or which might undermine its use to an extent that the buyer would not have acquired it, or would have offered a lower price if he had been aware of the characteristic(s) beforehand.”
– Applicability of France’s Civil Code: When the advertiser is not acting as a professional seller, the sale is subject to the provisions of France’s Civil Code relating to the rights, duties and civil liabilities inherent to contractual relationship. These provisions may be studied by following this link:
Taxes and contributions:
In the context of your activity on our Marketplace, you may be subject to various tax reporting and payment obligations.
It is therefore your responsibility to declare the income from this activity with the relevant tax authorities.
For information regarding the income tax or social security contributions that your activity on our Marketplace may be subject to, please follow the links below:
– at www.impots.gouv.fr, concerning tax obligations: https: //www.impots .gouv.fr / portal / node / 10841
– at www.urssaf.fr, concerning social security contributions: https://www.urssaf.fr/portail/home/espaces-dedies/activites-relevant-de-leconomie.html.