Buying on Amazon, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Vinted

Last checked November 2026. Offers and rules change: confirm with the provider before you rely on them.

An online marketplace is a website where many different sellers offer goods side by side, so the name at the top of the page is often not who you are buying from. Your rights and your protection depend on whether the seller is the marketplace itself, another business or a private individual, and on paying through the marketplace's own system.

Who are you really buying from?

This is the single most important question, because it decides which rights you have.

Seller	Your legal rights
The marketplace itself, or a UK business selling through it	Full Consumer Rights Act protection: goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. You also get the 14-day right to change your mind on most online purchases.
A business based overseas	UK law may apply on paper but is much harder to enforce. Returns can be slow and costly, and products may not meet UK safety standards.
A private individual	Much more limited. The goods must match the description and the seller must have the right to sell them, but there is no legal right to return something because you changed your mind or because it later develops a fault.

Every listing says somewhere who the seller is. Look for wording such as "sold by", "dispatched from", "business seller" or "private seller", and click the seller's name to see their address and feedback.

The four big marketplaces

Amazon

Some items are sold by Amazon itself. Many are sold by other businesses, known as third-party or Marketplace sellers, and are either sent by Amazon from its warehouses or posted by the seller. The seller's name appears near the "Add to basket" button. Amazon runs a guarantee scheme for purchases from third-party sellers, covering items that do not arrive or are not as described; you normally have to contact the seller first.

eBay

eBay began as an auction site, where you bid and the highest bidder wins, but most items now have a fixed "Buy it now" price. Sellers are a mixture of businesses and private individuals, and each listing says which. The eBay Money Back Guarantee covers most purchases paid for through eBay's checkout where the item does not arrive or does not match the description. eBay includes a buyer protection fee in the price shown on items from private sellers.

Facebook Marketplace

This is mainly local people selling to each other, often for collection in person and payment in cash. That makes it good for furniture and garden items nearby, and it also makes it the least protected of the four. Facebook has a purchase protection scheme, but only for certain orders paid through its own checkout, not for deals arranged by message and paid for separately.

Vinted

Vinted is an app and website for second-hand clothes, shoes and household items, sold mainly by private individuals. Buyers pay a buyer protection fee on each order, added at the checkout. Your payment is held until the item arrives, and you have a short time after delivery, a matter of days, to report a problem before the money is released to the seller. Check as soon as the parcel arrives.

The terms of all these schemes change, so read the marketplace's own help pages for the current rules and time limits. They are the marketplace's own promises and sit alongside your legal rights rather than replacing them.

Reading seller ratings

Look at both the score and the number. A rating of 98 per cent from several thousand sales tells you far more than 100 per cent from six.
Read the recent negative comments. Late delivery once is ordinary. A pattern of "never arrived" or "fake" is not.
Check how long the seller has been trading. A brand-new account selling expensive electronics cheaply is a warning.
Separate product reviews from seller feedback. A product can have glowing reviews while the particular seller has a poor record.
Be sceptical of perfection. Dozens of short, similar five-star reviews in a few days may have been bought.

Six rules for buying safely

Pay through the marketplace's own checkout. This is what switches on its buyer protection.
Never pay by bank transfer, and never use PayPal's "friends and family" option for a purchase. See paying safely online.
Keep the conversation on the site. A seller who asks you to move to email, text or WhatsApp is taking you outside the marketplace's protection.
Read the whole description, including condition, measurements and what is included, and look at every photograph.
Check the delivery estimate. A wait of several weeks usually means the item is coming from overseas.
Act within the time limits. Open parcels promptly, and report a problem through the marketplace, not only by messaging the seller.

Watch out: Be careful with cheap electrical goods, chargers, batteries, cosmetics and safety equipment from sellers you do not know. If the price is far below the brand's usual price, it may be counterfeit or unsafe. For anything your safety depends on, including mobility equipment, buy from an established UK retailer; see second-hand mobility equipment.

Collecting in person

Meet at the seller's home address or a busy public place in daylight, and take someone with you if you can.
Examine the item, and see anything electrical working, before you pay.
Do not pay a deposit in advance to "hold" an item for a stranger.
If you feel uneasy, leave. No bargain is worth it.

Tip: Marketplaces are excellent for good-quality used furniture, tools and books, where you can see what you are getting. Our guide to charity shops and second-hand has more on buying used.

If something goes wrong

Contact the seller through the marketplace's messaging system and explain the problem.
If that does not settle it, open a claim under the marketplace's guarantee, within its time limit.
If you paid by card and the marketplace will not help, ask your card provider about a chargeback or, for a credit card, a Section 75 claim.
For a business seller, you can also rely on your consumer rights and the 14-day rules in returns and refunds.
If you think it was a fraud, follow the reporting steps in spotting scams.

Common questions

Can I return something bought from a private seller?

Only if it was not as described, or if the seller chooses to accept returns. There is no legal right to change your mind with a private sale.

Is everything on Amazon sold by Amazon?

No. A large share comes from separate businesses. Check the "sold by" line on every listing.

Is it safe to pay cash on collection?

It is reasonable for lower-value items once you have seen them, but you have little comeback afterwards. Never send money ahead of collection.

The seller wants to post the item and be paid by bank transfer. Is that all right?

No. Decline and look elsewhere. It is one of the most common ways buyers lose money.