Description of jewellery and online shops

[susieq]

I have no reason to suspect there's any hallmarking infringement Steve, although there's no mention of hallmarking on this particular product it doesn't mean it isn't (and with three of the six bangles being silver I would have thought it would need to be), but as an example, when you see this as the main headline:

"Gold And Silver Interlocking Russian Bangle"

and further down the page " [name of company] use only exceptionally high quality sterling silver, 18 carat gold and fresh water pearls in our designs"

then you'd perhaps expect the item to be silver and 18 carat gold - until you read much much further down when it says " Made from sterling silver and brass".

Also "Gold Blossom Stud Earrings" followed by "delightful and delectable these floral 18k yellow gold stud earrings " and then way further down the description "Made from 18k yellow/rose gold plated on sterling silver"

I've picked on one seller here, but there are lots of others.

Surely intended to deceive?

[Tabby66]

Certainly misleading and really annoys me too!! I have certainly seen items described as silver and only when reading much further on do you realise (apart from the give away price) that they must be referring to it's silver colour rather than the actual metal that it is made from.....it is unclear and misleading and I think used to be picked up by search engines.

I would have thought that the example you gave of the 'gold blossom stud earrings' contravenes hallmarking requirements though Suzie,......maybe Steve will advise.

[SteveLAO]

yes it certainly appears to be a contravention of the act which does say that "Any person in the course of a trade or business who applies to an unhallmarked item a description indicating that it is wholly or partly made of gold, silver, platinum or palladium shall be guilty of an offence", however the act does only cover trade or business in the UK, so if this is, for example, an American website and you're paying them in USD to a US account then the trade or business may be seen as being in the US....it's a bit of a grey area I'm afraid.

[caroleallen]

I'm assuming Steve that that only applies to silver jewellery that's over the required weight?

[SteveLAO]

of course...there are many exemptions but weight is the most common, so items of silver below 7.78g for example are exempt.

[Edhelien]

Steve, I read the hallmarking act few days ago and there is a line "An article which is intended for dispatch to a destination outside the
United Kingdom." - does it mean that custom work for someone in US (for example) doesn't need hallmarking?

Maybe there is a possibility that someone list an item, which is made to order (not made yet) and use the photo without hallmark. And then, only after the order, he/she decide if hallmark it (depending on country of buyer)?

[SteveLAO]

Edhelien: Yes, the hallmarking act only covers items for sale in the UK, so items made specifically for dispatch outside the UK (and if challenged you would need to have a proper audit trail to prove this) are exempt.

[Edhelien]

Thanks, Steve. What is audit trail? I've read wikipedia definition, but I have no idea what that means in practice.
As Etsy seller, I would have communication with the buyer and his adress, is it enough?
I see international online sales as something very problematic with lot of gray areas regarding the jurisdictions, which makes me quite nervous.

[SteveLAO]

To have an audit trail you would, for example need to have the original order from the buyer with all his details proving that he is offshore and that your delivery is also to be offshore. You would also need to show your invoice, and the export documentation and customs paperwork to prove that the item has indeed been sent offshore to the buyer. In other words, if an auditor came to see you and asked you to prove that the order you took actually did go to a buyer abroad, then you would be able to show him with a comprehensive paper trail.

[pearlescence]

Hi Steve and Edhelien
When sending stuff abroad you don't get any export paperwork. I would think an international signed for number would suffice (with PO receipt) Our customs don't really care what goes out - they only bother about what comes in (as the nice man at manchester term 2 demonstrated when he took £££ off me in VAT at 7am today)
Of course goods can circulate around any EU countries without any customs or paperwork so in that case def shipping proof would be what you would need.
Watch out for the EU nickel etc regs though. I found some fabulous findings in HK at the Jewellery show on Tuesday but remembered to ask and they had nickel. Dang - but I hope you're proud of me Steve!
There's no grey areas re jurisdiction if you put England and Wales as your jurisdiction in case of disputes. Then any buyer has agreed to that as part of the contract.