According to an evaluation, customers of large online marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay or Temu often do not find all the necessary and legally required information on a product.
Contact details from responsible dealers: Interior or manufacturers were often missing, and security and warnings were also incomplete. This was the result of an analysis of the Federal Consumer Center (VZBV). Some companies rejected the allegations.
Part of the relatively small sample were ten exemplary online marketplaces in Germany – namely Aliexpress, Amazon, Ebay, Kaufland, MediaMarkt, Otto, Shein, Temu, Wish and Zalando. From March 20 to April 7th, consumer advocates checked three product pages from the categories of toys, electronics and clothing. The result: None of the 30 pages contained all mandatory information.
“Online marketplaces are booming-but the growth also increases the number of uncertain products. If problems, it is often unclear who is liable. Again and again information about dealers or manufacturers is missing,” says VZBV director Ramona Pop. In the event of problems, customers must be possible to contact those responsible. “Consumers have the right to safe products.”
This is what the online marketplaces say
The defects in the shopping portals according to VZBV are different. In many cases, the dealer was missing or email address. On many sides it was not clearly recognizable which manufacturer is behind the product and whether it was the seller or the manufacturer. Partly remained unclear whether warnings would be necessary or not. A commitment to compliance with EU law was also also missing.
Some providers: inside reacted to the criticism. Otto emphasized that one fulfills “of course all statutory information obligations”. In the event of violations, sellers are blocked: inside. Kaufland said that the provision of information and compliance with legal regulations had “high priority”. However, the dealers themselves are responsible for the presentation and legal conformity of the products. A Zalando spokesman said that the results of the investigation were taken as an opportunity to check your own processes. “We welcome the efforts for more transparency for consumers: inside in the digital space.” Several companies do not answer the request of the German Press Agency.
The Law on Digital Services (DSA) has been obliging online platforms to comply with certain duties of care since February 2024. Traders and manufacturers must be understandable and central information must be provided.