Why it pays to check the company details before you buy

Checking a shop's company details rarely takes more than a minute, but it shows you who is really behind an online shop. In many countries, businesses selling online have to publish certain information about their identity where it is easy to find, usually through a link at the bottom of the page labelled something like "Legal notice", "Imprint", "Company information" or "About us". Opening that link once before a larger order gives you a first impression of whether there is a real, identifiable business behind the shop.

What company details normally include

• The full name of the company or person running the shop, including the legal form in the case of a company.
• A physical address where the business can actually be reached, not just a PO box.
• A way to get in touch, such as an email address or a contact form.
• For larger companies, often additional details such as a company registration number or a VAT number.

Not every shop will show each of these points in the same level of detail. A sole trader looks different from a larger trading company. What matters is less the format than whether the details together form a consistent picture that you could check.

What missing or incomplete details can mean

A shop with no company details you can find, or with details that consist of just a name without an address or contact option, is a clear warning sign. That does not automatically mean fraud, but it does mean that if something goes wrong, you have hardly any way of finding out who to contact. Other features that together reveal an untrustworthy shop, such as suspiciously low prices or a missing encrypted connection, are summed up in the article Spotting fake online shops: seven hard signs.

Company details on marketplace offers

On a marketplace with several sellers, each individual offer should in principle come with the seller's own company details, separate from those of the marketplace itself. This information is usually found on the seller profile, not on the marketplace's general pages. How to check such a seller profile before ordering from a third party is explained in the article How to check a marketplace seller before you buy.

Reading the company details and the shop's country together

The address in the company details also shows you which country a shop is actually run from, which does not always match the language of the website or the domain ending it uses. A shop written in your language with an address in another country is not automatically untrustworthy, but it does mean that returns and cancellation rights may follow different rules. The rights to cancel and return an online order that apply across the EU are EU rules; outside the EU, for example in the UK, the US, Canada or Switzerland, each country has its own rules, and they do not necessarily match what you would get from a shop based in the EU.

Company details and getting in touch when there is a problem

Complete company details matter most when something does not go as expected after you buy: an item arrives damaged, a delivery never turns up, or a refund takes unusually long. In that case, the contact option in the company details is often the only direct way to reach the shop at all if a simple contact form on the site gets no response. A shop that shows an email address or a postal address alongside its contact form gives you more than one way of getting hold of it.

A practical example

Say you find an item for 89.00 euros, noticeably cheaper than at the well-known shops you normally use. A look at the company details shows only a first name, an email address with a free email provider and no postal address. At a second shop with a similar price, you find a full company name, an address and a VAT number. The price difference alone tells you little about how trustworthy a shop is, but the company details tell you a lot.

Where to find the company details if they are not linked directly

In most cases the link to the company details sits at the very bottom of the page, sometimes tucked into a menu under headings such as "About us" or "Contact". If you cannot find it straight away, look at the order confirmation or the invoice you receive later, as they often also show the shop's full company name and address, even when the details were hard to find on the website itself. A shop that consistently hides this information instead of showing it where you would expect it does not deserve a final verdict on that basis alone, but it does deserve a second, closer look before a larger order.

A quick checking routine

Open the company details before you place a larger order, not afterwards. Check whether the name, address and a contact option together form a consistent picture. For a marketplace offer, look at the seller profile, not just the marketplace's general pages. If you still have doubts, compare with a shop you know through the shop overview on daily-coupons.info, or take a look at the frequently asked questions about ordering and returns.

Company details as part of a bigger picture

Complete company details alone do not prove that a shop works reliably in every respect, just as sparse details do not automatically mean fraud. They are one building block among several, together with seller reviews, pricing that makes sense and clearly worded return conditions. The more of these building blocks fit together, the more confident you can be about an order. If, however, the very block that is easiest to check, the company details, is missing, that is a reason to look especially closely at everything else.

Frequently asked questions

Does every online shop have to show its company details?

In many countries, businesses selling online have to provide information about their identity. The details differ from country to country, and countries outside the EU have their own rules. In practice, a trustworthy shop almost always shows its company details.

Is an email address enough as a contact option?

An email address on its own, without a name and address, is usually not enough for a complete picture. Consistent company details normally show a name, an address and a contact option together, not just one of these.

What if the company details show an address outside the EU?

That does not automatically mean the shop is untrustworthy, but cancellation rights and return conditions may then follow different rules from those of a shop based in the EU. In this case it is especially worth checking the terms that apply there before you buy.

When buying on a marketplace, do the marketplace's or the seller's details count?

For an offer from a third-party seller, it is primarily the seller's own company details that count. You will usually find them on the seller profile, separate from the marketplace's general company information.