Legal information for private individuals on Suchen.Expert
Suchen.Expert enables private individuals to publish listings, find offers and contact one another.
Suchen.Expert provides the technical platform for listings, connecting users and communication. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Suchen.Expert does not become a party to transactions concluded between users.
Private buyers and sellers generally conclude their contracts directly with each other and are responsible for the agreements they make.
1. When is a person acting privately?
Under section 13 BGB, a consumer is a natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside their trade, business or self-employed professional activity.
For example, a person who occasionally sells their own used household items does not act as an entrepreneur solely because of the sale.
The actual circumstances are decisive, however.
For example, a person who regularly buys goods for resale, continually offers similar products or systematically pursues a business activity may be classified as an entrepreneur under the law.
Selecting “Private individual” in a Suchen.Expert user account does not determine the legal classification of an activity in a binding way.
How the user actually acts is decisive.
2. When is a purchase contract concluded?
As a rule, a purchase contract is concluded through two matching declarations of intent: an offer and its acceptance.
A person who makes another party a binding offer to conclude a contract is generally bound by it unless that binding effect has been excluded. If the other party accepts an offer with changes, this is generally treated as a rejection combined with a new offer.
A normal sale of movable items generally does not require any special written form.
A contract may therefore be concluded, for example:
in person,
by telephone,
by email, or
through messages exchanged between the parties.
Communications through the Suchen.Expert messenger may therefore contain statements that, depending on their specific content, are legally assessed as an offer or acceptance.
The messenger itself, however, is not an ordering or checkout function provided by Suchen.Expert.
3. A listing is not automatically a purchase contract
Publishing a listing does not necessarily mean that a contract has already been concluded with every person who expresses interest.
Whether the listing itself is already a binding offer or merely an invitation for interested parties to make an offer depends on the content and circumstances of the specific listing.
Private individuals should therefore communicate clearly whether, for example:
an item is merely being reserved,
a price offer is still being considered, or
a purchase has already been agreed as binding.
During price negotiations in particular, it should be clear what final price and other terms both parties have agreed on.
4. The seller must hand over the agreed item
Under a purchase contract, the seller is generally required to hand the purchased item over to the buyer and transfer ownership. The buyer must pay the agreed purchase price and accept the item. Section 433 BGB sets out these basic contractual duties.
In particular, a private seller should clearly state:
exactly what is being sold,
the item's condition,
what accessories are included,
the agreed price, and
whether collection or shipping is intended.
5. Describe the condition and known defects accurately
The description of an item is legally relevant.
Under section 434 BGB, the requirements for the purchased item include, in particular, its agreed characteristics. These may include, for example, type, quantity, quality, functionality and other agreed properties.
If a seller describes an item as, for example:
“fully functional”,
“undamaged”, or
“genuine”,
those statements should be accurate.
Known defects should be stated specifically and truthfully.
For example:
“The display has a crack in the upper right corner.”
is much clearer than simply:
“Signs of use present.”
Photos can support a description but do not always replace necessary information about known defects.
6. Liability for defects in private sales
The statutory provisions on material defects generally also apply to sales between private individuals.
If the purchased item is defective, then, in the absence of an effective exclusion of liability and subject to the statutory conditions, the buyer may in particular have rights to subsequent performance, withdrawal from the contract or a price reduction, as well as damages.
A private seller may generally exclude or limit statutory liability for material defects by contract.
For a genuine private sale, a possible wording might be:
“The sale is made excluding liability for material defects.”
Whether a specific clause is effective depends on the circumstances of the particular contract.
Phrases such as “no guarantee” or “no returns” should not be treated as equivalent to a clear exclusion of statutory liability for material defects. Guarantees, returns and statutory liability for defects are legally distinct matters.
7. Limits to an exclusion of liability
A private seller cannot rely on an agreed exclusion of liability for material defects in every case.
Under section 444 BGB, an exclusion of liability does not apply, in particular, to the extent that the seller:
fraudulently concealed a defect, or
provided a guarantee as to the item's characteristics.
Anyone who knows about a significant defect should therefore not conceal it.
Example:
A seller knows that a laptop regularly crashes because of a hardware defect. The seller nevertheless describes it as “technically flawless” and conceals the known fault.
In such a case, a general exclusion of liability for material defects does not necessarily protect the seller.
8. Distinguish a guarantee from liability for defects
A guarantee is not the same as statutory liability for defects.
Anyone who expressly provides a guarantee takes on an additional obligation in accordance with the content of the guarantee statement. Section 443 BGB governs such guarantees.
Private sellers should therefore use terms such as:
“guaranteed”,
“guarantee for …”,
or similar binding promises only if they actually intend to assume such an obligation.
By contrast, an accurate description of the item is not an unwanted “guarantee”; it is part of a proper listing description.
9. No general 14-day right of withdrawal for private sales
The statutory right of withdrawal for distance sales under sections 312g and 355 BGB is generally part of consumer protection for relevant contracts between a business and a consumer.
Section 312 BGB generally limits the relevant distance-selling provisions to consumer contracts. Section 312g BGB grants consumers a right of withdrawal for the distance contracts covered by that provision.
For a genuine purchase contract between two private individuals, using the internet or messenger alone therefore generally does not create a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal.
A buyer cannot therefore cancel a properly concluded private purchase solely on the grounds that:
“I changed my mind.”
The parties may, however, voluntarily agree to a right of return or cancellation.
Any such voluntarily agreed right is then governed by the agreement between the parties.
10. Rights for defects are not a right of withdrawal
The absence of a statutory right of withdrawal does not mean that a buyer has no rights at all if an item is defective.
These are two different matters:
Withdrawal:
Under certain statutory conditions, a consumer may cancel a contract without giving a specific reason within a withdrawal period.
Rights for defects:
The buyer claims that the purchased item does not have the condition required by the contract.
Accordingly, if a private sale has no effective exclusion of liability for material defects, or if that exclusion exceptionally does not apply, claims for defects may exist despite the absence of a right of withdrawal.
11. Did the buyer already know about the defect?
If the buyer already knows about a defect when the contract is concluded, their rights in respect of that defect are generally excluded under section 442 BGB.
If the buyer was unaware of a defect only as a result of gross negligence, special conditions apply. Exceptions include fraudulent concealment or a guarantee that has been provided.
For this reason as well, it is sensible to identify known defects clearly in the listing and, where appropriate, again in the communications.
12. Collection
When an item is collected in person, the buyer and seller can inspect it together and complete the handover directly.
For higher-value items, it is sensible to record the essential details in a way that can be verified, in particular:
the item,
its condition,
known defects,
accessories,
purchase price,
payment, and
handover.
In particular, a seller should not make false or contradictory statements merely because the buyer had an opportunity to inspect the item personally.
13. Shipping in a private sale
If two private individuals agree that the seller will ship the goods at the buyer's request, section 447 BGB may be relevant to the shipping risk.
Under that provision, in a sale involving shipment, the risk of accidental loss or accidental deterioration generally passes to the buyer once the seller has properly handed the item over to the transport company, provided the conditions of section 447 BGB are met.
By contrast, stricter special rules apply to a sale of consumer goods from a business to a consumer; section 475(2) BGB significantly restricts the transfer of risk in that situation.
This distinction matters: the special shipping rules for consumer-goods sales do not automatically apply to a genuine private sale between two private individuals.
14. Ship items carefully
Even where section 447 BGB applies to a private sale involving shipment, the seller should:
ship the correct goods,
package them appropriately,
use the agreed shipping method, and
document the shipment where possible.
If the buyer specified a particular shipping method and the seller deviates from it without urgent reason, section 447(2) BGB makes the seller responsible for damage resulting from that deviation.
For valuable items, tracked shipping or appropriate transport insurance may therefore be sensible.
15. Shipping costs
Under section 448(1) BGB, the seller generally bears the costs of handover, while the buyer generally bears the costs of shipment to a place other than the place of performance. The parties may agree otherwise.
The following should therefore be clarified before the contract is concluded:
purchase price + shipping costs
or
shipping included in the purchase price.
16. Agree on a secure payment method
Buyers and sellers generally decide for themselves which lawful payment method to agree on.
Before making a payment, the following in particular should be clear:
recipient,
amount,
goods,
shipping or handover terms, and
where applicable, payment reference.
Suchen.Expert does not provide its own payment or escrow service for ordinary transactions between users.
Requests to pay through external links or purported payment pages should therefore be checked especially carefully.
PINs, TANs, passwords and other personal access credentials should never be shared in response to a message from another user.
17. Document agreements
If a dispute arises later, what was actually agreed may be decisive.
For higher-value transactions in particular, it may be sensible to retain relevant information, for example:
listing description,
photos,
important messages,
agreed price,
proof of payment,
proof of shipping, and
where applicable, confirmation of handover.
The rights of other people and data protection requirements must be observed.
18. A private sale must not be merely pretended
Anyone who actually acts commercially or in a self-employed professional capacity cannot avoid statutory duties applying to entrepreneurs simply by describing their user account or listing as “private”.
The actual circumstances of the activity are decisive.
If there are indications of systematic or business-related sales activity, the user should check whether they must act as an entrepreneur.
For more information, see the “For Business Owners” section under:
“Who is considered an entrepreneur on Suchen.Expert?”
19. Follow the usage policies
Private users must also follow Suchen.Expert's usage policies.
They include, in particular, rules about:
prohibited goods and services,
intellectual property,
animals and species protection,
price information,
safety, and
other rules for listings.
The fact that a sale takes place between private individuals does not remove statutory prohibitions or platform rules.
Role of Suchen.Expert
Suchen.Expert is a platform for listings, connecting users and communication.
Unless expressly stated otherwise:
Suchen.Expert is neither buyer nor seller,
Suchen.Expert does not become a party to a contract concluded between users,
Suchen.Expert does not set the purchase price, payment method, delivery or other contract terms, and
Suchen.Expert does not provide a legal review of individual agreements made between users.
Users are responsible for making their agreements clear and complying with their legal obligations.
This information is for general guidance and does not replace a legal assessment of the specific individual case.
