Can a buyer return an item to a private seller?

Can a buyer return an item just because they changed their mind?

Usually, no. Citizens Advice says, for England, that there is no automatic money back when you change your mind and nothing is wrong. For online, phone and mail order, the 14-day cooling-off period has exceptions. Anything from a private individual is one of them, including someone on a social media marketplace or an online auction site.

A private individual does not have to warn you that cooling-off does not apply. A business seller does have to tell you before the purchase if a particular item has no cooling-off period.

Marketplace rules can still be stricter than that general position. Which? says to check the dispute tools of the service you used. This is a general explanation of published rules, not advice on your own dispute. Read Citizens Advice, or speak to an adviser, before you rely on it.

Citizens Advice, writing for England, says you do not have an automatic right to your money back just because you changed your mind, if nothing is wrong with the item. That is down to the seller. For something bought online, by phone or by mail order, it says there is a 14-day cooling-off period when you have not seen the item, unless an exception applies. One exception is anything from a private individual, for example someone on a social media marketplace or an online auction site. It says a private individual does not have to tell you there is no cooling-off period. A business seller must tell you before you buy if an item has no cooling-off period. Source

What if something I sold breaks?

Start with the listing, not with the moment it broke.

If you described a fault, or you sold it as parts, a later failure of that kind is what the buyer was told. Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 puts the satisfactory-quality term on a seller who sells in the course of a business. It is not a general promise that every private sale will keep working.

If you described the item as working, complete, or a different model, and it was not, the description may not have been met. Section 13 still applies to a sale by description that is not a trader-to-consumer contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A statement that brought the buyer into the contract can also be a misrepresentation. Damages under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 are not automatic: the person who made the statement has a defence if they prove they believed the facts were true, on reasonable grounds, up to the contract.

Which? says a private seller is not obliged to disclose faults, but taking the money and sending nothing, or calling a second-hand item new, is a breach. Citizens Advice has a letter for private-sale goods that do not match the description. It asks for the difference in value. It does not write a number for you.

Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says that where goods are sold by description, there is an implied term that the goods will correspond with the description. That section does not apply to a contract covered by Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Source

Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says that, except as the Act provides, there is no implied term about quality or fitness for a particular purpose. Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods are of satisfactory quality. Source

Section 2 of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 says that where a person has entered a contract after a misrepresentation and suffered loss, the other person is liable to damages as if the misrepresentation had been made fraudulently, unless they prove they had reasonable ground to believe, and did believe, that the facts were true up to the contract. The court may award damages instead of rescission. Source

Which?’s marketplace rights page, dated 5 March 2026, says you have fewer rights when you buy from a private seller. It describes buyer beware: the goods must be as described, and the seller is not obliged to disclose faults. It says there is a breach if the seller took the money and sent nothing, or misrepresented the goods, such as describing a second-hand item as new. It says a marketplace’s own terms may add protection, so check that service’s dispute tools. A trader selling on a marketplace gives you the same rights as any other online store. Source

Citizens Advice publishes a letter for England for goods, including cars, bought from a private seller that do not match their description. The letter refers to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and asks for compensation for the difference in value. Source

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says Part 1 applies where a trader agrees with a consumer to supply goods, digital content or services, and that agreement is a contract. Source

What if the buyer says the item is INAD?

INAD means the item is not as described. Ask the buyer which words they say were wrong, and compare them with the listing and the photos.

Do not delete the listing or the messages. Those words are the record. If you agree the description was wrong, say what you will do and keep it in the same conversation. If you do not agree, say what you did disclose.

A return policy printed by a marketplace is not the same as the Act. Read the process for the site you used, and read what sold as seen means.

What changes if you were trading, not clearing out?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 draws a line. A trader is someone acting for their trade, business, craft or profession. A consumer is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside that. Part 1 applies to a contract where the trader supplies the goods.

Which? says a trader on a marketplace owes the same rights as any other online store. If that is you, do not use the private-seller letters as if they were your rule. This page does not tell you whether your own selling counts as a business. Check that with Citizens Advice or an adviser.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a trader is a person acting for purposes relating to their trade, business, craft or profession. A consumer is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession. Source

What should a seller do on SilentSale®?

SilentSale® is a UK marketplace for private buyers and sellers. Buyer and seller each contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price to SilentCover® (£0.60 each on a £10 item), a discretionary protection service under the Terms. Stripe processes payments and holds funds until the order completes. If you are asking who is holding my money, it is Stripe, not the other person.

On tracked Shipping, report a problem within 72 hours after delivery. PIN Pickup is separate: the buyer pays in the app, inspects the item in person, then shares a 6-digit PIN. The PIN is acceptance. There is no dispute after that.

The Terms also say a seller must disclose defects, missing parts and modifications. That is a marketplace rule. It is separate from the general point, on Which?’s page, that a private seller is not obliged by the sale-of-goods quality term to volunteer every fault.

If the buyer says the parcel never came, follow item not received and a lost parcel. Read do marketplaces protect sellers and Vinted compared with SilentSale® before you assume every app uses the same window.

SilentSale® is a UK marketplace for private individuals aged 18+ buying and selling personal goods in GBP.

Stripe processes payments and holds funds until the order completes.

PIN Pickup is an in-person handover. The buyer inspects the item before sharing their six-digit PIN; the seller enters it in the app to complete the order. The PIN is acceptance. There is no shipping, tracking or post-handover dispute window.

For Shipping, report problems within 72 hours after confirmed delivery, or the collection scan for a locker or parcel-shop order. Confirming receipt closes the window early, so inspect first.