Consumer Rights in Germany: Returns, Warranty, and Redress

You bought something online and you do not want to keep it, or it arrives damaged. For most purchases from a business website, you have 14 days to send it back with no reason (Widerrufsrecht). You also have a two-year legal warranty (Gewährleistung) against defects. That warranty still applies after the return window closes.

How shops handle a complaint in practice is covered in How German Customer Service Works.

Sending an online order back

The 14-day withdrawal right covers most online purchases from businesses. You do not need a reason. It does not cover personalized or custom-made goods, sealed hygiene or software you have opened, perishable food, or services that are already fully performed.

On large platforms such as Amazon, Otto, and similar shops, returns are usually automated through an account portal or app. Those retailers often give you more than 14 days, though many have shortened those longer windows again lately. The legal minimum is still 14 days; anything beyond that is the shop’s own policy.

1. Tell the seller in writing within 14 days (email is fine and gives you a timestamp). On big platforms, start the return in their system within their stated window.
2. Return the goods in time.
3. The seller must refund the product price and the original standard delivery cost you paid.
4. Return shipping may be yours unless they offered free returns. Check before you buy.

The 14 days usually start when you receive the item, not when you order it. You do not need the original box. Any packaging that protects the product is fine, though you can be liable if careless packing damages it.

Screenshot descriptions and prices before you pay. PayPal or a credit card often give stronger buyer protection than a plain bank transfer. Keep receipts for at least two years; a phone photo is enough.

Defects: legal warranty vs manufacturer promise

Gewährleistung is the legal two-year warranty against defects for consumer goods bought from a business.

• In the first 12 months, a defect is presumed to have existed at purchase. The seller must prove otherwise.
• After 12 months, you may need to show it was already there.
• The seller must offer repair, replacement, or a refund.

A Garantie is a voluntary extra from the manufacturer, often one to five years. It adds to your legal rights. It does not replace them.

If the product is defective, contact the seller first, not only the manufacturer. If they refuse a valid claim, keep emails, photos, and receipts, then go to your local consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale). For disputes with EU sellers, the EU Consumer Redress portal lists dispute bodies.

Phone and internet contracts have their own cancellation rules in Phone and Internet Contracts in Germany. Recurring subscriptions are covered in How to Cancel Auto-Renewing Contracts in Germany.

Tests, shelf prices, and gift cards

Stiftung Warentest is the independent tester (founded in 1964). Ratings use the German school scale from sehr gut (very good) to mangelhaft (poor). Detailed tests on test.de often cost about €2.50 to €5. Public libraries often stock the magazine. In shops, Testsieger on a pack means that product won a test. It does not mean every review is perfect.

If the till price is higher than the shelf label, staff often honour the lower shelf price, though the law does not always require it. Photograph a large gap.

Gift cards must stay valid for at least one year, and many last three years. Check the expiry date when you buy and before you spend.

Bottle deposits (Pfand) at the supermarket are a grocery habit, not a warranty issue. Amounts and machines are in Grocery Shopping in Germany.

The Verbraucherzentrale network publishes free information in every state. Personal advice and formal letters to companies may cost a small fee.

Useful links

• Stiftung Warentest (test.de)
• Verbraucherzentrale
• EU Consumer Redress