Introduction

An error in price presentation on the marketplace may result not only in an avalanche of orders that cannot be fulfilled, but also in the imposition of high contractual penalties by the platform - however, correct legal argumentation allows for limiting the seller's liability.

Automated offers and mass sales on marketplace platforms pose the risk of system errors, including incorrect product pricing. In such cases, businesses must act immediately to minimize losses while also properly protecting their interests in a dispute with the service provider.

Case description

Our client, a furniture seller on the German marketplace Kaufland, mistakenly listed some products at a grossly underpriced price—for example, the price was €4.39 instead of €439. The news quickly spread across social media, resulting in nearly 100,000 orders for the affected products. Due to the impossibility of fulfilling the orders, the client was forced to cancel them, resulting in the marketplace imposing a contractual penalty of €40,000, citing service costs and customer compensation.

Solution method

We thoroughly analyzed both the Kaufland Marketplace regulations and the provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB). We prepared an argument demonstrating that the pricing error constituted an error of will and resulted in the avoidance of the legal consequences of the placed order. Importantly, according to the marketplace regulations, contractual penalties were only possible in specific situations – which, in this case, could not be attributed to the seller.

Additionally, we demonstrated that a contract was concluded in only less than 2% of cases (where buyers made prepayments), while in the remaining cases (over 98%), the contract was not effectively concluded. This argument significantly limited the possibility of charging the customer for costs associated with reversing the effects of a pricing error.

Effects

Thanks to carefully crafted legal arguments and case-by-case analysis, the client successfully minimized the financial consequences of the error. In practice, a significant portion of the fines were successfully challenged, and the seller avoided the most severe sanctions that could have jeopardized the company's continued operation.

Summary

Pricing errors are inevitable in automated online sales – immediate response and professional dispute resolution with platform operators are crucial. Knowledge of marketplace regulations and civil law provisions allows you to effectively defend your interests and mitigate the negative consequences of even the most serious incidents.