Ecommerce Terms and Conditions Template

Order Acceptance and Pricing Errors

A customer clicking "Buy" is making an offer, not concluding the contract. Good ecommerce terms say so explicitly and state that the contract forms when you accept the order or dispatch the goods. Without that clause, a mispriced listing can bind you to sell at the wrong price.

• State when the contract forms (order confirmation email is a receipt, not necessarily acceptance)
• Reserve the right to cancel orders affected by pricing or description errors
• Reserve the right to refuse or limit orders for fraud screening, resale, or stock reasons
• Explain how customers are notified and refunded when you cancel

Returns and Refunds

Returns are the single most disputed part of any online store's terms and conditions, and in several markets the baseline is set by law rather than by you. EU and UK consumers have a statutory withdrawal right of 14 days for most distance sales, with carve-outs for perishables, personalised goods, and unsealed hygiene items. Several US states require the refund policy to be conspicuously disclosed before purchase, and a store with no posted policy can find a full-refund right implied against it.

• Return window, and whether it runs from delivery or from order date
• Condition requirements: unused, original packaging, tags attached, proof of purchase
• Non-returnable categories (custom, perishable, digital, opened hygiene products)
• Who pays return shipping, and whether original shipping is refunded
• Refund method and timing, and any restocking fee
• How exchanges and store credit differ from refunds

If you maintain a standalone returns page, your terms should incorporate it by reference and link to it, so a customer cannot argue they never saw it.

Shipping, Delivery, and Risk of Loss

Delivery clauses decide who absorbs the cost when a parcel is late, damaged, or lost. Say plainly at what point title and risk pass to the customer — on dispatch or on delivery — because that single sentence determines who eats the loss on a carrier failure.

• Processing time versus transit time, stated separately so estimates are not read as guarantees
• Delivery dates are estimates, not contractual deadlines, unless you sell a guaranteed service
• Risk of loss transfer point, and the process for reporting non-delivery or damage
• Carrier delays, weather, customs holds, and other force majeure events
• International orders: who is responsible for duties, import VAT, and customs clearance
• What happens on a failed delivery, refused parcel, or wrong address supplied by the customer

Payment Terms and Chargebacks

Payment clauses cover authorisation, currency, taxes, subscriptions, and what happens when a payment reverses. Card network rules already bind you through your processor agreement; your terms and conditions should be consistent with them rather than contradict them.

• Accepted payment methods and the point at which the card is charged
• Currency, and who bears conversion or cross-border card fees
• Sales tax, VAT, or GST handling and whether displayed prices include tax
• Recurring billing: renewal cadence, price-change notice, and cancellation route, where you sell subscriptions
• Failed payments, held or cancelled orders, and fraud screening
• Chargeback and dispute handling, including your right to suspend accounts with repeated reversals

Warranties, Disclaimers, and Limitation of Liability

This is where an online store's terms and conditions do the most protective work. Product descriptions, photos, and specifications should be qualified so that minor colour or dimension variance is not a breach. Any express warranty you offer should be described precisely, and implied warranties disclaimed to the extent local law permits — an important limit, since consumer protection statutes in the EU, UK, and Australia prevent you from disclaiming statutory rights entirely.

• Product descriptions, photography, and availability are provided without guarantee of exactness
• Express warranty terms, duration, and claim process, if any
• Disclaimer of implied warranties to the extent permitted by law, with a note that statutory consumer rights are unaffected
• Cap on liability, commonly the amount paid for the order in question
• Exclusion of indirect and consequential loss
• Indemnity for customer misuse of purchased goods

Governing Law, Disputes, and User Content

Name the governing law and the forum for disputes. For consumer sales this clause has limits: EU and UK consumers generally cannot be deprived of the courts of their home country, so a governing-law clause should be drafted as applying without prejudice to mandatory local consumer protections. Add the practical steps before litigation — an informal resolution period and a support contact — because most disputes end there.

• Governing law and venue, expressed without overriding mandatory consumer rights
• Informal dispute resolution window before formal proceedings
• Arbitration or class-action waiver, where enforceable in your market
• Reviews, photos, and other user-generated content: the licence you take and your moderation rights
• Intellectual property in product images, descriptions, and store branding
• How you notify customers of changes to the terms, and the effective date

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