Selling to consumers as a business: the rules on consumer sales apply
Does the company sell products to consumers? If so, the law qualifies the transaction as a consumer sale. In a consumer sale, the buyer is a private individual who purchases a product for private use. The law grants this buyer additional legal protection. The company may never limit or exclude these statutory consumer rights in its general terms and conditions or sales agreements.
What is a consumer sale?
A consumer sale is the purchase of a product in which the law grants extra protection to the buyer.
In this case, the buyer is a consumer: a private individual who buys something for private use. The purchase is therefore not intended for a profession or business.
The seller is, in this case, a professional company that sells products.
The law protects consumers because they usually have less knowledge and power than a professional seller. As a seller, you may not limit or exclude these rights
in your terms of the sales agreement.
When is a purchase considered a consumer sale?
There is a consumer sale if:
- The seller is a professional company and acts in the course of their profession or business (for example, as a retailer, car dealer, or webshop);
- The buyer is a natural person (that is, a private individual, not a company) who purchases for private use and not for their work or business; and
- The buyer purchases a movable good. A movable good is a transferable product (such as a laptop, refrigerator, phone, furniture, or a car).
A consumer sale is therefore the purchase of a movable product between a consumer and a professional seller, with statutory protection for the consumer.
The following situations do not qualify as a consumer sale:
- A purchase between two private individuals;
- A purchase between two professional parties acting in the course of their profession or business.
When can a private individual still be treated as a business?
A private individual may be regarded as a trader or professional seller if that person:
- Regularly sells products and earns income from this activity; or
- Acts as if operating a shop or business.
Note:
A private individual who regularly sells products on classified websites, or who repeatedly sells items such as cars to consumers as a side activity, may still be regarded as a professional seller, even without registration at the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Aruba. In that case, consumer law applies and the company‑level obligations must be followed.
Custom-made products also qualify
A product that still has to be made, such as a custom‑made cabinet, may also qualify as a consumer sale if:
- The company acts as a contractor or manufacturer; and
- The customer is a natural person who buys the product for private use.
In that case, both the rules on contracts for work and the rules on consumer sales apply. If these rules conflict, the rules on consumer sales prevail.
