Jade Lattimore: Buyers must take extra precautions to avoid the pitfalls of buying online

The allure of online shopping is undeniable — convenience, variety and often lower prices make it easy to dive in.

However, it’s not always smooth sailing, especially when purchasing through peer-to-peer platforms.

The Australian Consumer Law offers robust protection to buyers, with two key purposes: first, to prevent misleading and deceptive conduct; and second, to enforce minimum consumer guarantees for goods and services bought from businesses operating within Australia.

But there’s a critical caveat — these protections don’t extend to private transactions.

When you purchase items from individuals on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Gumtree, you’re operating outside the protective framework of the ACL.

In these cases, sellers aren’t treated as businesses, which means consumer guarantees such as refunds, repairs or replacements may not apply.

From small purchases to more significant investments like vehicles, if the product you receive isn’t what you expected, you may have little recourse to consumer protection bodies or the courts.

Fraud remains an exception — selling stolen goods or outright misrepresentation with intent to deceive is illegal.

But short of proving fraud, buyers face significant risks.

Sellers can mislead you about a product’s condition without consequence, leaving you stuck with a defective item.

For instance, a car sold as “perfectly maintained” could have hidden mechanical issues, and if it’s a private sale, you have little leverage to demand repairs or compensation.

To avoid these pitfalls, buyers must take extra precautions.

Always inspect high-value items in person, ask detailed questions, and request receipts or service history when possible.

Using payment methods that offer buyer protection, such as PayPal, can provide some additional peace of mind.

Ultimately, though, the golden rule remains: if you choose to buy through a private transaction, you are doing so at your own risk.

Jade Lattimore is principal and senior lawyer at Greenstone Legal in West Perth and Albany.