Price information for commercial offers on Suchen.Expert
Entrepreneurs offering goods or services to consumers or advertising them with prices must observe the statutory requirements for price information.
The essential requirements follow in particular from the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV). It applies to price indications by entrepreneurs to consumers. Price information must be clearly attributable to the relevant offer, easily recognisable and clearly legible or otherwise readily perceptible. The principles of price clarity and price accuracy also apply.
1. Total price for consumers
Entrepreneurs offering goods or services to consumers or advertising prices to consumers must generally state the total price.
The total price is the price the consumer must pay for the goods or services, including VAT and other price components. If a price is broken down into individual components, the total price must be highlighted.
An offer such as
“€100.00 plus 19% VAT”
is therefore generally not the correct way to state the price of an offer directed at consumers if the consumer actually has to pay €119.00.
In this example, the price should generally be stated as:
“€119.00”
Any other legally required information about shipping or other costs remains unaffected.
2. Small businesses under the VAT scheme
Small businesses must also state a clear total price to consumers.
If an entrepreneur applies the small business scheme under § 19 UStG, VAT is not shown separately for transactions covered by it. Nevertheless, the price stated to the consumer is the total amount they must pay.
Wording such as
“plus VAT”
is inappropriate for a small business transaction exempt under § 19 UStG.
The entrepreneur's VAT treatment does not alter the obligation to present consumer prices clearly and transparently.
3. Shipping, delivery and other additional costs
For offers to conclude a distance contract, the entrepreneur must additionally state
that the price charged includes VAT and other price components, and
whether additional freight, delivery, shipping or other costs apply.
If these additional costs can reasonably be calculated in advance, their amount must also be stated.
Article 246a § 1 EGBGB also requires information about the total price and, where applicable, additional freight, delivery, shipping and other costs for consumer contracts under the conditions specified there. If such costs cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, it must be stated that additional costs may arise.
Commercial providers should therefore not merely write, for example:
“€50 + shipping”
if the specific shipping costs are already known.
A better example is:
“€50.00 plus €4.99 shipping”
provided this reflects the actual costs and statutory requirements.
4. Price information in the advertisement
Where a commercial provider states a price in their advertisement on Suchen.Expert, it must be accurate, up to date and clearly attributable to the product or service offered.
The provider should ensure in particular that
the stated price actually applies to the described offer,
mandatory price components are not added only afterwards,
additional costs are stated transparently,
quantities and units are clearly identified, and
no contradictory prices are used in the title, description or other information.
The price information should enable an interested party to understand the price actually being charged without unnecessary investigation.
5. Fixed prices and negotiable prices
An entrepreneur may indicate that a stated price is negotiable. § 3(2) PAngV permits an indication of willingness to negotiate where this is consistent with general commercial understanding and no other legal provisions prevent it.
On Suchen.Expert, a provider may therefore state, for example:
“€100 negotiable”
if €100 is the starting price and there is a genuine willingness to negotiate.
However, simply stating
“Negotiable”
without a price does not automatically replace a legally required price indication. If the specific offer requires a total price to be stated, that obligation must be fulfilled.
6. “Price on request”
The phrase “Price on request” should not be used to avoid stating a price where doing so is actually possible and legally required.
For certain individual services, however, the final price can be determined only from the specific circumstances of the order.
For services, § 12 PAngV generally requires price lists for essential services or charge-out rates. Where customary, hourly or kilometre rates may be stated, for example. An exception applies, among other things, to services usually provided on the basis of individual written offers or cost estimates.
For such offers, the provider should explain as transparently as possible how the price is calculated.
For example:
“Individual quotation based on the nature and scope of the work.”
Or, where actually accurate:
“Labour €60.00 per hour; materials charged according to actual requirements.”
The pricing arrangement must match the actual business model and applicable statutory provisions.
7. Unit price
For certain goods, stating the sales price alone is insufficient.
Entrepreneurs offering or advertising with prices goods to consumers in pre-packages, open packages or unwrapped sales units by
weight,
volume,
length, or
area
must generally state the unit price as well as the total price.
The unit price must be unambiguous, clearly recognisable and easily legible.
Example:
500 ml olive oil – €8.00
Unit price: €16.00/l
8. Which unit of measurement should be used for the unit price?
Unit prices generally refer to the following units:
1 kilogram,
1 litre,
1 metre,
1 square metre, or
1 cubic metre.
Special rules apply to certain loose goods; depending on customary practice, units such as 100 grams or 100 millilitres may also be used.
The PAngV provides exceptions to unit price indications for individual product groups and situations. Commercial providers should therefore check whether a unit price is required for their specific product.
9. Price reductions and “was” prices
Anyone announcing a price reduction for goods to consumers must generally also state the lowest total price charged to consumers during the 30 days preceding application of the reduction.
This must be observed in particular for statements such as
“20% off”,
“Sale”,
“Now only €79 instead of €99”.
The comparison price must therefore not be artificially inflated or applied only briefly to suggest savings that do not actually exist.
§ 11 PAngV contains exceptions for individual price reductions and certain perishable goods.
10. Services
Some special requirements apply to services.
Anyone offering services to consumers must generally provide a price list for their essential services or charge-out rates. Where customary, hourly, kilometre or other charge-out rates may be stated, for example. These must include the price components required under the PAngV.
For services usually provided on the basis of individually prepared written offers or cost estimates, § 12(4) PAngV provides an exception to these special price-list obligations.
11. Offers exclusively for entrepreneurs
The PAngV governs price indications by entrepreneurs to consumers. It therefore does not apply in the same way to a transaction genuinely directed exclusively at other entrepreneurs.
Anyone directing an offer exclusively at business customers should make this clear.
However, merely using the label
“B2B”
or
“Price plus VAT”
does not automatically turn an offer actually directed also at consumers into an exclusively business-to-business offer.
What matters is the offer's actual target audience and design.
12. No pricing by Suchen.Expert
Suchen.Expert does not determine the prices of goods or services offered by users.
The commercial provider concerned sets their own prices and terms and is responsible for presenting them lawfully.
Suchen.Expert is not the seller or service provider in transactions initiated through advertisements and does not charge shipping, delivery or other costs for the contract between provider and interested party.
The price entry fields available on Suchen.Expert serve to display the user's offer technically.
They do not replace checking which price information the provider must supply under the PAngV or other statutory provisions for their specific offer.
Note for commercial providers
Before publishing an offer, check in particular:
Is the stated price the total price actually payable?
Are additional shipping, delivery or other costs stated?
Is a unit price required?
Are price reductions presented correctly?
Do the price and description match?
For services, are the required prices or charge-out rates stated?
The commercial provider concerned is responsible for the accuracy, completeness and lawfulness of the price information.
This guidance provides general orientation and does not replace an assessment of the specific offer.
